As a seasoned movie buff with a keen interest in historical documentaries and a soft spot for environmental issues, I found “The White House Effect” to be a riveting and thought-provoking film. It’s not often that one gets to witness firsthand the squandering of a golden opportunity to address global warming, and this documentary does just that, painting a vivid picture of the internal power struggle within the George H.W. Bush administration.
In “The White House Effect,” filmmakers Bonni Cohen, Pedro Kos, and Jon Shenk demonstrate that an opportunity to address global warming in earnest was not only missed but intentionally sabotaged by the George H.W. Bush administration (1988-1992).
1988 marked the year that Bush assumed office, which happened to be the planet’s warmest year ever recorded. This newly-elected president pledged to address the greenhouse effect, referring to his approach as the “White House Initiative.” The documentary recounts the story of how doubts about climate change began to take root in America around three decades ago. Within this narrative, the conflict between action and denial unfolds within the Oval Office, as Bush’s Environmental Protection Agency head William Riley and his Chief of Staff John Sununu clash over imposing restrictions on fossil fuel emissions. The documentary, titled “The White House Initiative,” ends with Bush’s trip to Rio in 1992, where the United States not only failed to uphold its own commitments but also weakened the global effort to establish strict emission limits by the year 2000, paving the way for the current global climate predicament.
Before the premiere of their documentary at the Telluride Film Festival on August 31st, EbMaster held discussions with directors Cohen, Kos, and Shenk, who are in charge of “The White House Effect.”
What was the impetus for making this doc?
For a long time, the tale of climate change has been challenging to convey effectively due to its immense scale and complexity. It’s hard for one person to fully grasp the implications. However, our perspective changed significantly after reading an insightful article by Nathaniel Rich in The New York Times Magazine titled “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change.” This piece revealed that there were actual individuals who could narrate this compelling story about what transpired in the 1980s. It was a revelation to us!
Cohen and Jon, along with myself, have produced numerous films featuring climate champions. While these movies made significant contributions, we sought a topic in the climate sphere that didn’t just cater to the already convinced. We delved into a particularly dramatic era – a four-year span in U.S. history marked by several concurrent factors: The climate science was acknowledged, drought affected the nation, and both farmers and business leaders were on high alert. Thus, we were poised to act responsibly. The film focuses on the internal drama within Bush’s administration, a power struggle between his chief of staff John Sununu and EPA administrator Bill Riley, symbolizing good and evil influencing him. During this period, the U.S. economy was struggling, there were conflicts with oil companies, and ultimately, Bush chose to disregard global warming.
What was the reason behind your selection of the particular material used in the movie for narrating the story of climate change?
At first, our goal was vast – tracing history from the drilling of the first oil well in 1859, Titusville, Pa., up until today. We’ve gathered an impressive collection of 14,178 archival items. Our aspirations were grand, but we soon realized the importance of a central theme and understanding the root cause. The reason we delved into this project was to explore why Earth’s fate became a matter of political contention, and how it drove our society apart.
One more point about the movie revolves around the responses from Americans towards the presented data, whether it was accurate or not. What led you to concentrate on this particular aspect?
Cohen’s Explanation: Our goal was to demonstrate, by employing television and radio as means of spreading information to the American public, the evolution of messaging. Suddenly, ‘socialism’ became associated with environmental issues. Figures like Rush Limbaugh, influential spreaders of misinformation, exploited this shift. For us, it was crucial to highlight how Americans unwittingly contributed. Did we critically assess the information given? Was the science we relied on accurate? Were our politicians trusted sources? The Bush presidency may not have marked the inception of disinformation, but it played a significant role in its emergence. The historical records reveal these concepts gaining traction within the nation. Our film only scratches the surface of the extent to which this phenomenon has progressed since then.
What do you hope audiences take away from the film?
Our movie is intended for a young audience, specifically college-aged individuals and those in their early twenties. When they watch it, we aim to provoke a sense of disbelief and anger, which is our goal. Typically, messages about climate change in movies have been about simple actions like switching light bulbs, going solar, or driving electric cars. These suggestions are crucial, but for us, the key driver was outrage. We want viewers to experience that “aha” moment of intense frustration at the end of the movie.
This interview has been edited and condensed. “The White House Effect” is seeking distribution.
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2024-08-31 22:18