I just sent a hand-written letter to Al Gore:
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Dear Sir,
Your lifelong environmental work is to be applauded. Everyone should see the vital message you convey so effectively in “An Inconvenient Truth.”
Unfortunately, theaters are unable to deliver your ideas to the necessary scale. Even with a version available on amazon.com, downloaders must still pay $15. Any fee is an economic inconvenience that guarantees a limited distribution.
You must reach everyone, in a way only “free” can.
I humbly urge you to give it away.
Social connectors like myself will carry your message to saturation. If your film were freely available on the Internet, I would personally share it with my network of hundreds.
There are many profitable ways to make the film freely available. By widening exposure, you will be increasing the pool of DVD buyers. Also, increased merchandising revenues and donations will supplement DVD sales. Perhaps you only give away a low-resolution version.
Please enable this epidemic of ecological awareness. All you need to do is give your film away.
Sincerely,
Michael Eakes
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It is important to note that the filmmakers have implemented several grass-roots distribution techniques, but they are not enough.
If the warnings in the film are correct, they are too important to be delayed by traditional and inefficient distribution methods. The current fee and copy protection are inappropriate. The film should be free (as in beer).
By utilizing existing peer-to-peer technology, like BitTorrent, Mr. Gore won’t even have to shoulder the hosting burden.
I appreciate your constructive comments on this matter.
UPDATE1: I realize that content sometimes becomes available on YouTube or via BitTorrent without the permission of the copyright owner. However, I am advocating for the owners to give it away legally, and then to publicize, promote, and encourage the distribution of the free release. I have offered to volunteer any technical assistance Mr. Gore might need in order to achieve this.
A video Podcast style distribution makes perfect sense. The medium’s low resolution precludes cannibalization of DVD sales, and the film can be offered in digestible snippets. Breaking the movie into episodes works naturally, as An Inconvenient Truth filmically alternates between lecture topics, personal reflection, and offstage legwork. As portable video becomes ubiquitous, this type of distribution will become de riguer, making it all the more apropos for such a forward thinking work.
Amen brother!
I have qualms with this movie though.
First of all, why is he printing it to film at all? The chemical processes required to make thousands of prints of a film are environmental hazards.
Second, I’ve often wondered about Gore and this movie is what’s up with him still flying around in a private jet if he cares that much about the environment? There are a few still photos of him in the movie itself that show him looking down on the peasantry from the window of his jet. Did you know that a single trip to Europe on a commercial jet, in coach, produces as much CO2 as driving your car for a year? A private jet is exponentially worse for the environment.
I wonder what kind of steps Gore himself has taken to save the environment. Has he stopped air conditioning his 5,000 sq. ft. mansion in Tennessee, for example? Has he stopped flying on a private jet? Doubtful.