The Age of Stupid – Aesthetic Luxuries and our Emotional Responses.
The 2009 docudrama conveys the harsh realities of our world’s flaws which are repeatedly enhanced by both human interactivity and domination, focalising specifically around the ever looming fact of climate change. Its utilisation of prominent sources, which are often accompanied by vivid imagery, ensures that the film succeeds in gaining an emotional and sometimes impulsive response. Whilst viewing, the film highlighted relatively disturbing factors about the potential damage of climate change as it portrayed a probable future that theoretically may confront us.
One of the most prominent features within the film was the continuous theme of ignorance, despite our world’s environmental warning signals, we continuously proceeded in indulging in aesthetic luxuries such as ‘a good view’, thus ignoring the sensibility of practicality. This became more evident when a woman (part of the Anti-Wind Campaign) passionately petitioned against one of Piers Guy’s future wind farms, before stating that “of course we’re worried about global warming, I mean that’s got to be something we’re all concerned about I mean we’re all doing our bit to try and conserve and looking at renewable energy, of course, absolutely, yeah I mean, *laughs like a nervous maniac*”, her contradictory and rather hypocritical argument resulted in a personal feeling of rage that seemed to be shared throughout the entire lecture suite. This emotional response was written on practically every students face as I glanced around to observe reactions, causing even the lecturer to be curious towards our thought processes on that particular scene. This is only one example of emotional responses resultant of The Age of Stupid, the film is overloaded with harsh settings that are designed to tug at the heart strings and attempt to propel the audience into having a form of environmental epiphany. During the lecture another student, Ian, questioned whether the Age of Stupid perhaps over-exaggerated our current situation of climate change as it portrayed an apocalyptic waste-land, this methodology of educating is perhaps necessary in ensuring that the populous recognises the importance of prioritising our manufactured indulgences.
The issue as I see it is that the booming development and expansion of human life has smothered us in comfort as we manufacture extravagant goods that aren’t a physical necessity. This has almost made the majority of us blind to what is going on around us in the natural environment; the turmoil of the winter 2013-2014 is a primary example of this as during interviews flood victims expressed concerns for luxuries such as make-up and laptops (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhY78iwNQJc), only when these luxuries were gone and realisation hit, did people take a deeper concern towards our worlds situation. I feel that we, as a collective, possess a distinctive arrogance, taking on the ideology of denial, believing that nothing is superior to us. However the documentary series ‘Britain’s Most Extreme Weather’ counteracts this and educates the populous on the disasters we have and may soon face, encompassing a similar emotive approach the series highlights astounding moments that have the power to leave you speechless.
The temptation of new products leaves me to consider that our obsession will progress to crisis point where we will have no choice but to adapt to survive. Some designers currently are incorporating the ideology of helping the environment into their products however some are still not, I believe that we will reach a stage where designers will have no choice but to adapt both their methodology of production and their concepts to reflect a more green outlook, whether they approve of it or not…luxuries may need to be eliminated in order to survive.
The docudrama 'The Age of Stupid' can be viewed on the following link, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpSdPP9b0pc.
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