Who Killed the Electric Car?
Zipping its way through theaters lately has been another environmentally conscious documentary, “Who Killed the Electric Car?”.
Hot on the heels of “An Inconvenient Truth”, this film takes a look at the birth and apparent death of the electric car. And it does it well.
I’m not going to explain everything that goes on and all the participants. Needless to say, the film tries to find out why electric cars sped their way into the California marketplace, only to be recalled before they could become more widely available to the public.
To represent the side of electric car advocates, the filmmakers enlisted Martin Sheen to narrate the film. They interviewed and used footage of well-known celebrity supporters like Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson, lesser-known actors such as Peter Horton and Alexandra Paul, auto industry personnel and electric car drivers.
There are also interviews with a small amount of people who disagree that there was some grand conspiracy on the part of big oil or the automotive industry.
One side note, with all the brouhaha surrounding Mad Max, it was interesting to hear and feel the negativity rise from the audience as he was on-screen. It should also be noted I was watching the film in the so-called epicenter of the Jewish community in San Diego. But what could that have done to exacerbate it?
Anywho, I’m not going to get into the issues surrounding the demise of the electric car in California. It’s basic common sense that America needs to become less dependant on oil and emit fewer harmful emissions into an already polluted atmosphere.
For anyone who’s been to Southern California, seeing the cloud of smog that hangs over the region should be enough to convince anyone not being paid by certain key industries that zero emission vehicles are needed.
Now, as for the quality of the presentation, I give high marks to director Chris Paine. He edited and crafted the different sides to the issue into a very easy to follow and well-planned film.
Unlike “An Inconvenient Truth”, which was like watching Pinocchio give a slide show of his family vacation, “Electric Car” had a narrative and built upon itself to present its case.
Sure, it was a little hokey to present each side (big oil, automakers, consumers, etc.) as suspects and to deliver a verdict on each one but it’s an effective tool to present the issue. It helped keep the film from feeling too stagnant.
I do have some faults with it though, as it is a documentary. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a documentary that didn’t have some bias in it. Try as they might, filmmakers are trying to present the story as they see it … and that’s not wrong, it’s just human nature.
It’s clear the filmmakers have a certain perspective and solution. This comes up most notably when talking about the possibility of Hydrogen fueled vehicles.
I don’t know anything about them but this film essentially marginalizes their future and writes them off as a pipe dream. Maybe, maybe not. But I haven’t seen any hard evidence and none was really presented on screen.
So certain elements of the film could have been better handled if there was more scientific data behind the premises. In essence, the film is more like a collection of testimonials and appeals to our own fundamental intelligence than a collection of hard data.
And that’s okay. If too many numbers had been thrown at the audience, the film could have gotten bogged down in math and science, which as test scores indicate, America ain’t none too good at these days. (Me write good though).
However, that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary and it inspired more motivation within myself to be better to the environment that Al Gore’s slideshow (which I still recommend as well).
I’m giving “Who Killed the Electric Car?” a 4 out of 5. It’s the best documentary I’ve seen so far this year and I highly recommend everyone go out and see it.
Maybe it will inspire you to convince your buddy who just got a corner office not to buy the 19-passenger Canyonero and instead opt for a more sensible and fuel efficient alternative.
Hot on the heels of “An Inconvenient Truth”, this film takes a look at the birth and apparent death of the electric car. And it does it well.
I’m not going to explain everything that goes on and all the participants. Needless to say, the film tries to find out why electric cars sped their way into the California marketplace, only to be recalled before they could become more widely available to the public.
To represent the side of electric car advocates, the filmmakers enlisted Martin Sheen to narrate the film. They interviewed and used footage of well-known celebrity supporters like Tom Hanks and Mel Gibson, lesser-known actors such as Peter Horton and Alexandra Paul, auto industry personnel and electric car drivers.
There are also interviews with a small amount of people who disagree that there was some grand conspiracy on the part of big oil or the automotive industry.
One side note, with all the brouhaha surrounding Mad Max, it was interesting to hear and feel the negativity rise from the audience as he was on-screen. It should also be noted I was watching the film in the so-called epicenter of the Jewish community in San Diego. But what could that have done to exacerbate it?
