We asked Extinction Rebellion Hastings and St Leonards (XRHSL), to share their thoughts on the film Spaceship Earth, which we were originally due to screen next weekend, 21 and 22 November.
Andrew Moore of XRHSL:
Right now, as humanity stands at a fork in the road, Spaceship Earth offers a cautionary and fascinating insight into what might be next for us all.
Our systems – our civilisation – are destroying the natural world around us. Faced with the climate crisis, collapsing biodiversity and a global pandemic, perhaps the solution is to join the billionaires planning their escape? But my pocket won't stretch to life on a new planet, and even if it did, I'm not sure that it sounds like a very appealing option.
Then again, extraordinary things do happen when people work towards a common goal, and the 'Biosphere 2' experiment (which Spaceship Earth documents) is born from an enticing sense of hope and progress... Until the project unravels, and the realities of living in a system where power and wealth are mostly in the hands of a self-interested elite are inevitably exposed.
It's all too familiar, and Spaceship Earth leaves me wondering not how best to escape our planet, but whether we can instead connect to who we really are, and whether we can rebuild civilisation to let us live in this world conscious of its beauty, its fragility, its abundance and its limits?
About XR Hastings and St Leonards
If you're feeling concerned, anxious or fearful about the climate and biodiversity crises, you're not alone. Trying to ignore it is getting more and more difficult, but – on your own – it's incredibly difficult to know what to do.
Extinction Rebellion Hastings and St Leonards is made up of people just like you. Friendly, local people from many different walks-of-life, who've found that talking to other people who are going through the same stuff really does help. And that taking action feels even better. You know that, at last, you're doing something.
But maybe you don't feel ready, willing or able to take on the 'extreme' actions you've seen on the news? That's OK. Everyone is welcome to get involved however they can, contributing their own skills, passions and energy to XR actions.
There isn't space here to fully introduce XR, but, ultimately, we're ordinary people like you, who've realised that "our house is on fire" and that we can't ignore it anymore. If this resonates with you, you can read more about XR online (either the national movement or our local group).
Please join the XRHSL mailing list, or email us. We need you. We need each other.
Here is a short film from XRHSL:
When we find a suitable date to reschedule the Spaceship Earth screening in the new year, we're delighted to announce that Andrew Moore will host an informal discussion after the film.