It is undeniable that Al Gore played a significant role in raising awareness about climate change and he has been fighting tirelessly to motivate world leaders to ordinary people to take action in their own way. The following observations about An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power are not a criticism or dismissal of the important work he is doing to address climate change. They are rather an analysis of how the documentary itself works as propaganda and the underlying messages conveyed in it. At first glance it may seem that the documentary is about the urgent threat of climate change, but a deeper look shows that it is also about a strategic portrayal of Al Gore and where he places himself in the context of the climate movement.
Al Gore claims that he’s a “recovering politician”. Yet, when we listen to the background music during some of the scenes in An Inconvenient Sequel [i.e. the melting glaciers, Al Gore negotiating, etc.], it almost makes the documentary seem like a political drama. Music and sound effects in film play a key role in evoking specific emotions from the audience. The choice of background music in this documentary builds tension and helps to portray Al Gore as a political figure who is targeted or confronted by wealthy climate deniers, the press, conspiracy theorists, etc. The music helps to convey the high stakes of Al Gore’s mission and the challenges he has to overcome to achieve them.
Moreover, the juxtaposition of Al Gore’s concession speech followed by the two Bush administrations and clips of Trump’s statements nudges the audience to think of Al Gore’s election loss as a collective lost opportunity. It makes us wonder what could have been if Al Gore had won the election and the race against time to address climate change wasn’t set back. He supports Obama’s values and climate initiatives. The documentary culminates into an impassioned speech where he compares the climate movement to the civil rights movement and makes references to Martin Luther King Jr.. This is another subtle nudge to portray Al Gore as the MLK of the climate movement. The screen grabs from Al Gore’s speech at the end of An Inconvenient Sequel show him in the same poses as MLK in photos of the “I have a dream” speech.
