Living in the Future’s Past (2018)

Directed by: Susan Kucera | 84 minutes | documentary | Starring: Jeff Bridges

There is certainly no shortage of films that focus on climate change and the erosion of global biodiversity, two of the most pressing problems facing the planet in the twenty-first century. Where the majority of these kinds of films mainly point an accusing finger at predatory big business or cynical politicians, ‘Living in the Future’s Past’ opts for a more nuanced and holistic approach.

The gist of the argument: man is a powerful and in a sense tragic creature that has developed into a biological anomaly after the agricultural revolution. Unlike other animals, we don’t just adapt to circumstances: we control them. Thanks to our culture, which is based on preserving, passing on and enriching the accumulative knowledge that our ancestors have accumulated, we have grown into a superorganism that is constantly looking for more energy. The problem is that we no longer see clearly what the collective consequences of our behavior are. One person starting their car every morning has no significant impact on the biosphere. But a few billion people do.

The crux is that the brain of modern man, driven by technology and a belief in progress, hardly differs from the braincase of our prehistoric ancestors. Yes, we know and can do more and more, as our lives and societies become more and more complex. But our subconscious, and with it our behavior, is still largely fed by the basic need that drives every living thing: to use energy as efficiently as possible to increase our chances of survival and to create as much comfort as possible in the short term. The problem is that humans have largely escaped the checks and balances (predation, disease, widespread famine) that keep other species in check. We are not essentially better or worse than other animals, but we are a lot more destructive because of our flexibility, intelligence and technology.

The net result of that evolutionary confluence is that our drive for action has now surpassed the carrying capacity of the planet, a development reinforced by the quintessentially human conception that we are all unique individuals with wills of our own. However, evolutionary biology and social psychology show that this is disappointing. Our identity is mainly determined by stories and the image we think others have of us. And that imaginary ‘self’ is often a lot more positive than the person we really are. We are social creatures through and through, which is especially reflected in our tendency to view the products we use as extensions of one’s own personality. And manufacturing all those consumer items again costs mountains of energy and natural resources, at the expense of the other life forms with which we share the earth. Is there still hope? Anyway. Thanks to the power of our prefrontal cortex, under the right circumstances, we are sometimes able to put aside the short-term interest for more sensible behavior that only pays off in the long term. We are not very good at it, but we can do it…

‘Living in the Future’s Past’ combines a wide range of insights from various scientific fields (biology, ecology, evolutionary psychology, physics) to bring its message into the limelight. Jeff Bridges provides the bird’s-eye view as a relaxed, wise and concerned narrator. The scientists, writers, politicians and journalists who have their say guarantee fascinating thought experiments, but the diversity of speakers and thought leaps also makes the film a bit fragmentary at times. For example, many interesting ideas are limited to a few easily manageable one-liners. On the other hand, following the discourse requires the necessary concentration and some background knowledge. A plus is that ‘Living in the Future’s Past’ never becomes a preachy documentary, which is remarkable for a film that still has a fairly activist message. So you don’t necessarily have to be in the ‘green’ corner to get something valuable from this versatile work.