thestyleofitsopeningsegment, 2040 employsnovelde-
vicesforthesetalkingheads,withminiaturisedinterviewees
sittinginMonopolycars,ontoastersandtreebranches,or
ontopofwindturbinesorroofs.Eachsegmentendswith
a flashforwardto 2040, depictinghow the world would
lookwiththediscussedapproachesandtechnologies
implemented,andfeaturinganadultVelvet(playedby
Eva Lazzaro)as well as older counterpartsof her parents
(‘agedup’withmake-up).Thescenesarebeautifullyreal-
ised, even incorporatingreferencesto other technologies
thatmaybecommonplacein thefuture, such as peel-off
touch screensand flying mo-
biles for takingselfies.
Gameauhimselfis anen-
gagingnarrator-host,leading
viewerscarefullythroughoften
content-densesegmentsand
employingwhatonereviewer
hascalleda ‘self-deprecating
andendearingly“dadjoke”
senseofhumour’^1 thatgiveshim
thelikeablepersonaofa curious
everyman.In the film, Gameau
alsodescribeshisjourneyasan
exercisein ‘fact-baseddream-
ing’– and,whilethereis certainly
a dreamlikequalityto some of the 2040-setsequences,
his almostblindinglysunnyoptimismpervadingthe film
isinfectious.It’s impossible not to be moved by the pos-
sibilitieshepresents.
2040 ’s proposedsolutionsarenodoubtinspiringand
thought-provoking,but it’s not made clear in the film just
howGameaubelievestheycouldbepracticallyrealised- particularlyas they will inevitablyrequiresignificant
government or corporate support to get off the ground
ona massscale.AsTheHollywoodReporter’s Stephen
Daltonpointsout, the film ‘underplaysthe huge shifts
requiredin the currentpoliticaland economiclandscape,
andarguablyin theentirecapitalistsystem’,andthus
‘fallsbackonvaguehopesthat“newleadersemerge”to
overhaulthecurrentstatusquo’.^2 Thesechallengescan’t
beunderestimated;asThe Washington Post’s Kathleen
Parker has asserted:Nothingin today’sheadlinescomparestothecatastrophic
potential posed by climatechangeandthedecimating
effectsofcarelessconsumer-
ism[...]bigcompanieshave
tosignon,andgovernments
havetocreateincentivesand
policiesto advancesweeping
change.Needlessto say, this
won’t be easy.^3Forhispart,Gameauhasad-
dressedtheresponsibilityof
governments,albeitin later
discussionsabout(ratherthan
in) the film. Duringa Q&A held
afteranadvancescreening,he
agreedthatpolicymakershave
animportantroletoplay,citingtheactionsoftheUK,New
Zealandand Icelandon climatechangeas examples,but
concedingthathehas‘lessfaith’in Australia’sincumbent
government– especiallywitha federalelectionloomingat
thetime.^4 Greenpeace’sDavidRitter,whojoinedGameau
atthepanel,tookupthemantleandarguedthatweneed
tobelievein thepowerofsharedaction,usingourvote
to ‘redirectgovernment’and becominginvolvedin envi-
ronmentalist action as much as we can; he then added2040 ’s proposedsolutions
arenodoubtinspiringand
thought-provoking,butit’s
notmadeclearinthefilmjust
howGameaubelievesthey
couldbepracticallyrealised- particularlyastheywill
inevitablyrequiresignificant
governmentorcorporate
supporttogetofftheground
on a mass scale.
78 • Metro Magazine 201 | © ATOM