Critical Review of Warming. By Daisy Chia

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Ellen Andrews
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1 Critical Review of Warming By Daisy Chia

2 Warming is a short animated film by Colleen MacIsaac that illustrates some of the causes and consequences of global warming 1. Skillfully rendered using brown pencil with watercolors, the film is visually stunning. The boiling water colors are intense and vibrant, a colorful rendition of a world very much like our own. It is beautiful in a tragic way as the glaciers recede leaving dry brown earth, as the vivid coral fades into dead white. She deals with the crisis of global warming without words. She is not explaining facts and figures or giving out advice on how to be more environmentally friendly. This film acts as a portrait of the current state of global warming on our world and seeks to show the audience the interconnectivity of all things. Something must be done! When the documentary, An Inconvenient Truth opened in theatres this past summer, Colleen was already researching and preparing to make this short film (MacIsaac). Even though climate change has been an issue for many years, it seems that recent events have finally brought it to the forefront. An Inconvenient Truth organizes a lot of information and presents it in such a way that erases any doubt that global warming is actually happening. It attempts to empower the audience to take the steps towards a better tomorrow. It is with this sense of empowerment that Colleen practices art in her daily life. She inhabits the artist as activist, using her craft to communicate a message of great importance to the world, be it in a small way. As a strong contender for the festival circuit, this short film follows in the footsteps of other films produced by the National Film Board that tackled 1 The accumulation of too much carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, trapping the sun s radiation which heats up the entire planet and has been proven to caused by humans (An Inconvenient Truth). 1

3 environmental issues using animation. Air is a short film by Paul Dreissen that deals with air pollution and the importance of oxygen for the survival and existence of cartoon creatures in the different ecosystems of our world, from land to water to air. A simple hand drawn classically animated short film, it portrays similar environmental concerns although with some differences. The tone seems more innocent in Dreissen s piece which was made in the early seventies. The picture of the ill effects of air pollution has transpired from that of a simple lack of oxygen and concerns about air pollution to a full scale portrait of unalterable change to our planet at the threat of our very existence. There is a sense of urgency in MacIsaac s film that reflects our current situation, effectively showing these connections through the juxtapositions of scenes. A young boy in the city is connected to the polar bear in the arctic, to a factory, to the fading and dying coral reefs, to the rising sea levels, to the receding glaciers. This film is a reflection of Colleen s other interests which include writing, comics, illustration, theatre, social justice and environmental issues It is an attempt to add to the greater good by communicating with, moving images and sound, a message of great importance. Although the film itself does not seem ask any question or give any answers, it can act as an entry point for the unconvinced, for the people who choose to forget or still refuse to believe the already visible consequences of our lifestyle, inspiring further thought on the subject. There is a feeling of empowerment and activism in the act of making this film that is inspiring because of its wide (global) scope. 2

4 Summary and Notes (warning: spoilers!) The film begins with an image of the sky. It must be dusk for there is an orange tinge that also suggests pollution. The sound of wind blows the title o The camera pans down to the melting glaciers. The ice cracks, camera zooms in and zooms out to a polar bear 2 walking on the ice. In the sky, a plane flies overhead (sound of plane) which leads us to a sea side town. A crowd of people appear to be walking with bags of sand suggesting an impending flood 3. The people are dressed in rags. Is this the near future? It could be now. The water rises. It fills the screen and becomes full of water bottles bobbing. Zoom into a picture on the label of one particular bottle of a mountain stream. Water rushes down the crevice until it runs out. The sound of a machine (man-made and satisfying) creaks and the scene shifts to another snow capped mountain vista. Quickly the snow retreats 4 leaving a bare brown mountain side. The camera pans up to another plane in the sky. The plane leads to the ocean where we see colorful coral 2 Polar bears have recently been added to the Endangered Animals List. The sea ice in the Arctic is melting earlier and forming later each year. Polar bears depend on the frozen sea ice for food. Now polar bears starving, drowning and losing their habitat. If the current rate of the Arctic meltdown continues, polar bears will no longer be able to reproduce by 2012 (WWF). 3 If we don t find a way to lower our CO2 emissions very soon, we will loose a quarter of Antarctica and half of Greenland which will raise the sea level 40 feet. That would mean billions of people could lose not only their homes but their lives. The impact of that many displaced people would be catastrophic on the rest of the world.global warming is causing the ocean temperature to rise which causes the hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones (all the same thing but named according to the ocean from which they originate) to become stronger and more destructive. 4 In the film, An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore shows snapshots and postcards of famous snowy landmarks from Mt. Kilimanjaro to the Swiss Alps that show how little is left of the snow caps and glaciers. Bottled water is imported from these mountain springs (melting glacier). Global warming will cause a fresh water crisis. 3

5 reefs with cute happy fish that quickly changes to a bleached dead coral and dead fish 5. Chimneys spew out thick black smoke; the industrial pollution of coal burning factories. A young boy almost bumps into a business man in a crowded bustling street. The boy looks up to the sky with concern, a hand shielding his eyes from the sun. The music changes, becoming increasingly chaotic. The cuts become faster, showing the culmination of all these examples (mosquitos/disease/death). A final cut to a plane leads back to the polar bear in the melting Arctic. The music slows down but time runs out and the polar bear fades away. The credits are accompanied by the boy s kite, leave us with a symbol of hope for future generations. 5 The death of coral reefs caused by many reasons including the warming ocean temperature and the rising acidity of the ocean making it difficult for the sea creatures to grow shells which is a huge threat to the oceanic food chain. 4

6 Bibliography An Inconvenient Truth. Al Gore, Dir. Davis Guggenheim. Paramount Home Video, Air. Dir. Paul Dreissen. Focus on Animation, National Film Board < rector=driessen%2c+paul&id=10884&phpsessid=c1beac9a9ef15ec1bfb8e8274e f367e9> (20 March 2007). MacIsaac, Colleen. Animation 410 Presentation: Written Portion. 16 October MacIsaac, Colleen. Occasionally Colleen Makes A Film < (20 March 2007). MacIsaac, Colleen. Warming: A Proposal for a Short Animated Film < (20 March 2007). Polar Bears Send an SOS,Climate Change: Science. World Wildlife Fund. < (20 March 2007). 5

On Thin Ice. Takedown At the end of the day place the instruments and hula hoops away as directed by your steward.

On Thin Ice. Takedown At the end of the day place the instruments and hula hoops away as directed by your steward. On Thin Ice Activity Overview Elementary students will learn about climate change and how it is changing the environment. Students will participate in a game of musical chairs using hula-hoops to represent