The Brit legend stars
in a new comic short
about the efforts of
Extinction Rebellion
to make a change.
an comedy and activism combine
to raise awareness of the climate
emergency and foster action rather
than apathy? A new short film by Jack Stimpson
puts that theory to the test. Extinction features
Emma Thompson and is set around the April
2018 uprising led by Extinction Rebellion. LWLies: Extinction is a film about the
impossibility of creating a meaningful dialogue
around issues of the climate crisis – do you
think bargaining with politicians is the way
forward? Thompson: No. This is no time for
bargaining. In a crisis you have to convince
people to take positive and immediate action.
Your arguments must therefore be irrefutable
and your solutions well articulated and possible.
Neither can you retreat into the ‘all politicians
are the same’ corner. Find the ones who are able
to listen and get into dialogue with them. At thesame time be active in your disobedience.
The system doesn’t like transgression and
it’s one of the only things that makes it wake up.
The suffragettes taught us this. Solutions to the
crisis must be made real by the rule of law. This
is also no time for nice ideas that might be put
into practice later. Everything depends on what
we do now.In your lifetime, have you noticed that
politicians become even more blind to these
issues as commercial interests become a
bigger part of the political machine? Probably.
Billions have been spent on greenwashing
the fossil fuel companies and the effects of
emissions on our planet. We have known for
decades the science of climate change and we
have been systematically and successfully lied
to and misled for decades. That’s not possible
without collusion between corporations and
government. Have you ever interacted with a climate
denier and found their views to be at all
coherent? Actual climate change deniers are
like flat earthers, so no. But the complexity of
climate change – and it is complex – has allowed
many self-interested parties to obfuscate the
issue and confuse people about the basic truth
that we will have to change our ways radically
with immediate effect if we and all other life
forms left after the mass extinction over which
we have so shamefully presided are to survive. Are we able to talk about serious subjects- such as the extinction of all life on the
planet as we know it – with a sense of
humour? Have you found that humour can
be more impactful that earnest preaching
or doomsaying? Oh god yes, without humour
I couldn’t make it through the day. Humour
and clarity without drama is a good path to
take when talking about these extremely
depressing and distressing subjects.
Do you have plans to be involved in more
films about this subject? I hope so. I’d like
to try and write one.Can films, or pop culture or any kind of
art change the way people live their
lives? Can it make a real difference?
Art of any kind can certainly influence
the ways in which people react to things.
And then those reactions can sometimes
lead to changes in the choices people make
about their lives. They might decide to
be less homophobic or racist or sexist or
irresponsible about the planet. The art has to
be bloody good though. And surprising.
And hopefully funny – the XR short is
funny and pithy and I hope it makes protest
seem as useful and maddening as it is and
I hope it illustrates the frustration of trying
to get through to government officials
who can’t hear anything but the sound of
their own voicesINTERVIEW 053IN CONVERSATION Photo credit CECILIE HARRIS Interview by DAVID JENKINSC
Emma Thompson