At the opening event for the climate protection film series of VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY, a survey was carried out on the reception of Kathrin Pitterling’s Fridays for Future documentary AUFSCHREI DER JUGEND. Here we present the first results from the questionnaires.
I. THE FILM
AUFSCHREI DER JUGEND (Outcry of Youth)
Kathrin Pitterling | 2021 | 97 min | Germany
In 2020, the Covid 19 pandemic shook world events. The climate crisis? Pushed out of public discourse. The activists of Fridays for Future see themselves deprived of their most effective forms of protest. Director Kathrin Pitterling gains the trust of her young protagonists and captures them in their most daring and vulnerable moments. A film about the dreams, fears, successes and setbacks of a committed generation.
II. DATA COLLECTION
Aufschrei der Jugend was shown on October 22nd, 2024 at the Harmonie Kino Freiburg. The approximately 100 spectators had the choice between an online and a paper questionnaire. In addition to attitudes towards climate protection and activism, emotional reactions to the film were measured.
The questionnaire consisted of three parts: the first part was filled out shortly before the film screening, the second part directly after it. The third part of the questionnaire followed a subsequent panel discussion with representatives from Fridays for Future and Omas for Future as well as the director of the film.
III. FIRST RESULTS
Here is first insights into the results of the questionnaire: The so-called “n” stands for the number of people who answered the question. For example, “n=67” means that 67 of the viewers submitted an answer here.
Before the screening, we asked, among other things, what obstacles viewers see in their commitment to more climate protection. As shown in Figure 1, “Convenience” (56.7%) comes first, followed by “Established Habits” (53.7%). 46.3% of respondents also cited “lack of time” and “costs” (44.8%) as obstacles.
After the screening, the focus was on the emotions evoked by the film. A majority of 71% of respondents said Pitterling’s documentary about the ups and downs of the Fridays for Future movement made them feel “compassionate.” The second most common feeling was “frustration” (64.9%), followed by a feeling of “connection” (59.5%). Almost half of the participants felt “anger” (48.6%), and 45.9% each felt “sadness” and “powerlessness”.
The majority answered in the affirmative (72.5%) as to whether Aufschrei der Jugend inspired them to do (even) more for climate protection (figure 3).
Since the documentary shows climate demonstrations by Fridays for Future in 2019 and 2020, the question arises as to whether the film had an impact on the willingness of viewers to take part in a climate demonstration. For this reason, agreement with the statement “I could imagine taking part in a climate demonstration (again)” was measured before and after the film. As Figure 4 shows, approval increased slightly after the film screening. An intention to act was formulated here.
After the discussion: Overall, the event awakened a desire for intellectual exchange in the majority of the viewers who stayed until the end. When asked “What do you take away from the evening event?” 69.5% answered with “Impulse to talk about the event.” But 66.1% also left the cinema with “Frustration with politics”. 62.7% of viewers expressed an interest in further VISIONS OF SUSTAINABILITY events; interest in Fridays for Future (FFF) or Grandmothers for Future (OFF) events was significantly lower (40.7% and 13.6%) – further data analysis will show whether the difference here is related to the age structure of the audience. Only a comparatively small percentage of viewers took away a “need for more information” (22%) or an “idea for implementation/change” (13.6%) from the event.
IV. CONCLUSION
In summary, the first descriptive evaluation of our data shows that viewers see their own comfort and ingrained habits as hurdles in their commitment to more climate protection. However, the film Aufschrei der Jugend was able to inspire people to do more for climate protection. After the screening, more viewers could imagine taking part in a climate demonstration. In terms of emotional engagement, the film triggered compassion for the young progratonists, but also frustration. In addition to impulses for exchange and conversation with others, a large proportion of the audience took away from the event a feeling of frustration that so little was happening on a political level. Over half of those surveyed also expressed interest in other VISIONEN DER SUSTAINABILITY events.
We thank everyone who took part in our survey!
The next step in our data analysis is the in-depth evaluation of the data collected and the addition of a context analysis. Stay tuned!