Planet of the Humans

Planet of the Humans
Film poster
Directed byJeff Gibbs
Produced byJeff Gibbs
Ozzie Zehner
StarringJeff Gibbs
Nina Jablonski
Ozzie Zehner
Richard Heinberg
Distributed byRumble Media and YouTube[1]
Release date
  • July 31, 2019 (2019-07-31) (Traverse City Film Festival)[2]
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Planet of the Humans is a 2019 American environmental documentary film written, directed, and produced by Jeff Gibbs. The film was executively produced by Michael Moore.[3] Moore released it on YouTube for free viewing on April 21, 2020, the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first Earth Day.

The film examines mainstream environmental groups' partnerships with billionaires, corporations, and wealthy family foundations in the fight to save the planet. The film questions whether green energy can solve society's expanding resource depletion without reducing consumption and/or population growth, as all existing forms of energy generation require some kind of consumption of finite resources. Essentially the film questions whether renewable energy sources such as biomass energy, wind power, and solar energy are as clean and renewable as they are portrayed to be.

Upon its release, Planet of the Humans generated intense controversy[4][5][6] and critical reception was mixed. It was criticized by some climate scientists, environmentalists and renewable energy proponents as misleading and outdated,[7][8][9][10] but received praise for its contrarian stance and for provoking discussion. The filmmakers have defended the film from criticism. On May 25, 2020, Planet of the Humans was removed from YouTube in response to a claim of copyright infringement, which PEN America condemned as censorship.[11][12] The filmmakers challenged the claim, arguing that the fragment was used under fair use and that free speech was subverted.[13] Twelve days later, YouTube allowed the film to be viewed again. In November 2020, Moore removed it from YouTube where it was available for free and made it available on Amazon, Apple and Google's rental channels,[14] although a copy remains on the Internet Archive.[15] As of 2023, the documentary is available on Michael Moore's official YouTube channel.[16]

  1. ^ "'Planet of the Humans': Michael Moore-backed documentary is available on YouTube (VIDEO) | Malay Mail". malaymail.com. 23 Apr 2020. Retrieved 2020-05-20.
  2. ^ Mcwhirter, Seri. "'Planet of the Humans': Local man's documentary debuts at film festival". Traverse City Record-Eagle. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  3. ^ Bradshaw, Peter (April 22, 2020). "Planet of the Humans review – contrarian eco-doc from the Michael Moore stable". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 22, 2020. [Gibbs suggests] that unfettered capitalism and its insanity of eternal growth on a finite planet is also what is leading us to the cliff edge. True enough, although his comments on overpopulation have an unintentionally ironic chime, in the middle of the COVID-19 outbreak.
  4. ^ McClennen, Sophia (2020-05-01). "Why "Planet of the Humans," Michael Moore's new film about green energy, is so controversial". Salon. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  5. ^ Milman, Oliver (2020-04-28). "Climate experts call for 'dangerous' Michael Moore film to be taken down". The Guardian.
  6. ^ Pittis, Don (2020-05-01). "Planet of the Humans movie draws outrage as it calls for economic slowdown". CBC.
  7. ^ "LEAKED EMAILS: How leftists Toby Smith, Josh Fox targeted Michael Moore's PLANET OF HUMANS, got it pulled off YouTube". Tampa Dispatch. 2020-06-12. Retrieved 2020-10-03.
  8. ^ "Planet of the Humans: Michael Moore green energy documentary branded 'dangerous' by climate scientists". Sky News. Retrieved 2020-05-12.
  9. ^ Wesoff, Eric (April 22, 2020). "New Michael Moore film charges enviro leaders have 'lost their way' and 'sold out to corporate interests'". PV Magazine USA.
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference Gdn20200428 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ "PEN America Calls for Expedited Copyright Review of Michael Moore Film". PEN America. 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  12. ^ "PEN America: Pulling Moore Climate Film Would Be Censorship". PEN America. 2020-04-29. Retrieved 2020-10-12.
  13. ^ Watts, Jonathan (26 May 2020). "Michael Moore film Planet of the Humans removed from YouTube". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 May 2020.
  14. ^ "Episode 140: Action Is the Antidote To Despair (featuring "Planet of the Humans" Filmmakers Jeff Gibbs & Ozzie Zehner) – Rumble with Michael Moore". November 17, 2020. Retrieved 2020-11-19.
  15. ^ Gibbs, Jeff (2019). "Planet of the Humans". Rumble Media and Huron Mountain Films..
  16. ^ Michael Moore Presents: Planet of the Humans | Full Documentary | Directed by Jeff Gibbs, retrieved 2023-03-19