Anywho, I’m not going to get into the issues surrounding the demise of the electric car in California. It’s basic common sense that America needs to become less dependant on oil and emit fewer harmful emissions into an already polluted atmosphere.
For anyone who’s been to Southern California, seeing the cloud of smog that hangs over the region should be enough to convince anyone not being paid by certain key industries that zero emission vehicles are needed.
Now, as for the quality of the presentation, I give high marks to director Chris Paine. He edited and crafted the different sides to the issue into a very easy to follow and well-planned film.
Unlike “An Inconvenient Truth”, which was like watching Pinocchio give a slide show of his family vacation, “Electric Car” had a narrative and built upon itself to present its case.
Sure, it was a little hokey to present each side (big oil, automakers, consumers, etc.) as suspects and to deliver a verdict on each one but it’s an effective tool to present the issue. It helped keep the film from feeling too stagnant.
I do have some faults with it though, as it is a documentary. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a documentary that didn’t have some bias in it. Try as they might, filmmakers are trying to present the story as they see it … and that’s not wrong, it’s just human nature.
It’s clear the filmmakers have a certain perspective and solution. This comes up most notably when talking about the possibility of Hydrogen fueled vehicles.
I don’t know anything about them but this film essentially marginalizes their future and writes them off as a pipe dream. Maybe, maybe not. But I haven’t seen any hard evidence and none was really presented on screen.
So certain elements of the film could have been better handled if there was more scientific data behind the premises. In essence, the film is more like a collection of testimonials and appeals to our own fundamental intelligence than a collection of hard data.
And that’s okay. If too many numbers had been thrown at the audience, the film could have gotten bogged down in math and science, which as test scores indicate, America ain’t none too good at these days. (Me write good though).
However, that aside, I thoroughly enjoyed the documentary and it inspired more motivation within myself to be better to the environment that Al Gore’s slideshow (which I still recommend as well).
I’m giving “Who Killed the Electric Car?” a 4 out of 5. It’s the best documentary I’ve seen so far this year and I highly recommend everyone go out and see it.
Maybe it will inspire you to convince your buddy who just got a corner office not to buy the 19-passenger Canyonero and instead opt for a more sensible and fuel efficient alternative.
posted by Upgrayedd at 8/26/2006 09:13:00 PM
3 Comments:
Odd, you just saw this, and I just say An Inconvenient Truth yesterday. I’ll agree that Who Killed the Electric Car is a better documentary from the viewer standpoint… But I’m wondering if it wasn’t more engaging because it was more focused, understandable, and something that everyone who drove to the theatre can relate to than the giant topic of the entire environment.
I somewhat agree on your point on against the film of passively discounting hydrogen fuel cells. My understanding is that hydrogen may have a good future for providing energy, but there are so many barriers to overcome. Currently the only way to separate mass amounts of hydrogen for use in this type of fuel requires a lot of standard electricity and is thus a little counter productive.
Then there’s the whole infrastructure. Where we already have an infrastructure to deliver gasoline and electricity, a hydrogen infrastructure would take tens of years, and billions if not trillions of dollars to implement worldwide.
The final hit against hydrogen to me is tat if they can implement it, it will still require an internal combustion engine that has many moving parts and requires the services of the manufacturer after the sale.
Oh yeah… Hydrogen is also extremely volatile.
This film shows that the technology to produce electric, virtually maintenance free vehicle that can meet the needs of 90% of all commuters. Further research into current happenings in the electric car are very cool and encouraging. Tesla Motors are going to build a sports car able to go over 250 miles on a charge while also going 0-60 in 4 seconds. If a small company can develop this on a budget that a major car maker could make up by not researching how to put more cup holders in their SUV’s, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realize that they’ll keep making cars that require service and more expensive fuel unless there are laws telling them to do something else.
Like the film points out, we made the car industry become more efficient during the oil embargo of the past… We mandate safety to higher standards every year… We need to mandate increasing economy and encourage emissions free vehicles.
Excellent points all around. I really couldn't agree with you more.
One thing I do want to add though is while Hydrogen can be very unstable, wouldn't it be cool to get the first Audi Zeppelin TT?
It can go from zero to combusted in 1.2 seconds!
Hey Barry!
Anyway, I need to go see this movie. At this point, I'll probably have an easier time renting it. I'm also considering buying a Prius, so it is timely in my case.
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