The Pawn

Who is Greta Thunberg?  Obviously, I know who she is but why is she Time's Person of the Year?  There are countless people who have made climate change their life's work but somehow this teenager from Sweden is the face of the movement.  How did that happen?  When some accomplished person starts lecturing me, at least I can see that they are accomplished.  When Warren Buffet calls for higher taxes, I may disagree but I understand why he has the platform to say this.  His success as an investor earned him a platform to opine about how his taxes are too low.  So what did Greta do to get her platform?  She ditched school.  Lots of teens ditch school and that is a pretty low bar as far as accomplishments.  Why would some Swedish teen rise to such heights on a topic where she has no special knowledge?  Why not Al Gore or any one of the frequently stated 97% of scientist who say climate change is real?

 

As someone who believes taxes are too high and government spends too much, who would be a better spokesperson for that cause: Arthur Laffer or a random teen from Nebraska?  For some reason, the climate change folks have chosen the random teen over the a PhD in the subject.  Why is that?  Greta is not trying to convince anyone with her knowledge of the issue but rather with the emotions she can evoke.  The evidence has failed to achieve the goal so now the guilt trip.  You have stolen my childhood.

 

Greta is a pawn, a useful figure to pull heartstrings.  She is not the first.  Back in 1992, there was Severn Cullis-Suzuki.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJICmLMb06Y

 

Severn has since gone to Yale where she earned a BS in ecology and evolutionary biology.  Gee, she sounds like a better advocate.  Well, except that her 1992 doomsaying didn't come to pass.  Back then, the big concern was the ozone layer of the atmosphere and global warming was only just getting traction as a topic.  We don't hear much about the ozone these days.  Huh.

 

Greta and Severn were plucked from relative anonymity because they were useful pawns for the environmentalists.  Kids are often used as pawns.  Kids parrot what their parents tell them.

Long Shot (2019)

Charlotte Field (Charlize Theron) is Secretary of State and has ambitions of running for President.  Her boss, President Chambers (Bob Odenkirk), had played president on TV and loves to watch reruns of his glory days.  In fact, he has decided not to run for re-election so he can establish a movie career.  He is not averse to offering his support for her candidacy.  At this key moment, Fred Flarsky (Seth Rogen) re-enters Charlotte's life.  She had been his babysitter, which is weird in flashback.  He's 13 and she's 16.  Huh.  Fred is an unemployed reporter with a drug habit.  Oh, Seth Rogen as a pot smoker?  This is my shocked face.  :|  Despite the wise counsel of all her advisers, Charlotte hires Fred as a speechwriter.  Charlotte is entranced by Fred glowing memories of her high school campaign for class president.  Yeah, the hyper-successful woman jumps in the sack with this unkempt doper.  If it played as a true comedy, that might work.  Instead, Charlotte is an environmental activist with a Bees, Trees, and Seas agenda that is getting chipped away by political realities.  Ugh.  And Fred is an absolutist who loses faith in her for cutting deals.  Ugh.  This is a comedy, right?  The movie has lots of profanity, some drug use (including by the Secretary of State who is running for President), cringe-inducing masturbation (meant to be funny), and a completely unconvincing love story.  This is a comedy, right?

 

Best avoided.