PEN America Condemns Attempt to Quash Controversial Michael Moore/Jeff Gibbs documentary 'Planet of the Humans'

Esteemed writers' organization calls the efforts "censorship, plain and simple"

The team behind "Planet of the Humans" attends the film's world premiere: (L-R) producer Ozzie Zehner, director Jeff Gibbs, exec. producer Michael Moore. Traverse City, Michigan, July 31, 2019. Photo by Matt Carey

PEN America is coming to the defense of Michael Moore and Jeff Gibbs, blasting attempts to quash their controversial new documentary Planet of the Humans.

Opponents of the film, which argues the "clean energy" movement purveys false hope of saving us from environmental catastrophe, have mounted a campaign to pull the film from distribution, claiming it's full of false and misleading information. In just over a week Planet of the Humans has recorded upwards of five million views on YouTube, where Moore released it for free.

“Calls to pull a film because of disagreement with its content are calls for censorship, plain and simple," wrote Summer Lopez, senior director of free expression programs at PEN America, the venerable writers' organization founded in 1922. "Those who take issue with the film have every right to make their concerns and arguments heard, but first and foremost, the public also has the essential right to view Moore’s film and make their own judgements.”

It is shameful and stunning that any artist, filmmaker or academic would join calls for silencing our free expression.

--Michael Moore

In a lengthy statement, Moore praised PEN America for taking a stand on the issue.

"I'd like to thank PEN America for forthrightly denouncing and condemning all efforts underway to ban the public from viewing our new documentary, Planet of the Humans," Moore wrote in part. "We have spent the past ten days trying to fight back censorship attempts led by an Oscar®-nominated documentary filmmaker, plus certain leaders who are unhappy with our film’s revelations regarding how the fight against climate change has been co-opted by corporate interests.  

"These individuals have pressured websites carrying the film to 'shut it down,' calling the movie 'dangerous' and succeeding in getting one site to block the public from viewing it."

E.P. Michael Moore (left), director Jeff Gibbs and producer Ozzie Zehner on stage after the world premiere of "Planet of the Humans." Traverse City, Michigan, July 31, 2019. Photo by Matt Carey

The Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Moore referred to is Josh Fox, director of the anti-fracking film Gasland. A week ago Fox posted a letter on Twitter that called Planet of the Humans "shockingly misleading and absurd." He added, "We request that the film be retracted by its creators and distributors and an apology rendered for its misleading content." 

The letter was addressed to Moore, Gibbs, "all associated with Planet of the Humans," as well as Films for Action, a website not affiliated with Moore or Gibbs that had posted the film from YouTube.

Apparently ceding to that pressure, Films for Action removed Planet of the Humans from its site for "half a day," before reversing course.

"When Josh Fox first contacted us to discuss the problems with the film, we were initially convinced by his argument to 'retract' the film, as a journalist would do for a misleading article," Films for Action wrote. "Ultimately, we decided to put it back up because we believe media literacy, critique and debate is the best solution to the misinformation in the film."

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Related:
>Jeff Gibbs dissects faults of 'clean energy' movement: 'Environmental groups have been collaborating in the lie of growth'
>Planet of the Humans faces furious backlash: 'It’s a nihilistic take, riddled with errors'

Disused wind turbines seen in "Planet of the Humans." Director Jeff Gibbs argues turbines typically only last 20 years and also require mining of natural resources and use of fossil fuels in manufacture. Josh Fox and others maintain wind power is part of "the most important energy innovations of this (or any) century." Photo courtesy Rumble Media

In a piece published today in The Nation, Fox redoubled his criticism of Moore and the documentary.

​"Because the film is so dangerous," Fox penned, "so wildly off-track and full of misinformation, fossil fuel industry taking points, and unfounded, wacky statements you could be forgiven for thinking it was created by Breitbart News or Steve Bannon and not the erstwhile bastion of progressive bombast that is Michael Moore."

Fox continued, slamming the documentary for "its attack on renewable energy and on the basic premise of all climate action and modern environmentalism: that humanity must end our addiction to fossil fuels."

[Editor's note: having seen the film I would argue that Gibbs by no means disputes the dangers of "addiction to fossil fuels." But he asks environmental leaders and all of us to consider a larger point, that what really dooms the planet is overpopulation, overconsumption not just of fossil fuels but all natural resources, and a fatal romance with the notion that infinite economic growth is sustainable and desirable.]

Fox's piece goes on to dispute the documentary's contention that renewables offer false promise. Fox quotes comments made in Planet of the Humans by the film's producer, Ozzie Zehner : “'One of the most dangerous things right now is the illusion that alternative technologies, like wind and solar, are somehow different from fossil fuels.'” Zehner claims, as if he were a spokesperson for Exxon. When visiting a solar facility, Zehner resorts to direct misinformation: 'You use more fossil fuels to do this than you’re getting benefit from it. You would have been better off just burning the fossil fuels.'

"Of course, this is utterly false. Wind and solar are vastly better when it comes to emissions (and every other environmental consideration). These charts from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory show how energy coming from wind and solar and other renewables over their life cycle are not even close in emissions to fossil fuels. The film gallops down a road of lies and misinformation. And it only gets worse."

Timber prepared for burning as biomass energy. "Planet of the Hunans" calls that energy source unsustainable. Photo courtesy Rumble Media

Michael Moore's statement praising PEN America was released before Fox's piece for The Nation was posted. But in his statement, Moore provided a detailed defense of Planet of the Humans: 

"We have released a film that asserts several strong positions for consideration," Moore wrote, "that have, understandably upset certain people:

"(1) You cannot have infinite out-of-control inequitable growth on a finite planet with limited resources;

"(2) Our profit-seeking capitalist economic system thrives on such growth and economic inequality;

"(3) We have made literally no significant environmental progress for decades  — and we now have surpassed planetary boundaries like the irreversible amount of carbon in our atmosphere which goes up every single year;
and --

"(4) Many in the environmental establishment have been co-opted by the financial and industrial establishment who have put all of their eggs (and billions) in 'renewables,' which, instead of saving us, will add to our system of overconsumption and keep us on the path to extinction."

Moore concluded his statement by writing, "At the very beginning of Planet of the Humans, our movie asks the question, 'What happens when a single species takes over an entire planet? What if they go way too far? What if they knew 60 years ago that they were going to warm the planet and melt the ice caps and destroy our eco-systems?' While we acknowledge that these questions will be uncomfortable for many who don’t want their status quo disrupted, it is the role of artists and filmmakers to raise them. Jeff Gibbs has made a film that does that, and we thank PEN America for standing for his right and all of our rights to do so."

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS for Jeff Gibbs, director, “Planet of the Humans”:

Q: You have been an environmentalist for a long time.Tell us about your environmental philosophy.

A: My environmental philosophy has always been to search for a simpler, more sustainable way to live...

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) April 30, 2020

...and that we must love nature as we love ourselves, and as we solve environmental problems we also must take care of all humans. I believe we are all in this together, and we sink or swim together. We each must collectively do the best we can in an imperfect world...

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) April 30, 2020

...while working together 2 find a better way 2 live. I’ve come to grips w/ the reality that our entire current civilization is unsustainable, and only a complete rethinking of who & what we are will save us, &just as importantly save all the species that do not deserve 2 perish.

— Michael Moore (@MMFlint) April 30, 2020