Spring Break
'Sizzle' comes to ECU
Faten Husni Odeh
Issue date: 10/30/08 Section: News
"Sizzle," a documentary on global warming, drew a large crowd to Hendrix Theater last night.
Based on the same topic as the popular Al Gore film on global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," this film differs on the way global warming and its affects are presented by using humor and everyday people, such as Hurricane Katrina survivors, to bring awareness to the global warming situation.
The film started at 7 p.m. with a full house and immediately the theater was filled with laughter.
"It was a blend of education and humor which sparked some interest in people who weren't aware of it [global warming]," said ECU sophomore Biology major Dunya Safa.
The entire film was based on global warming experts and global warming skeptics - even the director and narrator of the film; Dr. Randy Olson's camera man starts off as a global warming skeptic that frequently interrupts Olson's interviews with the scientists which allows the viewer to explore both sides of the spectrum.
From several interviews with scientists and people of different views over the seriousness of global warming, the director was able to keep the audience members seated to watch more. The film also pokes fun at the fact that not having a celebrity featured in it would affect the amount of viewers it would attract to a worldwide environmental problem.
Near the end of the film the director finds himself in a dilemma over whether or not he should include graphs and slideshows in his documentary, one of his crew members suggests that the documentary would be better off hitting home.
"When the Katrina Victims were brought in it bridged the gap between scientists and ordinary people who have actual experience from the effects of global warming first hand," Safa said.
Towards the end, the film shows the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as an example of the warming of the oceans causing strong disasters.
The many events that take place, from the interviews with scientists and global warming skeptics all over the country to the cameramen taking Dr. Olson's 83 year old mother to the club, the film ends with the skeptical cameraman believing in global warming as a problem. This can be seen in the film when the cameraman buys a car with the license plate "ECO PIMP".
Around 8:40 p.m., the discussion began with six panelists: Dr. Scott Curtis, Dr. Lisa Clough, Dr. Jeffery Johnson, Dr. David Kimmel, Dr. Richard Ericson and the film director himself, Dr. Randy Olson.
One student asked why the is not more popular. Olson replied,
"Because the independent film industry has taken a nose dives in the past two years. Al Gore has burned people out with global warming and hasn't changed public opinion, though he did bring awareness-if anything he polarized global warming."
The discussion panel was also full of humor, just like the film, which brought some light on a much discussed and debated topic.
For more information on this global warming comedy visit www.sizzlethemovie.com.
This writer can be contacted at News@theeastcarolinian.com.
Based on the same topic as the popular Al Gore film on global warming, "An Inconvenient Truth," this film differs on the way global warming and its affects are presented by using humor and everyday people, such as Hurricane Katrina survivors, to bring awareness to the global warming situation.
The film started at 7 p.m. with a full house and immediately the theater was filled with laughter.
"It was a blend of education and humor which sparked some interest in people who weren't aware of it [global warming]," said ECU sophomore Biology major Dunya Safa.
The entire film was based on global warming experts and global warming skeptics - even the director and narrator of the film; Dr. Randy Olson's camera man starts off as a global warming skeptic that frequently interrupts Olson's interviews with the scientists which allows the viewer to explore both sides of the spectrum.
From several interviews with scientists and people of different views over the seriousness of global warming, the director was able to keep the audience members seated to watch more. The film also pokes fun at the fact that not having a celebrity featured in it would affect the amount of viewers it would attract to a worldwide environmental problem.
Near the end of the film the director finds himself in a dilemma over whether or not he should include graphs and slideshows in his documentary, one of his crew members suggests that the documentary would be better off hitting home.
"When the Katrina Victims were brought in it bridged the gap between scientists and ordinary people who have actual experience from the effects of global warming first hand," Safa said.
Towards the end, the film shows the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina as an example of the warming of the oceans causing strong disasters.
The many events that take place, from the interviews with scientists and global warming skeptics all over the country to the cameramen taking Dr. Olson's 83 year old mother to the club, the film ends with the skeptical cameraman believing in global warming as a problem. This can be seen in the film when the cameraman buys a car with the license plate "ECO PIMP".
Around 8:40 p.m., the discussion began with six panelists: Dr. Scott Curtis, Dr. Lisa Clough, Dr. Jeffery Johnson, Dr. David Kimmel, Dr. Richard Ericson and the film director himself, Dr. Randy Olson.
One student asked why the is not more popular. Olson replied,
"Because the independent film industry has taken a nose dives in the past two years. Al Gore has burned people out with global warming and hasn't changed public opinion, though he did bring awareness-if anything he polarized global warming."
The discussion panel was also full of humor, just like the film, which brought some light on a much discussed and debated topic.
For more information on this global warming comedy visit www.sizzlethemovie.com.
This writer can be contacted at News@theeastcarolinian.com.
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