Who Killed the Electric Car Analysis

IN 1996, ELECTRIC CARS BEGAN TO APPEAR ON ROADS on the whole OVER CALIFORNIA. THEY WERE QUIET AND FAST, PRODUCED NO EXHAUST AND RAN WITHOUT GASOLINE. TEN YEARS LATER, THESE CARS WERE DESTROYED. TEACHERS GUIDE A QUIETLY SHOCKING INDICTMENT OF OUR GAS-GUZZLING AUTO COMPANIES AND THE PETRO-POLITICIANS WHO LOVE THEM. KAREN DURBIN, ELLE MAGAZINE SUNDANCE FILM fiesta 2006 TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2006 WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? NOTE TO THE TEACHER Who Killed the Electric auto? is a powerful tool apt(p) to many academic disciplines and adaptable to a contour of abilities, learning styles, and classroom goals.This rich, self-contained fritter away requires undersized or no additional interrogation on the part of the instructor or the class, but toilet be exampled as the foundation for independent student research. The film divides neatly into two or so equal and independent segments that depose be sh stimulate on successive days or at contrasting points in a unit. Both segments offer excellent discussion opportunities. The classroom experience of students taking courses on environmental science or offerings that include a unit on air pure tone or environmental concerns would be enriched by viewing Who Killed the Electric railroad car?.Courses that encourage interest in design and practical math applications would also benefit. The ethical and civic questions that the film explores offer a natural alliance for teachers working in the area of civics, g all overnment, ethics, and line of credit ethics. In many of these courses the film could be treated as a case study. The ethical questions raised are nearly unlimited and a large variety of higher-level-thinking activities can be snap offed from the film. Included in this packet are discussion prompts, class activities, and research suggestions. 1 FILM SUMMARY included, the oecumenic Motors galvanical vehicle is eatured. As this segment concludes, the success of the assiduitys legal strategy is sy mbolized by a celebrity-studded funeral for the electric cable gondola car. This segment is filled with factual compend that examines conflicting claims just roughly emissions, practicality, costs of various kindles, and consumer demand. Who Killed the Electric Car? is presented as a whodone-it mystery. Staying true to this genre, the film opens with necessary backwardground education, describes the crime committed, answering all of the what, where, and when questions, and then in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle gathers the suspects for lose scrutiny, culmination to a conclusion on the wrong-doing or innocence of each. The second half(a) of Who Killed the Electric Car? is Sherlock Holmes at his exceed. The seven suspects identified in the first half of the film are scrutinized. whiz by one, consumers, batteries, oil companies, auto fablers, the U. S. organization, the California Air Resources Board, and the newest villain, the hydrogen car, pass under the bare li ght bulb in the inspectors interrogation room in an attempt to answer the question asked in the films title Who Killed the Electric Car? At the end of each segment the feature suspect is judged as guilty or innocent. airfoiling with a bit of automotive history that establishes the electric car as a competitive alternative to the internal combustion engine, Who Killed the Electric Car? takes the viewer back to the beginning of the twentieth century and the dawn of the automotive age. A straightforward explanation of why petrol beats out electricity as the fuel of choice and how the internal combustion engine wins government agency concludes the broad overview. The film then moves to the recent past with the introduction of the California Air Resources Board and their 1990 decisiveness to require that ten percent of all ars sold in California by each car manufacturer be zero-emission vehicles by the year 2003. The Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde response of automotive companies is revealed production and marketing of zero-emission cars is detailed, a degree during which the legal and political aggroups of the same manufacturers work to defeat the law that gave birth to modern electric vehicles. part several manufacturers are The film ends on a positive note, recognizing a grassroots movement that envisions dry-cleaned air and talent independence. In a John Kennedy-style appeal, the film claims that those who solve our energy onundrum will be those that change the world. 2 SELECTED SCENES FOR CLASSROOM REVIEW 119 1940 Two zillion new cars are sold in Television advertisement for G. M. s California each year. electric car. 255 2121 Cheap oil supports the combustion Introduce Dr. Alan Lloyd of C. A. R. B. engine over the electric car. 335 2210 Air quality in California producers lawsuit to Black cloud of death. overturn emissions standards. 432 2230 individually gallon of gasoline burned yields president Bush endorsing hydrogen 19 pounds of carbon dioxide. te chnology in the State of the Union. 455 2243 Introduce S.David Freeman. enthalpy Hummer and the hydrogen highway. 740 2320 Creating demand for electric cars. C. A. R. B. hearing on the emissions standards. 850 2530 C. A. R. B. and Californias C. A. R. B. vote to kill the standards. zero-emission policy. 1240 2615 murder up to run an electric car equals Manufacturers start to collect gasoline when gas is 60 cents per gallon. the electric cars. 1410 2735 Californians Against Utility Save the electric car campaign, Company Abuse including the bemock funeral. 1610 2930 G. M. claims to draw built electric cars Last EV1 collected. according to demand. 