by The Cowl Editor on January 25, 2017
Arts & Entertainment
by Joe Clancy `18
A&E Staff
Al Gore has one of the most decorated and extensive resumes not only in the American political scene, but in the environmental and artistic fields as well. The former vice president narrowly lost the race for President of the United States in 2000, but still managed to remain a dominant figure in American culture and entertainment.
Gore’s most recent feat is a sequel to his hit documentary: An Inconvenient Truth. The film, rightfully named An Inconvenient Sequel, comes eleven years after its predecessor. It was released this January 2017 during the Sundance Film Festival and reiterates many of the same messages Gore’s previous film had made.
Unlike some former presidents and vice presidents who take their retirement to paint, Al Gore rivals former President Carter for the amount of activism work he has done. Gore took it upon himself to become the face of climate change awareness. In the early 2000’s, environmental activism was waning as non-environmental interests took a hold of policy and regulation in Washington.
In 2006, Al Gore and film director Davis Guggenheim began work on their groundbreaking documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. The film focused its attention on Al Gore’s efforts to reinvigorate the environmental movement by educating the public about the pending threats facing the planet.
The film was released at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2006. An Inconvenient Truth was an instant success and it became the 10th highest grossing documentary of all time while simultaneously being applauded by critics. The film would ultimately go on to win the 2007 Oscar for best documentary.
An Inconvenient Truth has been cited as a massive cornerstone of the environmental movement and helped raise a great deal of awareness among the public about climate change. The film also helped Al Gore win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2007.
In 2011, Gore continued fighting the issue when he founded the The Climate Reality Project, which aims to raise awareness and help fund efforts to fight climate change. Around 2014, Guggenheim decided that the public should still be exposed to the issue and be able to see what has been happening since 2006.
The release of the sequel comes on the heels of the 2016 election, which resulted in a very similar political environment as in 2006. An Inconvenient Sequel aims to follow in the predecessor’s success of advancing the public’s conversation on the issue.