Chris Paine, 200692 minutes, color documentary
Ages 8 and up
I took my kids to the theater to see this, and they had no trouble sitting through it, though the 9-year-old seemed to have an easier time following the story of the rise and fall of the electric car—and the various parties complicit in its demise—than my 7-year-old. This is one of the best-paced, most absorbing documentaries of its type I've seen, presenting a wealth of material in an intelligible way. A great discussion-starter about Big Oil, Big Autos, transportation alternatives, how public policy is created, consumer activism, and so on. The shadow issue lurking in the background of course, is whether automobiles are viable at all, but at least this is a place to start.
Who Killed the Electric Car? has a nice website with a teacher's guide, if you're into that sort of thing (In my experience kids come up with more interesting discussion questions than grown-ups.)
Rated PG for "brief mild language," but I can't even remember what it was. I think it will fly past most ears but make sure you pre-screen if you're concerned.
1 comment:
Watched "Who Killed the Electric Car" recently (great documentary), then i heard that GM and Tesla are making another run at the electric car (yay for progress!) hopefully development of this technology can continue forward uninterrupted by the powers that depend on oil consumption.
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