that,aboveall,weneed to stop thinking of ourselves
as individuals.^5
Thisnotionofcommunalsolutionsharksbacktoa seg-
ment in the film documentingthe installationof an environ-
mentaldashboardshowingenergyuseandotherlivedata
in a small US town. Not only did the dashboardprove to be
a valuableeducationaltoolforthelocals,butit alsocreated
a senseofcollectiveempowerment– particularlywithresi-
dents startingto use the pronoun‘we’ ratherthan ‘I’ when
interpretingthe presenteddata. Gameau’svision for 2040
includesdashboardsofthistypethroughouttheworld’s
cities,encouragingcommunityownershipofbothenviron-
mentalimpactsandpositivestepstakentoalleviatethem.
Withregardtocorporateinvolvement, 2040 brieflyad-
dressesthemisinformationaboutclimatechange– once
peddledbyentitiessuchasExxon^6 – thatis rifeonthein-
ternetandinsidiouslypropagatedbyalgorithmsandbots
to disguiseits true sources.In the film, Gameaustates
thatcompanieswitha vestedinterestin climate-change
denialusemethodssimilartothoseemployedbytheto-
baccoindustrydecadesearlierto deny scientificevidence
ofthedangersofsmoking.Thewealthofinformationat
our fingertipsbringswith it confusion,and makesit hard
for the publicto know what or whomto trust. At the Q&A,
Gameau recounted that there was an ‘active campaign
fromcertainplayerstodiscredit[theproject]’,which
ledtoaneight-month-longresearchperiodtoensure
the film was backedby trustedbodiessuch as Project
Drawdownand the IntergovernmentalPanel on Climate
Change.Additionally,whereas,in the film, he urges us to
lookbeyondthedominantmediadiscourseaboutclimate
change,atthepanel,headdressedtheneedto‘cleanup
socialmedia’asa wayto‘cleanupdemocracy’.^7 Ritter
echoedthissentiment,suggestingthatwearelocked
in a ‘contestof powerand information[with those who]
deliberately,wilfullyandin a well-funded way stand in
the way’ of positivechange.^8
Withsuchexpansivematerialandmyriadcausesto
choosefrom, 2040 justcouldnotaddresseverything;
in fact,followingthedocumentary’sBerlinFilmFestival
world premiere,it was suggestedthat the film’s episo-
dicstyleandwide-rangingscopemayhavebeenbetter
suitedto a televisionseriesratherthan a featurefilm.^9
But Gameauhas revealedthat he intendsto releasethe
dozenor so storiescut from the film in other formats–
a fifteen-partserieshas alreadybeen agreedto, and
other segmentswill be madeavailableon the film’s
website.^10 A companionbook,2040:A Handbookforthe
Regeneration,^11 hasalsobeenpublished,therebyenabling
supplementary content to be explored and allowing anyhttp://www.metromagazine.com.au | © ATOM | Metro Magazine 201• 79