The Last Winter, 2007

About his film The Last Winter Larry Fessenden said, "Ultimately I wanted to show how an individual's worldview affects how he or she deals with reality" (IndieWIRE, 2007). While many different story elements are knocking around in the film, the character's viewpoints on climate destruction take center stage. The Last Winter, partially inspired by the non-fiction Antarctic survival book Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage, follows a group of oil company employees setting up for a new drilling operation in Alaska. Some characters, such as Ron Perlman's Ed, work directly for the oil company and view climate change as unimportant, believing that what the American people really want is energy independence over anything else. In contrast, other characters, such as James LeGros's James, are contracted by the oil company to do an environmental evaluation of the new drilling project, taking climate change seriously and warning against the negative effects of the operation. So when these characters encounter strange occurrences, volatile weather variations, haunting spirits, and employee suicides, their reactions differ based on their worldviews.

While these character tensions provide a consistent conflict throughout the film, the various supernatural elements illogically clash, making the story rather scattershot and the pro-environmental message diluted. That said, one of the strongest takeaways of film is that it doesn't matter what your viewpoint on climate destruction is, whether you're a denier, apathetic, or a climate activist, the horrors of mother earth will come for us all. One of the more poetic quotes from the film, said by one of the drilling crew members who is slowing losing his mind, is "It's haunted. We shouldn't be here. We're grave robbers. It's coming out of the ground. Ghosts. I mean, what is oil anyway but fossils? Plants and animals from whatever millions of years ago."

As we all know, our government refuses to take significant action on climate destruction, despite the warnings of scientists and the cries of activists fighting for an equitable and livable future for human and more-than-human animals on this planet. One of the most vocal groups on the topic is the Sunrise Movement, a youth-led political movement calling for action on climate destruction. In 2015, Sara Blazevic and Varshini Prakash started the Sunrise Movement (Adler-Bell, 2019). They worked to oust political candidates who were influenced by the funding of the fossil fuel industry and backed candidates who promised to promote renewable energy. They were moderately successful in 2018, with half of their 20 endorsed candidates winning their elections, including Deb Haalan, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar.

Post-2018, the Sunrise Movement has focused on legislative proposals tied to the Green New Deal, focusing on decarbonization, jobs, and justice (Roberts, 2018). They have also inspired other activist groups globally to pressure their elected representatives to take the issue of climate destruction seriously (Taylor, 2019). With just a couple decades left to turn things around for the climate, we all need to join in the efforts of groups like the Sunrise Movement, turn our apathy into action. You may think, I'm just one person, what can I do besides watch eco-horror movies? I Sprinkled some ideas in my past entries, see The Birds and Prophecy, but here are some more ideas about the contributions you as an individual can make to the planet:

- Change your diet to a plant-based diet

- Have fewer or no children

- Buy things used instead of new

- build or retrofit your home in an environmentally-friendly way

- Volunteer with an environmental advocacy group

- Assist in restoring forests and natural ecosystems

- Vote for elected officials who take climate destruction seriously

References

Adler-Bell, S. (2019, February 06). The Story Behind the Green New Deal's Meteoric Rise. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://newrepublic.com/article/153037/story-behind-green-new-deals-meteoric-rise

Indiewire. (2007, September 18). IndieWIRE INTERVIEW: "The Last Winter" Director Larry Fessenden. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.indiewire.com/2007/09/indiewire-interview-the-last-winter-director-larry-fessenden-73869/

Roberts, D. (2018, December 21). The Green New Deal, explained. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/12/21/18144138/green-new-deal-alexandria-ocasio-cortez

Taylor, M. (2019, March 22). Labour members launch Green New Deal inspired by US activists. Retrieved October 18, 2020, from https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/mar/22/labour-members-launch-green-new-deal-inspired-by-us-activists