Go Further - Film Handout

At the end of the year in my CCS class, I often show the movie Go Further. It's about the environment, but it's lighthearted rather than catastrophic. And the messages are very doable ones students can easily take away with them. It stars Woody Harrelson on a cycling tour. He's entertaining and knowledgable. It does, however, have somewhat jarring shifts into musical numbers, and the students don't recognize most of the musicians. I typically point out who they are to keep them interested.



The handout I use for the film asks very general questions to get the kids to recognize some major issues as well as some very simple solutions. I included my answers here.

Go Further
(Dir: Ron Mann, 2003, 80 min.)

Woody Harrelson – actor / activist on a Solar Organic Living (SOL) Tour
Steve Clark – Production Assistant on Will & Grace; junk-food-addict
Joe Hickey – hemp activist; cycler with a bad knee
Jessica Chung – yoga instructor
Renee Loux Underkoffler – raw foods chef
Tom Ballanco – lawyer defending environmental activists
Joe Lewis – bus driver
Linda – a kidnapped college student

Musicians: Anthony Kiedis (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Natalie Merchant (10,000 Maniacs), Bob Weir (Grateful Dead), Michael Franti (Spearhead, Hiphopricy), Dave Matthews

Ken Kesey: He wrote One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. He bought an old school bus called “Further” and took a bunch of friends, “The Merry Pranksters,” across America teaching about love, freedom, and psychedelic drugs.

1. List five concerns Harrelson has about the world.

Mass extinction of species
Monsanto – Bovine Growth Hormones – blood and pus in milk
Pesticides – increase from 91-98 – cancer, lung disease, damaged soil and water, poisoned workers
Fossil fuels are running dry.
Biotech industry – breaking into the genetic fabric of life – a giant unchecked experiment with the world

2. Which of these do you think are legitimate concerns?

3. Which are not a concern for you at all? Why not?

4. List five ideas from the film for improving our lives.

Hemp paper – “Livingtree Paper Company”
Simple organic living
Light footprint
Raw foods
Hemp clothes
Red Wigglers – composting, “worm tea” fertilizer
Cuba has solar powered schools – shift to something sustainable
4 power saving lights and 1 low-flow faucet could shut down power plants
No meat

5. Which of these ideas are useful to you, and which do you ignore? Why?

6. Comment on two of these quotations from the film:

“If I really felt we were at that stage right now, I don’t know how I’d get up in the morning.”
“The survival of the planet begins with a small, personal transformation within the grasp of every one of us….The most significant act you can make is to look at your own diet, and demand organic.”
“We think that total freedom means a choice of 20 brands of toothpaste, not knowing what you’re eating or having easy access to good foods.”
“Chocolate is like crack. It drives me crazy.”
“You can change the world by changing what you buy….Dare to feel responsible for every dollar you put down.”
“Why should I bother? It’s not about the impact of one, but collectively how enormous our impact is on the world….In the words of Margaret Mead, ‘Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. In fact, it's the only thing that ever has.’”
“There’s still hope for the world, but only if we stop being such dickheads.”