Not your average high school auditorium.

You might remember the posts that The Burner made from Sundance about the Windrider Film Forum. Founded by Priddy Brothers Productions, Fuller Colorado director Will Stoller-Lee and former Fuller professor Craig Detweiler (now at Pepperdine), the Windrider event has spread from Sundance to sites around the world. The Bay Area Windrider event was held in cooperation with Fuller Northern California at the truly spectacular Menlo-Atherton Performing Arts Center in Menlo Park, California this past weekend. (TB knows that his high school acting career would have led to true Broadway superstardom if only TB could have had access to a stage like this.)

Bhutto

Though the event stretched out over three evenings, The Burner only made it to the Friday and Saturday night screenings. The Friday night screening was Duane Boughman and Johnny O’Hara’s documentary Bhutto. A Sundance selection last year, Bhutto is the story of enigmatic former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto. The first female leader of a Muslim country and a member of the “Kennedys of Pakistan” Bhutto family, Bhutto seemed to be a savior when she overcame imprisonment and political exile to win the election in 1988. She was forced out 20 months later on suspect charges of corruption. This cycle would repeat itself again in her second term in 1993. After a period of exile again in Dubai, she would return to Pakistan to enter the elections again in 2007. She survived an assassination attempt immediately following her return, but months later would die in an attack leaving a political rally. Her death was mourned by millions around the world.

The documentary was followed by a discussion panel consisting of Dr. Rafiq Dosssani, senior research scholar at the Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center and the director for the Center for South Asia at Stanford University at
Jasmina Bojic, founder and executive director of UNAFF Traveling Film Ministry, and Fuller Senior Professor of Islamic Studies and Dean Emeritus of the School of Intercultural Studies Dr. Dudley Woodberry. Questions from the audience revolved around Dossani and Woodberry’s respective experiences with Pakistani and Islamic culture. Woodberry himself lived about a mile away from where Bhutto was killed. He shared stories of the Taliban searching his house for contraband.

The Burner is sad to say that he never knew of the Bhutto family and this important and compelling story in world politics–even though TB considers himself to an intelligent person. This film is a great source for understanding Pakistani-American relations, as well as other issues in Afghanistan and the Muslim world.

Cool It

Saturday night was a screening of Ralph Winter and Terry Botwick’s global warming doc Cool It. Economist/activist and author Bjørn Lomborg’s “not that bad” message about global warming teams up with his “not that way” about how to thwart the problem–Lomborg is definitely a thorn in the side of An Inconvenient Truth disciples. Based on his book The Skeptical Environmentalist, this film features Lomborg affirming the existence of global warming but disputing that methods proposed by international climate experts are not economically responsible. Lomborg further accuses the Al Gore-olytes of using fear and exaggerated predictions to spread the message about climate change. For example, the prediction about the melting of polar ice caps flooding the world is greatly disputed in this film: Instead of all of the ice contained near Antartica and Greenland melting to increase sea levels 20-30 feet, Lomborg mentions that what will melt will raise sea levels one foot–the same level that sea levels rose over the last 100 years to no adverse effect. He also demonstrates how many ‘Earth-friendly’ policies are more to make participants feel better than actually influencing the climate. Lomborg leads the viewer through many alternative energy proposals that have potential to help end the reliance on fossil fuels that cause global warming. He finishes with a financial plan based on the European Union’s proposed budget to stop climate change.

In the Bay Area, this topic was ripe for controversy. While the crowd was congenial and complimentary of the film, panelists Botwick and energy sector expert Elton Sherwin clearly did not agree on all aspects of climate change and the appropriate actions to take. Moderated by Winter, it made for interesting discussion about the controversial Lomborg, Gore and the current state of international government involvement in the issue. Botwick was clearly pro-economics along the lines of Lomborg thinking, while Sherwin seemed to want more laws and behavioral changes to combat climate change.

Found: The Source of Animosity

The most interesting aspect for TB was something that Botwick said towards the end of the discussion. In the film, the major antagonist to Lomborg was Stephen Schneider, Professor of Environmental Biology and Global Change at Stanford University (1945-2010). Botwick mentioned that while he and Scheider were setting up for the interview, Schneider said, “If there was even a two percent chance that crossing the street meant getting hit by a truck, no one would cross.” Botwick countered that he would cross; his level of risk was higher than Schneiders. It was a matter of risk aversion. While he came across as caustic and derogatory towards Lomborg, Schneider had a low level of comfort with risking the climate’s health to conduct life as we know it on this planet.

It occurred to The Burner that, like many issues, in the contentious issue of climate change, or abortion, or same-sex marriage, or infant baptism, the level of risk aversion of one’s opponent should be considered. Why is Schneider seemingly so angry and dismissive of Lomborg? Because Schneider’s world is at stake. Why should babies not be aborted in the womb? Because there is a risk of someone being held responsible someday–or at least a precious life lost. Why no same-sex marriage? Because it might be a sin and damaging to traditional marriage–or it might risk the removal of the stigma from gays and lesbian relationships.  Why not infant baptism? It comes at the risk of cheating the child of the experience of choosing for herself a believer’s baptism.

Risk is personal and emotional. Risk causes tempers to flare, feelings to be disregarded and personal vendettas rise up. Though Lomborg and Shneider vehemently disagree on what should be done about climate change, Lomborg loathes the risk of wasting money while Schneider loathes the risk of losing the Earth. Both are risk averse. Who knew they had common ground?

We in the church have common ground, too–even if we see ourselves as far apart. And if you’re building a foundation for change, common ground is among the best on which to build a foundation.

Thanks to the many that produced and facilitated the Bay Area Windrider Forum. Great job, everybody! Event photos courtesy Dave Miller Photography can be found here.