[Review] Before the Flood: Should Be Called "Before Trump's Inauguration"
I originally intended to write a review for Before the Flood before it was taken down from YouTube last October, to properly introduce this documentary. Unfortunately, I was too busy at the time and couldn't find the time to write. Now that Trump has officially taken office yesterday, I find it even more necessary to write this article.
Before the Flood is a documentary directed by American actor Fisher Stevens and produced by Oscar-winning heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio, which premiered on National Geographic last October. As is well known, Leonardo DiCaprio has always been a major celebrity concerned with environmental issues and passionate about environmental activism. When he received the Oscar for Best Actor last year, he seized the opportunity to call on everyone to pay attention to global warming. In Before the Flood, Leonardo DiCaprio visits several continents around the world and interviews many well-known personalities and leaders, including former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former US President Barack Obama, Pope Francis, and The Revenant director Alejandro Iñárritu.
Although this documentary is not an incredibly memorable or spectacular one, it thoroughly discusses the following issues related to climate change:
The documentary provides a simple explanation of the causes of climate change, including rapid population growth, increased use of fossil fuels like oil and coal, resulting in large emissions of greenhouse gases, exacerbating the greenhouse effect, and causing global warming. Additionally, the documentary discusses the widespread deforestation of tropical rainforests globally and analyzes its impact on global warming.
In the documentary, Leonardo DiCaprio personally travels to the Arctic, capturing the melting of glaciers and explaining how this phenomenon alters global climate, intensifies natural disasters like floods and droughts, and affects marine ecosystems, leading to the death of various animals and coral reefs. He also visits island nations, interviewing local residents to highlight how these people, who bear little responsibility for global warming, are impacted by rising sea levels. In his interview with Obama, the former president also points out how global warming exacerbates human competition for resources, leading to more conflicts.
One of the key focuses of this documentary is the impact of politics on climate change. In the film, Leonardo DiCaprio interviews many political figures and shows his speech at the United Nations as a UN Messenger of Peace for Climate Change. This documentary was released last October, before the US presidential election, and includes some political content. Among them, the documentary shows incoming US President Donald Trump stating during his campaign that the weather was very cold at the time, and therefore "we need global warming." At the same time, the film analyzes the intricate relationship between Republicans and fossil fuel companies, explaining why Trump and other Republicans would claim that global warming does not exist and sponsor scientists to conduct research denying global warming. Today, watching Trump officially take office and threaten to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, I believe the path to mitigating global warming in the future will be very challenging.
Throughout the documentary, what left the deepest impression on me was the scene where Leonardo DiCaprio, during an interview with an Indian scholar, was criticized for America's slow development of renewable energy, and he helplessly expressed that he "couldn't retort." The documentary introduces methods to mitigate climate change from two perspectives: government policy and citizen changes. First, it introduces renewable energy sources like solar and wind power, including their technology and development status. Then, it analyzes the pros and cons of increasing carbon taxes, both economically and in terms of implementation. On the personal lifestyle front for citizens, the documentary also interviews an expert who explains how eating beef wastes resources and increases greenhouse gas emissions, urging citizens to make changes in their dietary habits to collectively mitigate climate change. I personally stopped eating beef starting January 1st last year, and I encourage everyone to consider it too!
I have always felt that the problem of climate change can never be solved solely by government policies; it requires a change in citizens' understanding of the environment and a change in their lifestyles to effectively alleviate this issue. In recent years, the impact of climate change on humans has become increasingly severe, and even in Hong Kong, these changes are clearly felt. Therefore, this issue is urgent and requires immediate attention if we are to save our planet. Besides climate change, Hong Kong also faces many other environmental problems, including municipal solid waste, all of which require public attention and action for change!