Why Hollywood struggles to tell stories about climate change
SEVERAL SHOWY Hollywood blockbusters have imagined a world devastated by climate change. In The Day After Tomorrow (2004), the most famous example of a cli-fi disaster film, the planet is beset by superstorms, hurricanes and tsunamis. A paleoclimatologist must save his son as the globe is plunged into a new ice age. Environmental devastation is the backdrop to dystopian stories, toothink of the desert world of Mad Max: Fury Road (2014, pictured), the smog-filled city-scapes of Blade Runner 2049 (2017) or the icy tundra of Snowpiercer (2013). Climate change may also be the MacGuffin that forces characters to abandon Earth and seek a new home elsewhere, as in Avatar (2009) or Interstellar (2014). In each of these examples, the altered climate is depicted as a fait accompli, something the characters must survive but cannot influence. Some green activists worry that such portrayals warp viewers perception of the crisis and their role in it. Particularly vocal is the Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC), an environmental group. Though it primarily focuses on legislation and litigation, the NRDC has ties with Hollywood: Alan Horn, a long-time trustee of the organisation, was also co-chairman of Walt Disney Studios until December, and campaigned for better representation of environmental themes in the entertainment industry throughout his career. In 2020 the NRDC launched Rewrite the Future, an initiative intended to help film and TV writers address climate change in a way that might inform and inspire viewers, rather than merely frighten them. The origin of it [was] frustration, explains Daniel Hinerfeld, who co-founded the programme with Cheryl Slean. Mr Hinerfield had previously made documentary films about environmental subjects including ocean acidification, but felt that they were mostly watched by those already aware of the scale of the problem. The aim of Rewrite the Future is to reach wider audiences and to show them, as Ms Slean puts it, that people made this climate crisis, people are impacted by it, and people are solving it, too. To this end, the project consults with interested parties in the entertainment industry on climate science, policy and ideas. Mr Hinerfield and Ms Slean encourage their collaborators to avoid depicting the catastrophes that might await humanity if it doesnt act and instead focus on realistic, environment-related scenarios in ordinary lives. An example they cite is a subplot in Big Little Lies, a drama that aired on HBO in 2017, in which a characters daughter becomes intensely anxious after learning about climate change in school. Yet other good examples are hard to come by. Many of the writers who approach Rewrite the Future are personally worried about climate change and have been trying for some time to incorporate those themes into their work, to little avail. Networks and studios can be reluctant to commission a topic they see as depressing, divisive or boring, fearing that audiences will be turned off too. But climate stories do not have to be preachy or dull, the NRDC aver. They can draw inspiration from real events and be as high stakes as saving an Appalachian community destroyed by the coal industry abandoning it, says Ms Slean. They can also reach across political divides. Given that climate change is frequently regarded as a partisan issue in America, Mr Hinerfield and Ms Slean are particularly keen to work on entertainment projects that appeal to right-wingers as well as liberals. One way to go about this, they suggest, is to weave storylines around characters whom audiences on both sides of the aisle can relate to and support, such as farmers whose crops are suffering or firefighters facing down increasingly destructive infernos. Ideally such narratives would also draw attention to positive actions that people can take, such as political engagement or changing their consumption habits. Albert, a British organisation founded in 2011 and affiliated with BAFTA, advises the creative industries on how to feature green products or show characters making sustainable choices. (Albert also helps productions calculate their carbon footprint.) This is the most effective way to galvanise viewers into action, research suggests. In 2015 a study published in Nature Climate Change found that coverage of climate disasters in the British and American press was causing a hope gap, whereby readers feel impotent in the face of horrifying events. Anthony Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Project on Climate Change, has said that perceived threat without efficacy of response is usually a recipe for disengagement or fatalism. Rewrite the Future is optimistic that the entertainment industry is taking note. The NRDC says its services are increasingly in demand from television executives who hold the power to commission shows and demand the inclusion of certain storylines. Films may be a harder sell, with studios often preoccupied with ticket sales and with less time to win over their viewers. But those creating them should persevere. Visual entertainment has the ability to change audiences attitudes and behaviour, for better or worse. Top Gun (1986), a paean to aviation in the American navy, is thought to have helped resuscitate the public image of the armed forces after the Vietnam war (the navy worked as consultants on the film). Philadelphia (1993), a legal drama starring Tom Hanks, was one of the first mainstream motion pictures to portray the AIDS epidemic and is credited with educating middle America on the disease and reducing its stigma. And even those unpersuaded by appeals to the public good should recognise that the fight against climate changeboth now and in the futureis ripe with conflict and innovation. That is the stuff of drama.