There’s a classic clip from a 2014 episode of the TV show “The Newsroom” that I end up reposting every now and then. An “EPA” administrator is invited onto the show to discuss a just-released report about climate change and its possible impacts. The anchordroid, played by Jeff Daniels, gets a bit more than he bargained for.
Anyway, thanks to the wonders of the Youtube algorithm I just noticed something that had been purloined-lettering for a while.
Take a look at the actor they hired to play the administrator.
Now, here’s Carl Sagan, talking about carbon dioxide build-up to a bunch of Senators in December 1985 (after the pivotal October 1985 Villach meeting).
It MAY just be a coincidence. In fact, it almost certainly is: I mean, middle-aged white men all look the same, amirite? And of course they’ll be wearing the suit and tie, signifiers of Sober Responsibility (and ‘professionalism’).
But I wonder – I like to think – that whoever was casting the role had Sagan in mind. Who knows?
Further reading
December 10, 1985 – Carl Sagan testified to US Senators on #climate danger
November 30, 2014 – US TV show The Newsroom tackles climate change