1910 3120Marketing How far, how fast, EV1s in a G. M. lot. how much? 3 3320 5036 G. M. spokesperson explains the singular Car Manufacturers fate of the collected EV1s. 3530 5620 phosphate buffer solution at the car crusher. Suspect Government 3658 10357 S. David Freeman, Were up against Suspect C. A. R. B. closely of the money in the w orld. 3715 10702 Vigil for the EV1s. Suspect Hydrogen Fuel Cell 3840 11108 Would you buy one of these electric President Bush at a hydrogen cars? Display check for 1. 9 million filling station. dollars offered to G. M. 3920 11505 Who controls the future? Last cars moved. He who has the biggest club. 11852 3934 1 Scene from Naked Gun 2 /2 Automotive Museum The Smell of Fear. 4025 12030 List of suspects. Verdicts. 4058 12232 Suspect Consumers The fight about the electric car was quite simply a fight about the future. 4320 12358 Suspect Batteries Introduce James Woolsey and Plug In America. 12719 4638 The one group of people that steps Suspect Oil Companies up to take it on is the group that will change the world. 4 DISCUSSION PROMPTS These prompts can be used for full-class discussion, small group conversations, or adapted for use as writing assignments of varying length and detail. What compromises related to cars and transportation are you willing to serve to pre lot and improve air quality? Brainstorm possibilities and then discuss each one, focusing on the average consumer. What one assertion in the film do you dis equip with? wherefore? What one assertion in the film troubles you the most? Why? In your own words, explain why the car manufacturers collected and destroyed the electric vehicles. Did government function the people in the case of electric cars? Why? Does government have the right to tell companies what to manufacture? Why? How important an issue is our nations dependence on oil? explicate. Do you agree that those who solve the energy question will change the world? Explain. Should the world oil supply be divided evenly according to population, given to those able to pay the highest price, or reserved for developing nations? Explain your opinion. Is it acceptable for a nation to use oil as a weapon? Why/why not? Would you characterize each of the following as a unplayful citizen or a elusive citizen? Why? -The oil companies -The automobile companies -U. S. consumers -Scientists researching hydrogen fuel -The citizens trying to save the electric car Is energy a national security issue?Why/how? Explain. How is the use of hydrogen as a fuel related to the reemergence of nuclear power? Does drilling for more than oil in the pristine wilderness make sense? Why/why not? Given the information pictured in the film, do you believe electric cars are a reasonable alternative to combustion engines? Why/why not? Given the information succeedd in the film, do you believe you will be able to buy a hydrogen-powered car in the next 10 years? 20 years? Ever? Why/why not? 5 MOCK COURT Choose defense and prosecution teams for each of the seven defendants identified in the film.Have the teams plant for a mock trial using the information in the film and if desired, additional research. Stage a trial with a jury that has not seen the film. Roles Judge Acts as presiding officer maintaining order, resolving conflicts, an d charging the jury. Prosecution team Presents evidence against the named defendant using witnesses, charts, graphs, and physical evidence. The team would also cross-examine defense witnesses. The prosecutions phone line is to prove beyond a reasonable doubt the guilt of the defendant. Defense team Presents evidence that rebuts the prosecutions view and may suggest alternative perpetrators.The defense may use witnesses, charts, graphs, and physical evidence. The team would also cross-examine prosecution witnesses. The defenses job is to create reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the defendant. This activity can be used as an alternative assessment of student knowledge sequence also building critical thinking and oral presentation skills. 6 COMMON GOOD Open the activity by reading the paragraph below. Allow for a few minutes of general mention on the concept of the common good enough and the claim by then G. M. president Charles E. Wilson Whats good for the country is good for Ge neral Motors and vice versa.The preamble to the get together States Constitution opens with the words We the People of the coupled States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, deliver the goods for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America. These words imply a common interest that is shared by citizens and government, a concept a great deal referred to as the common good. In 1953, the then president of General Motors, Charles E.Wilson, was nominated by President Dwight Eisenhower to serve as his Secretary of Defense. During Wilsons confirmation hearings, senators were concerned that he would have difficulty making a decision that could hurt General Motors, a major defense contractor, even if the decision was in the best interest of the United States. When asked this question, Wils on assured senators that he could make such a decision but that he could not imagine such a situation, because for years I thought what was good for the country was good for General Motors and vice versa. Student instructionWho Killed the Electric Car? implies that the common good is not being served by the decision to abandon electric vehicles and embrace hydrogen technology. Write your own exposition of the common good. maintain groups of 3 to 5 and share these definitions. Try to agree on a group definition. Evaluate General Motors decision to kill the electric car program in light of your groups definition. Be ready to report your findings to the class. Do Mr. Wilsons thoughts from 1953 reflect the General Motors Corporation that is presented in the film? If the Senate called the veritable president of G.M. to explain the death of the electric car, imagine what he might say that would be quoted more than 50 years later. 