An Inconvenient Truth

I've seen An Inconvenient Truth numerous times in high school. The last time I saw it was in my Environmental Science class but I saw the documentary with a scientific mindset. This time I saw the film in a different light. I noticed how Al Gore presents his arguments to the audience in the film and to the viewer's watching the film. Gore establishes his credibility throughout the film and utilizes the appeals of logos from the beginning till the end.
Essentially the documentary is about Gore giving his global warming presentation around the country and the world. Interjected between those scenes of him presenting are montages of his personal life. These personal accounts include losing the 2000 election, losing his young son, visiting his home at a tobacco farm and his activism in finding solutions to the global warming problem. The personal footage is intimate and contains Gore's voice over in a whispery sullen kinda tone that makes it seem personal. At first these montages may seem irrelevant or just to get an insight to Gore’s life, but they are used to build his credibility. These scenes were meant to point out that Gore actually cares about the environmental problems and trying to find a solution. To also boost his credentials is the audience familiarity with his political career. The final touch to Gore establishing his credibility is we constantly see Gore in business attire, pressed collared shirt, suit and a tie.
Most of Gore’s arguments are based on evidence he has gathered such as photos, scientific research, diagrams, charts and graphic simulation. He focuses more on the consequences of the global warming issue rather than the root of the problems or the solutions. Gore also uses various techniques to make his point. In one scene he uses a small elevator to emphasize his point of how high CO2 levels have reached and potentially how high they can reach at the current rate in less than 50 years. He tries to break up a bombardment of facts or points with short animations like he did for one scene with an inane frog video. I think he also chose to use the short video animation to appeal to younger viewers, like teenagers in high school to help them understand his point.
Although most of the documentary is based on logos, Gore has a few scenes that appeal to the audience's emotions. One of them is at the very end of the Gore's presentation when he shows a picture of the Earth several light years away. He uses the photo to illustrate that that little blue dot is our only home and it contains all of our triumphs and tragedies. His conclusion is a call to action to tackle on the issue. This leaves the audience feeling like they should take action because in a universe so huge they feel a sense of ownership for this tiny planet.