I Am Greta

NOW ON HULU! Within this century, hundreds of millions will die from famine, cities will flood beyond repair, and more than half of all species on Earth will be extinct. While many may be skeptical of these outlandish claims given the comparatively mild current effects of climate change, these claims are not ridiculous for the overwhelming majority of climate scientists and readers of scientific newspapers that report their studies and findings. They reflect the current situation, based on what countries have done and are currently doing to address the climate crisis.

In layman’s terms, climate scientists are saying, “The current policies aren’t doing nearly enough to solve this crisis.” Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old Swedish student, heard these climate scientists and decided to try and do something about this endemic inaction. This in a country labeled the frontrunner in the fight against climate change for two years according to the Climate Change Performance Index (as of 2019).

“…follows Thunberg as she embarks on the first of her school strikes, before the fame, the speeches, and the mass protests.”

I Am Greta, directed by Nathan Grossman, follows Thunberg as she embarks on the first of her school strikes, before the fame, the speeches, and the mass protests. These were lonely affairs filled with a lot of waiting and the occasional conversation with an adult who was more often concerned about her missing school than the global crisis she was bringing awareness to. This was the introduction to the enemy that Thunberg would constantly be fighting throughout the film: complacency. Her goal was and is to wake people up from the idea that someone else will take care of this problem for them.

For someone so young, her understanding of climate change and her understanding of the possible solutions to the root problems is strong. However, it was clear that Thunberg’s knowledge of the climate crisis is not exceptional. At one point, she read out some internet hate comments, and one of them criticizes her lack of specificity regarding policy. I think many have and will dismiss Thunberg because she doesn’t have all the answers. That is too high a standard to give to a teenager who understands as much of the politics of the climate crisis as much as anyone who has kept up to date with climate science.