7 HIDDEN AGENDA Teacher introduction As a class, cere brate about the term hidden agenda. When you get all the ideas on the board, make groups of 3 to 5. In groups, have the class discuss the ideas on the board and then write a definition of hidden agenda that the group can agree on. As a class, share these definitions and create one working definition for the whole class. Have students return to their groups and discuss what hidden agenda(s) the following may have had.To make a claim, the group must have at to the lowest degree one piece of solid evidence from the film. to each one group should decide which three of their claims are the strongest and prepare to present them to the class. Present and discuss Automobile companies apart(p) agenda _____________________________________________________________________________________ picture Oil companies Hidden agenda _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence Filmmakers Hidden agenda _________________________________________________ ____________________________________ EvidenceCar companies Hidden agenda _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence Federal government Hidden agenda _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence Fans of the electric car Hidden agenda _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence C. A. R. B. Hidden agenda _____________________________________________________________________________________ Evidence 8 WHAT IS THE ROLE OF BUSINESS? What is the graphic symbol of business in a democratic/capitalist society?The complex interaction between business, government, and consumers is presented as a case study in Who Killed the Electric Car?. After viewing the film, clarify your own position toward the region of business, before any discussion, by using the prompts that follow. Prioritize the entire list from 1, most important, to 10, least impo rtant, and then write just a sentence or two that explains each ranking. using your results, make groups that include individuals with different attitudes. While you discuss the movie, analyze how different views of business influence opinions about the film. ______ The utilisation of business is to make a profit. _____ The image of business is to make a good product. ______ The role of business is to serve the consumer. ______ The role of business is to support government. ______ The role of business is to educate government. ______ The role of business is to educate consumers. ______ The role of business is to improve life. ______ The role of business is to protect the environment. ______ The role of business is to provide consumers with choice. ______ The role of business is to invent solutions to societys problems. 9 WHAT IS THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT? What is the role of government in a democratic/capitalist society?The complex interaction between business, government, and citi zens is presented as a case study in Who Killed the Electric Car?. After viewing the film, clarify your own attitude toward the role of government, before any discussion, by using the prompts that follow. Prioritize the entire list from 1, most important, to 10, least important, and then write just a sentence or two that explains each ranking. Using your results, make groups that include individuals with different attitudes. While you discuss the movie, analyze how different views of government influence opinions about the film. ______The role of government is to defend the nation. ______ The role of government is to create a just society. ______ The role of government is to protect the consumer. ______ The role of government is to protect business. ______ The role of government is to regulate business. ______ The role of government is to educate consumers. ______ The role of government is to improve life for all citizens. ______ The role of government is to protect the environment. ______ The role of government is to provide consumers with choice. ______ The role of government is to invent solutions to societys problems. 10 MAKING THE CASEIn the second half of Who Killed the Electric Car? , each of the suspects in this mystery is held up to scrutiny. Acting as an unbiased detective, develop a list of the evidence offered for guilt and the evidence that indicates innocence. In groups or as a class, use these evidence lists as the basis for a debate that leads to a vote on each suspect. The suspect___________________________________________________ Evidence to convict Evidence to acquit 11 BRIAN DANIELS teaches history and ethics at Hudson High School, Hudson, Massachusetts. He is the teach facilitator for the democratic school initiative atHudson High and an active member of the schools First Amendment Schools team. He has been teaching for thirty years and holds bachelors degrees in history and psychology from Boston College and a masters degree in critical and creative thinking from the University of Massachusetts at Boston. He will become the Curriculum Director for English and Social Studies grades 6-12 in the Hudson school district in the summer of 2006. He has been published several times in the Boston Globe and has an article slated for progeny in October of 2006 in the National Social StudiesSupervisors Association magazine. A SONY PICTURES CLASSICS RELEASE ELECTRIC ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS A dean DEVLIN/PLINYMINOR PRODUCTION A FILM BY CHRIS PAINE WHO KILLED THE ELECTRIC CAR? NARRATED BY MARTIN SHEEN modify BY MICHAEL KOVALENKO CHRIS A. PETERSON DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY THADDEUS WADLEIGH ORIGINAL MUSIC BY MICHAEL BROOK CONSULTING PRODUCER ALEX GIBNEY EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS DEAN DEVLIN TAVIN MARIN TITUS RICHARD D. TITUS PRODUCED BY JESSIE DEETER WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY CHRIS PAINE FOR BRIEF MILD LANGUAGE. WWW. WHOKILLEDTHEELECTRICCARMOVIE. COM WWW. SONYCLASSICS. COM