An Artist, An Author and an Inventor Go Into a Bar…

Peter Sims, author of the new book “Black Sheep: The Quest to be Human in an Inhuman Time” regularly convenes a group of artists, thought leaders, inventors, and authors to chat about how we might spark a human, artistic renaissance in America. Here are some ideas that came out of February’s gathering.

An unconventional television series about unconventional entrepreneurs

Filmmaker Farhoud Meybodi offered an overview of his approach to both rethinking how movies are produced and his topic — which is to spark large-scale solutions to the climate emergency by telling human stories of entrepreneurs in some of the most disadvantaged places. His thesis, which is fascinating, is that most efforts to get people to take action on climate-related topics is misguided. In provoking people to feel afraid, films such as “2012” or “The Day After Tomorrow” stimulate the release of cortisol, a fear transmitter, in people. The result? We feel uncomfortable and aroused, but that very quickly transforms into apathy. Instead, he suggests, “As storytellers, we must shift our focus toward instilling a sense of joy and empowerment in people’s choices, while also cultivating a bold vision of what a low-carbon future could look like.” Love, he argues, is the only thing that will really inspire behavioral change.