Documentary: "What a Way to Go: Life at the End of Empire"

by **peripato** » Wed 20 Dec 2006, 03:40:26

A film about converging catastrophes, human carrying capacity and the fate of industrial societies;$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A') middle class white guy comes to grips with Peak Oil, Climate Change, Mass Extinction, Population Overshoot and the demise of the American Lifestyle.
What is it doing to us as thoughtful human beings as we face the overwhelming challenges of:
• Dwindling fossil fuel reserves?
• Critically degraded ecosystems?
• A changing climate?
• An exploding global population?
• Teetering global economies?
• An unstable political climate?
• And what is it doing to the rest of the life on this planet?

Featuring interviews with Daniel Quinn, Derrick Jensen, Jerry Mander, Chellis Glendinning, Richard Heinberg, Thomas Berry, William Catton, Ran Prieur and Richard Manning, What a Way to Go will look at the current global situation and ask the most important questions of all:
• How did we get here?
• Why do we keep destroying the planet? and
• What do we truly want?
• Can we find a vision that will empower us to do what is necessary to survive, and even thrive, in the coming decades?

by **americandream** » Wed 20 Dec 2006, 03:51:18

Middle class white guy...you mean the same scum bag whose ruined my planet...like I care about his angst......

by **NEOPO** » Wed 20 Dec 2006, 13:06:43

You feel nothing for the misled oil addicts?

by **WildRose** » Wed 20 Dec 2006, 13:26:50

There may be some hope in the form of the youth of this generation. Although music videos and movies portray our young adults as brainless, oversexed sheeple willing to lead a life of servitude (college loans, high-paying job, mortgaged and maxed out on credit for life), I'm aware of some who don't want to buy into it.

Comments I have recently heard from some of these enlightened individuals:

"Why should I get a college education and then have to pay back $20,000 in student loans, and not be able to afford a place to live?"

"I'm not going to buy a car - gas is too expensive and I can't afford the insurance."

"It's stupid to have a huge mortgage on a house and pay for it for the rest of my life, and not have any money for anything else."

"We're wrecking the environment - we need to change the way we live."

They have seen Al Gore's movie, watched programs about the erosion of the middle class, and they know college graduates who are struggling with student loans. They just don't have any faith in the American Dream. Perhaps some of these youth will lead us through a period of change.

by **Torion** » Wed 20 Dec 2006, 14:38:24

There's a contact us button on the site. Send them an email!

Interesting idea this guy has.

by **coyote** » Wed 20 Dec 2006, 15:21:57

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('WildRose', 'P')erhaps some of these youth will lead us through a period of change.

by **WildRose** » Wed 20 Dec 2006, 18:20:04

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('coyote', '[')I don't mean to be harsh to that generation. It's just a little disappointing, that's all...It's not like I was all that much different. But at least we voted. And argued. And protested. These kids don't know how to make any noise.

by **neocone** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 03:16:04

Graina Gorbathchev in 1984 overheard talking to Alexei, her husband and president of the USSR:

"We can't go on living like that anymore!"

by **BlisteredWhippet** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 04:52:05

The Director/Producer is also the author of this film.

Highly rated on google video... for what thats worth:

http://video.google.com/videosearch?q=The+Panama+Deception

by **JustinFrankl** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 05:39:55

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('coyote', 'I')t's not like I was all that much different. But at least we voted. And argued. And protested. These kids don't know how to make any noise.

by **drew** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 10:56:22

I feel sorry for the young today because of the lack of hope many suffer from. This is genuine in many cases due to the amazing overburden of debt that everyone is facing because of real inflation and stagnant wages. Of course this will impact those just starting out way more than the elderly or middle aged who own assets and property. Of course all the other issues the planet is facing are equally dire which doesn't breed happy thoughts in the minds of many young people.

But the blame game tires me. Yes we have trashed the planet, yes we have squandered things, yes we have f!@#%%^ ed up. We have carried on blissfully unaware for the most part because people are mostly followers. We work for others, we vote for others, we listen to others.

