The play What’s Funny About Climate Change, performed by the theater troupe “Human Nature,” was a program which tried to raise awareness of how we impact the environment around us and what’s being done to change things. It was hosted by “The Raven,” who tried to persuade people to view things from another angle, and to see the hypocrisy that is often present between what we say and what we do. The play went through four scenes, each preceded by The Raven speaking to the audience. The first scene was “Tomorrow, a TV Panel Discussion.” The second, “Carmine the Enforcer.” The third, “Earth Citizen of the Year Award.” And lastly, “The Four Horsemen of the Climate Apocalypse.”
“Tomorrow, a TV Panel Discussion” consisted of various political and social figures discussing the problem of climate change. I believe this scene was attempting to demonstrate how little concern there can be (or is) among the people that are supposedly in charge and there to take care of the environment. There was one person on the panel that saw absolutely nothing wrong with exploiting nature, and supposedly he was a leading scientist in his field. If people of this status have this type of mindset, what do the people who follow them believe? The people themselves must want change, but that is not enough. We need our leaders to recognize the present problems and help enforce codes of conduct that would act to preserve the environment.
This leads into the next scene, “Carmine the Enforcer.” Carmine is a new immigrant of supposedly mafia-type origin (at least, this is what we were lead to believe). But his goal was to protect nature, stop pollution, and all those other good things. He talked about how the government wasn’t doing anything to protect the people and the places in which they lived, so he would act as the environmental “enforcer.” He then sang a song which drove home the point that everyone should do their bit to help. The lyrics were “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Replace.” These are all very good observations made by Carmine. The government may say it’s going what it can, but it isn’t enough. People need to support an eco-conscious worldview to help maintain and rehabilitate the environment. This can be done by following the “4-R’s” introduced by good old Carmine.
But often the people who follow the 4-R’s are the ones who go unrecognized the most. The next scene, “Earth Citizen of the Year Award,” had an government official presenting an award to the person who had done the most good for the environment. Must to his shock and consternation, the citizen turned out to be an old homeless woman. This type of person did not at first suit is stereotypical ideal of a concerned “Earth Citizen,” but the scene went on to discuss just how much this woman had contributed to helping out nature. This idea made me think a bit more about just who we recognize as earth-friendly people. I suppose on some level I had thought about this, but generally only of homeless recycling cans. It really leant me a new perspective on the situation, and I believe that these people should be recognized more often for all the good they do. I think we could all learn something about reducing, reusing, recycling and replace from these people, and I think we should if we ever want to accomplish any big change in the way we view what we consume.
The final scene, “The Four Horsemen of the Climate Apocalypse,” I believe was meant to show that if change isn’t instituted directly, it could be the end of our environment as we know it. The Horsemen talked of destroying nature, killing things, blowing things up, not giving a second thought to the consequences of what they were doing, and even if they did, they didn’t care. Just when they were about to act on their whims, The Raven steps in and tries to stop them. But even she couldn’t manage them. That was when the scene was frozen, and The Raven then turned and addressed the audience about the seriousness of the situation. What could she do to convince these people of the enormity of their actions? If anyone knew, would they please tell her? How could she save her fellow creatures and nature from this awful end? This is a fitting finale to the play because it helps to show that people’s blindness and uncaring to the results of what they do not only effects them, but everything else in the world. We need to work together to save this environment we live in, but it won’t always be easy. There will be people like the “Horsemen” to try to sabotage plans for eco-resoration, but we must try to find a way to convince them otherwise and continue to work to preserve nature. This is of vital importance not only for us, but for future generations of people, plants and animals, as well.
Overall, I feel the What’s Funny About Climate Change was a good play. It had many interesting points that are not often thought about by many people. It tried to encourage people to act to conserve and preserve the world they live in, and to take into consideration the other creatures that live here, too. The discussion afterwards was very informative, and elaborating more on some of the points made in the play, and of what was currently being done to solve some environmental challenges. Personally, if I had the opportunity to see the play again, I would. I believe that I would get more out of it the second time around, after I’ve had the chance to absorb some of the information. I would definitely recommend that this play to anyone who hasn’t seen it, and is even remotely concerned about the current state of our environment.
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