Matthew Spencer [email protected] War for the Planet of the Humans Documentary is an undeniably powerful recruiting tool for the contemporary environmental movement, beginning with (2006) and continuing through numerous examples since. This movement has seen unprecedented growth and a modicum of success in the previous decade thinks in large part to mass movements, particularly those led by young people such as teenage activist . Pressure from these movements, further proof of impending climate catastrophe, and the controversial entanglement of capital with a push for “green energy” have coalesced into a complex new age within the environmental movement both in the US and abroad. Into this movement emerged, on the 50th anniversary of this year, Jeff Gibbs’ Planet of the Humans, approved of and produced by filmmaker/activist . Planet suggests that the “green energy” movement is nothing more than “playing pretend,” a ploy on the part of capital, namely the fossil fuel industry, to coopt the worldwide environmental movement and maintain the status quo of high emissions while continuing to line their pockets with extravagant profits. Along the way, Gibbs takes aim at solar panels, wind turbines, and prominent activists, with the greatest vitriol saved for writer/organizer/activist Bill McKibben. This paper interrogates the content of Planet in the context of the contemporary environmental movement to attempt to address why, at such a pivotal moment in history, someone would create a film designed to drive a wedge into the very movement attempting to slow the creeping demise of humanity at its own hands.

Bio: Dr. Matthew Spencer is an English instructor at Auburn University in Auburn, AL. His research focuses on American , climate fiction, and anglophone literature.