Remember global warming and climate change were just lessons in our Environmental Studies books? Well, we hate to tell you this, but Climate change is real and it is happening. Right Now! And of course, we are the ones who are responsible for it. Therefore, it obviously means we are the ones who can do something to prevent things from getting worse.
But in order to do that, we first need to educate ourselves about it and its consequences. Be it through documentaries or through cli-fi (climate change fiction, yes it’s an actual genre, that’s how bad the situation is!) movies. So, if you’re not a documentaries person, here are some cli-fi movies you can watch to understand the gravity of the situation.
1. Interstellar
A wildly complicated, lavishly expensive, wholly original mainstream blockbuster, Interstellar is essentially a film about climate change (even though the words are never explicitly used in the film.) It takes on a very real consequence of climate change showing a not-very-distant version of our own universe. But unlike in the movie, there is no planet B in real life guys!
2. Beasts of the Southern Wild
In a forgotten but defiant Bayou community which is cut off from the rest of the world, a six-year-old girl exists on the brink of orphanhood believes the natural world is in balance with the universe. But boy was she wrong! This film, inspired by some very real events, sees the little girl watch the world crumble and cower in front of her own eyes. Yes, you can put yourself in the little girl’s place since we have come to that point now.
3. Snowpiercer
This film deserves to be watched because it confronts the dangers of ‘we’ll deal with this later’ approach to climate action, head on! The film is set in a future where a failed geoengineering experiment to prevent climate change plunges the planet into a new ice age. It kills all life except for those lucky enough to have boarded the titular train. First of all, let’s be real, there is going to be no such train for us in reality and secondly, life on the trainer is not great either. So what’s the bottom line? Let’s do something to save the planet!
4. The Day After Tomorrow
If we had to name an iconic cli-fi film, it would without a doubt have to be The Day After Tomorrow! While many may remember thinking of it as an exaggeration of the impacts of climate change, but seeing the current situation, this film seems a lot like an ‘I told you so’ being rubbed in our faces. Featuring a global ice age threatening the world, this film gave us a lot to think about and act upon over a decade ago. Yet, here we are!
5. Ice Age (Franchise)
Don’t underestimate the Ice Age franchise to be just a bunch of movies for kids. This franchise of films addressed some serious issues, ones that are definitely a cause of concern now! This franchise consisting of five films address global warming and climate change in a light-hearted manner so they are kid-friendly. But everything they show in the film is happening and we can’t help but wonder why we didn’t do anything about it when we had the chance to.
6. Geostorm
Geostorm can be titled the cautionary climate change tale. It’s one of those rare big-budget films that addressed climate change directly. Most importantly, it addressed that fact that climate change and global warming are bone out of humans. Its central question is, if humans started this, what are we going to do to stop it? The film may not have got really great reviews, but it will certainly open your eyes to harsh reality!
7. Wall E
Wall-E’s vision of the future was a cautionary dystopia wrapped up in a children’s tale. That too a very funny and skilful one. While the robots were super cute, we can’t overlook the world that gave rise to Wall-E’s trash-strewn wasteland. And the more well-off humans’ disintegrated into helpless, shapeless flesh globules who’ve lost the ability to create, think, or have real relationships. This futuristic science fiction was made to give us a hard look at our world. Though we clearly failed.
8. Kingsman: The Secret Service
An action-spy comedy, Kingsman has also made it a part of this list because of the film features a megalomaniacal bad guy who is determined to address climate change by killing off most of humanity. While it is thoughtful of him to address the problem that is climate change, however, we all know killing all of humanity is not a practical solution. Which is why it is important for us to do something about the problem at hand before we give rise to a real-life climate change activist villain.
9. WaterWorld
Waterworld, a post-apocalyptic science fiction film which followed a group of survivors searching for dry land after the polar ice-caps have melted and submerged the world in water. This film seemed to have warned us about climate change long before we even knew a thing like that could happen. With all the ice-caps melting in reality now, seems like it’s just a matter of time before we begin our search for dry land.
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