Newsweek - 06.03.2020

MARCH 06, 2020

Culture

64

Illustration by BRITT SPENCER

jane fonda is a living icon. she’s won two oscars, hails from

Hollywood royalty and has had an impact on nearly every aspect of pop-

ular culture for the past 60 years. But unlike many other legends of the silver

screen, Fonda is almost as well known for her activism as she is for her perfor-

mances. From her controversial involvement with the anti-Vietnam War move-

ment to her longtime activism for women’s rights, Fonda has become a symbol

for social change. Now she’s taking on climate change. “We’re facing a collective

crisis that requires a collective response.” In 2019, Fonda made news for her

weekly protests (and arrests) in Washington, D.C. as part of Greenpeace’s “Fire

Drill Fridays” and her now-iconic red coat. Now she’s taking that protest to Cali-

fornia. “This is a catastrophe,” Fonda says. “If we had known what [the scientists]

knew back in the ’70s, we could have had a moderate incremental transition out

of fossil fuel into a clean, sustainable energy system. But we didn’t. We lost all

that time, and now we have a decade left, so it’s too late for moderation.”

Jane Fonda

Is California poised to lead the

nation on climate change and

passage of the Green New Deal?

There’s a schism between

what people think of California

environmentally and the reality. We

are very progressive [on] the demand

side—alternative energy, electric cars.

But we are also one of the biggest

oil-producing states, and thousands

of permits for new well drilling and

fracking continue to be issued.

What role do you think Hollywood

in particular can or should be

playing in climate change activism?

Every single person should be playing

a role. Especially the actors have a

platform, and it’s always best that it be

used in the context of an organization.

What was your reaction to your

time in D.C. Did it give you hope?

We had no idea whether this would

work. It could have been just an aging

movie star comes to Washington and

does this thing every Friday and then

goes home. But within a couple of

weeks, it became clear that we were

tapping into something needed.

The red coat you wore during Fire

Drill Fridays became a symbol for

the movement. Why do you think?

I have no idea. We were meeting the

organizers: “It’s going to be called Fire

Drill Fridays, maybe you should wear a

ɿreman’s coat" It’s too hokey, but wear

something red.” So I went to Neiman’s,

and there was only one red thing, and

it was this coat. —H. Alan Scott

“It could have

been just an

aging movie

star comes to

Washington

and does this

thing every

Friday and then

goes home.”

PARTING SHOT