I was once very radical in my politics and my beliefs and have slowly given up. I have been involved in union activism, and leftist thoughts and beliefs, even protesting once, and found that most people dont give a rat's ass about leftist beliefs or politics. They are also completely ignorant of the issues of the day, even ones of mainstream interest.

People grow old, start families, and are trapped for the most part by this. Everyone needs a home, everyone needs a job. Very few can afford a home without a mortgage. Very few can work on their own cars, so need to buy into that trap too. Once you are trapped by debt your options are quite limited. Try missing a few car or mortgage payments and see what happens.

This debt scares people into submitting, as does a lack of education. Most people are worried about keeping their jobs and paying the bills, not overthrowing the government. They don't even understand simple connections between money and influence. Those who are aware often vote for the party that will do the least harm, as opposed to one that is actually good.

The power structures that exist today are beyond most people's comprehension, and what are they to do about it anyways. Who has the time and influence to combat mass media or lobbyists? Who has the time and inclination to spread the news? Who really belives anyone is listening anyway?

Drew

by **coyote** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 13:09:47

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JustinFrankl', 'A')nd maybe the youth of today look at it all and wonder, what did it accomplish?

by **BlisteredWhippet** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 18:11:56

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('coyote', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('JustinFrankl', 'A')nd maybe the youth of today look at it all and wonder, what did it accomplish?

by **NEOPO** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 18:25:02

This confirms my theory that you are a negative creep

I do not deny the existence of the "conform or else" mentality amungst TPTB but I do think you are way off on the youth of today and the fact that it seems a large portion of them are choosing "OR ELSE WHAT BITCH?!" ;-)

I can think of one very immediate and powerful example.

The youth who created Loose Change.

There!!!
I do not need to think of anymore examples because that one example is so powerful it needs no assistance in debunking your negatively charged apathetic conclusions about the youth of today.

Just because your own apathy oozes out all over the place like some kid with diarhea wearing a G-string who just shit himself is no mete or measure of the rest of us!

by **JustinFrankl** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 18:52:19

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('NEOPO', 'T')his confirms my theory that you are a negative creep

I do not deny the existence of the "conform or else" mentality amungst TPTB but I do think you are way off on the youth of today and the fact that it seems a large portion of them are choosing "OR ELSE WHAT BITCH?!" ;-)

I can think of one very immediate and powerful example.

The youth who created Loose Change.

There!!!
I do not need to think of anymore examples because that one example is so powerful it needs no assistance in debunking your negatively charged apathetic conclusions about the youth of today.

Just because your own apathy oozes out all over the place like some kid with diarhea wearing a G-string who just shit himself is no mete or measure of the rest of us!

by **NEOPO** » Thu 21 Dec 2006, 19:59:36

When we have less to lose then now it seems or when/once we realize that we always had so little to lose and so much to gain.

I suggest that the chains and irons were barely lifted before they were put right back in place and the sensation of freedom still lingers after 200 years serving only to comfort us occassionally and always to preserve the illusion that we are free.

How can we be free when we are so dependent?

I would never choose to believe that peaceful revolution is impossible yet and conversely I would never be so inclined to believe the same about the chances of violent revolution.

"Those that make a peaceful revolution impossible - shall make a violent revolution inevitable" J.F.K.

Once we realize that we all create the future as opposed to it simply happening to us....watch out.....as then rapid change is possible!

I can feel it happening already can't you?

Imagine normal people understanding peak oil without the internet.....would you be aware? would I?
Would we be "as" aware not being able to communicate as we do?
Rapid and radical change is possible yet its like a controlled demolition by non union pyromaniacs..............where the innocent on looker can only hope that the building falls in the best direction ;-)

I never liked the Who that much but I can see the appeal.

The Who - Eminence Front
The Who
Eminence Front

The sun shines
And people forget
The spray flies as the speedboat glides
And people forget
Forget they're hiding
The girls smile
And people forget
The snow packs as the skier tracks
And people forget
Forget they're hiding.

