Oscars to Ozones
Leonardo Dicaprio’s road from stardom to activism.
As he walked towards the stage to accept his well-deserved Oscar, the crowd marveled. He’s a gem of Hollywood who’s adored by many but had been “robbed” of an Oscar 6 consecutive times. He had the chance to say many things as he stood in front of a collection of some of the best actresses and actors ever and 35 million people watching on television. But, instead of talking about how he finally got what he deserved, he promoted a different agenda.
“Climate change is real, it is happening right now. It is the most urgent threat facing our entire species, and we need to work collectively together and stop procrastinating.”
This is not Dicaprio’s first time speaking about climate change either. Many of you know him as the guy who couldn’t fit on the door with Rose while the Titanic sank. But, in the climate change activism community he’s much more than that. It all began for him in 1998 when he met with then Vice President, Al Gore. Gore drew Dicaprio a picture of our planet and pointed towards the atmosphere and explained its imminent deterioration. This set Dicaprio on a road to change how we as a world view climate change. He started the Leonardo Dicaprio Foundation which would be a way to funnel money into combatting climate change and promoting renewable energy. In 2013, he held a benefit for his foundation where he raised 40 million dollars. He told attendees to “Bid as if the fate of the planet depended on us.”
His journey of activism continued with the documentary he wrote, narrated, and produced The 11th Hour. The 11th Hours explains how we got to this point and how we have the ability to change the path our planet is on. Dicaprio would go on to make another documentary called Before the Flood. This documentary takes an in depth look of the effects of climate change on multiple different parts of the world. He went to places like the South Pole, Shanghai, Polynesia, Greenland, and the Vatican. He also spoke with world political and religious leaders like Pope Francis and President Barack Obama. Pope Francis’ meeting with Dicaprio especially had influence on him. A few days after the meeting, the pope agreed to act in a movie about climate change. This was the first time any pope would ever feature in a film.
Dicaprio serves as a mediator between the experts and everyone else. He used the documentary Before the Flood to ask the questions that everyday people who want to learn more about climate change need to know. In today’s society, it’s come down to a lack of leaders and voices who will fight for what’s right for our planet. Dicaprio isn’t weighed down by the politics or the money behind climate change like many political leaders are. He’s willing to ask the questions and to urge leaders to do whats, right.
A peak in Dicaprio’s activism was when he spoke at a United Nations conference. As a designated UN messenger of peace, he congratulated the enactment of Paris Climate Agreement but he also reminded the leaders surrounding him that this would not be enough.
“The world is now watching. You will either be lauded by future generations, or vilified by them.”
His speech addressed to the UN was a highlight for him in his efforts for activism. It allowed him to directly speak to the world’s leaders and say what we’re doing is not enough but, we can easily be doing more.
Dicaprio’s role in The Revenant has many parallels to his work in Climate Change. His character has a struggle of man vs. nature. He has to try and survive in the wilderness after a string of unfortunate events. Climate change is the same way. In a sense, man and nature are struggling to coexist peacefully. The desires of the human race are overshadowing nature and nature is reacting poorly. While filming this movie, Dicaprio and the cast witnessed climate change first hand as they struggled to find snow to film in. This yet again showed Dicaprio the depravity of the situation.
Climate change work is very frustrating and deniers are rampant and have been since the beginning of Dicaprio’s activism. Although he definitely has come across a lot of deniers, he’s been unwavering. Unlike others, he’s decided to use his platform for good. By educating people and donating endless amounts of time and money, Dicaprio exemplifies what it’s like to be passionate about something. He lives his life working towards something much bigger than he is. He’s constantly been given set backs and disappointing news while working with global warming but, it’s only made his fight stronger. Even though he’s better known for that well deserved Oscar, his efforts in the climate change community has not gone unnoticed.
