Subscribe to The Informer for monthly expert analysis, and to Events for advance notice of visiting world leaders and distinguished guests.
You may unsubscribe from Lowy Institute newsletters at any time. For information on our privacy practices and how to unsubscribe, see our Privacy Policy.
The most-pressing world events explained by Lowy Institute experts and global contributors, in your inbox, every Wednesday.
You may unsubscribe from The Interpreter at any time. For information on our privacy practices and how to unsubscribe, see our Privacy Policy.
Climate & environment, explained.
Documentary trailer: Years of Living DangerouslyDocumentary trailer: Years of Living Dangerously
About the author
Sam Roggeveen
Sam Roggeveen is Program Director of the Lowy Institute’s International Security Program. He is the author of The Echidna Strategy: Australia's Search for Power and Peace (Opens in new window), published by La Trobe University Press in 2023.
Topics
Remember that furore in the Indonesian media a few months ago about actor Harrison Ford being rude to Forestry Minister Zulkifli Hasan? What was that in aid of, you ask? An all-star TV documentary series about climate change made by James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger, due to be released in the US next year.
Look, I understand the arguments about using famous faces to sell an issue. Who's going to watch another high-minded doco about melting glaciers if it doesn't involve Matt Damon and that girl from Ugly Betty? But to me, this trailer looks like an example of the environmental movement making the same old mistakes: a lot of moralising and condescension from obscenely rich celebrities telling us we've been too profligate and that we will all have to make do with less.
Frankly, I'm a little surprised with Schwarzenegger's involvement. He's never struck me as a moral scold. He's a practical environmentalist, an optimist who wants to find ways to lift living standards while addressing environmental issues. He's the anti-Gore.
So maybe I'm wrong about this one. Let's hope the Terminator lifts this series out of mediocrity so that it can have a real influence on US public opinion rather than preaching to the converted.
Sam Roggeveen