Behind an eminence front
Eminence front - It's a put on.

Come on join the party
Dress to kill
Won't you come and join the party
Dress to kill.

The drinks flow
People forget
That big wheel spins, the hair thins
People forget
Forget they're hiding
The news slows
People forget
The shares crash, hopes are dashed
People forget
Forget they're hiding.

Behind an eminence front
Eminence front - it's a put on
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to
Come on join the party
Dress to kill
Dress yourself, dressed to kill.

I say we are just about through with hiding........
I say we are just about fed up and it wont be long now before they can put those camps, guns and soldiers to better use as opposed to torturing and slaughtering Iraqi's........
Yep they are the bully and we are the kid who has forgotten how to fight back until one day when it comes to a boil inside our minds.......well............you all know the rest of this story.

Website · by **Narz** » Wed 27 Dec 2006, 06:01:07

I think they should come up with a better opening sentence than the "middle class white guy" bit. But I like some of those authors. Looking forward to a preview.

by **Kristen** » Wed 27 Dec 2006, 22:30:56

I'm 21 and i've voted everytime i can since 18 bc of my parents influence. Maybe Parents could use an attitude adjustment too

by **gg3** » Thu 28 Dec 2006, 08:57:33

Apathetic youth?

Just say Markos Moulitsas. 20-something, I don't know if/where he went to college, but he's former United States Army in a combat arms MOS, and presently regarded as the Democratic senator from cyberspace with his website The Daily Kos (www.dailykos.com).

The community he created played a critical role in this year's elections, easily making the difference in a couple of key races. They routinely have Representatives and Senators going over there to write columns and ask for feedback. They influence the mainstream media, which views them with a mixture of resentment, respect, and envy. They have been kicking pundits in the butt and turning the conventional political wisdom on its head. They are the "netroots" and they have been making a difference.

In our community planning group are a bunch of 20-somethings. They are not apathetic consumers, they are big-picture thinkers & doers who are going to roll up their sleeves and build. One of them has been doing extensive hands-on research on hunter-gatherer methods including living in the woods, eating what's in the woods, and crapping in the woods without toilet paper, just to figure out what works and what doesn't. One of them is an immigrant kid working and going to school to learn biotech on the off chance that there will be a way to use it after the shit hits the fan. One of them is a coder geek with farm background, and one is a big-picture dude who has just been put on the governing council of the larger 501-c-3 organization that our group merged with.

BTW, three of them are in need of girlfriends (any takers here? 20-something women with brains and vision and eager to live in rural community, PM me and I'll put you in touch with the dudes).

IMHO they're doing damn good with what they have, which is starting from working-class backgrounds and bootstrapping themselves into the kinds of knowledge and experience they will be able to use when our time comes to go to the woods.

And for anyone who thinks the 60s generation was somehow better, remember that it was they who grew up to vote for Reagan.

by **Ludi** » Sat 20 Jan 2007, 19:00:24

link "VisionQuest Pictures presents a Storkboy Film WHAT A WAY TO GO
LIFE AT THE END OF EMPIRE

A middle class white guy comes to grips with Peak Oil, Climate Change, Mass Extinction, Population Overshoot and the demise of the American Lifestyle.

What is it doing to us as thoughtful human beings as we face the overwhelming challenges of:
• Dwindling fossil fuel reserves?
• Critically degraded ecosystems?
• A changing climate?
• An exploding global population?
• Teetering global economies?
• An unstable political climate?
• And what is it doing to the rest of the life on this planet?

Featuring interviews with Daniel Quinn, Derrick Jensen, Jerry Mander, Chellis Glendinning, Richard Heinberg, Thomas Berry, William Catton, Ran Prieur and Richard Manning, What a Way to Go will look at the current global situation and ask the most important questions of all:
• How did we get here?
• Why do we keep destroying the planet? and
• What do we truly want?
• Can we find a vision that will empower us to do what is necessary to survive, and even thrive, in the coming decades?"