ABSTRACT
This chapter provides three arguments. It shows that Leonardo DiCaprio celebrity status and activism garnered attention, sparked public deliberations, and expanded the audience base for engaging climate change arguments. The chapter examines how DiCaprio’s documentary networked disparate communities, experts, and arguments from across the globe and from diverse public and technical spheres. It explores how the documentary utilized what Doyle, Farrell, and Goodman call an “after data” mode in which DiCaprio witnessed the effects of climate change first hand and worked to persuade the audience to engage in public deliberation through appeals to their affective and emotional registers. The chapter presents Doyle et al.’s conclusion that Before the Flood operates within an after data mode by moving beyond their focus on witnessing suffering to examine other affective/emotional appeals within Before the Flood, such as hope.
