This video features in a responsive display in the museum that presents the moments, stories and memes capturing the zeitgeist by going viral on the internet.
Since 2018, activist Greta Thunberg has used social media to bring young people into the climate change conversation. Primarily active on Twitter and Instagram, she has organised and documented schools striking for climate action, protests and sit-ins internationally – and recently sparred online with alt-right influencer Andrew Tate, a high profile exchange that was interrupted by his arrest on human trafficking charges. This video of her detainment at an anti-mining protest in Germany displays Thunberg’s staunchness, shot through with the audacity that makes her such a compelling campaigner.
Curator Notes
On 27 December 2023, Andrew Tate made the first in a series of mistakes: He tweeted an unsolicited jab at climate activist Greta Thunberg, bragging about how much he doesn't care about climate change: " Please provide your email address so I can send a complete list of my car collection and their respective enormous emissions."
Thunberg shot back: “yes, please do enlighten me. email me at smalldickenergy@getalife.com.”
Tate's furious video reply, where he poses with cigars and pizza boxes to decry the 20-year-old campaigner for her nine word rejoinder, quickly achieved its intended effect: its absurdity raised his social media profile, drawing new critics and fans to his online presence. What Tate hadn't banked on, however, was his past catching up to him: mere hours later, he was arrested by the Romanian authorities on charges of rape and human trafficking at a time when the whole internet's eyes were on him. This exchange has quickly become the stuff of internet legend.
While Thunberg's detainment at a mining protest might be a more obvious piece of climate activism, deflating and mocking the kind of individualist hypermasculinity touted by 'manosphere' scammers like Tate also has an important role to play in the cultural conversation around climate change.
In an article for The Guardian praising Thunberg's snappy retort, author Rebecca Solnit wrote:
There’s a direct association between machismo and the refusal to recognize and respond appropriately to the climate catastrophe. It’s a result of versions of masculinity in which selfishness and indifference – individualism taken to its extremes – are defining characteristics, and therefore caring and acting for the collective good is their antithesis."
Related works
Content notification
Our collection comprises over 40,000 moving image works, acquired and catalogued between the 1940s and early 2000s. As a result, some items may reflect outdated, offensive and possibly harmful views and opinions. ACMI is working to identify and redress such usages.
Learn more about our collection and our collection policy here. If you come across harmful content on our website that you would like to report, let us know.
How to watch
Collection
Not in ACMI's collection
Credits
Collection metadata
ACMI Identifier
Curatorial section
The Story of the Moving Image → Moving Minds → MM-09. Catch of the Day
Measurements
14 seconds
Object Types
Moving image file/Digital
Materials
Digital screen recording of @Nowthis Tiktok feed.