Our thinking

In cinemas now

2 June, 2023

If you reach the end of an eco-disaster film, and the world hasn’t been engulfed by flames as a giant ball of hail hurtles towards Leonardo Di Caprio, then you’ve stumbled upon a rarity.

Recent research found that out of 100 climate change films, 66% depict catastrophe. Hollywood’s portrayal of climate change presents it as something dystopic, and dramatic, where varying plots all lead to the same disastrous eventuality. They’re exciting and bring climate change into mainstream conversation. They also simultaneously feel vastly unrealistic and unsettlingly close to home. Which is kind of where we are right now.

But the bleak and apocalyptic tones of such films can paralyse people into inaction. It’s difficult not to feel helpless and small against the weight of a monumental issue, and when you’ve just watched the world come to a catastrophic end, decisions like taking the train instead of flying begin to feel a little inconsequential. There’s also the fact that for those more sceptical of climate change, watching a dramatic disaster film might also work to confirm the idea that climate change is far off, and not under the remit of our concern.

Given how much power films hold to spark change, this is an important missed opportunity. How about films that show climate change through a more optimistic and action driven lens, whether through depicting moments of innovation, or telling stories of courage? Films which shed light on the vastly unequal effects of global warming, or which help audiences grapple with the complexity and anxieties relating to our changing planet but also point us all in the direction of what we need to do to address it.

One organisation that totally gets it is Participant Films, a film company who work with famous filmmakers and NGOs to combine ‘art and activism’ and tell ‘socially conscious’ stories about the issues we face globally – and make them global hits. The more this kind of approach becomes box office mainstream (and they show how it can be) the better.

By Rosie Serlin