Hollywood films fail to reverse climate change crisis: study

PORTLAND: The vast majority of Hollywood films have failed to reflect the current climate change crisis, according to a new study.

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The Associated Press (AP) reported that the study conducted by the researchers found that most Hollywood blockbusters failed the “climate reality check” suggested by the authors, who surveyed 250 films from 2013 to 2022.

The test is simple: the authors looked to see if the film presented a story about climate change, and whether or not the character knew about it. One film that passed the test was the 2017 superhero film “Justice League,” in which Jason Momoa’s character Aquaman says, “Hey, I wouldn’t mind if the oceans rise” to Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne.

But most of the films did not achieve the desired success, as less than 10% of the 250 films succeeded, and climate change was mentioned in two or more scenes in less than 4% of the films. This is a far cry from movie audiences who want to “see their reality reflected on the screen,” said Matthew Schneider Myerson, a professor of English at Colby College and the study’s lead researcher.

“The bottom line is that the vast majority of films, popular films made over the past 10 years in the United States, do not depict the world as it is,” Schneider-Myerson said. “They depict a world that is now history or fiction – a world in which climate change does not happen.”

Researchers at Maine Colby College published the study in April in collaboration with Good Energy, a Los Angeles-based environmental consulting firm. The results have been peer-reviewed, and the authors aim to publish them in scientific journals. The researchers view the test as a way for audience members, writers and filmmakers to evaluate the representation of climate change on screen.

Some results were surprising. Films that at first glance don’t seem to have much to do with climate or environment pass the test. Marriage Story, director Noah Baumbach’s 2019 emotional drama about the breakdown of a relationship, passed the test in part because Adam Driver’s character is described as “energy-conscious,” Schneider-Myerson said.

The 2022 crime film “Glass Onion” and the 2019 pop horror film “Midsommar” were among the other films that passed the test. Some films that were more explicitly about climate change, such as the 2021 satire “Don’t Look Up,” were also approved. But so were “San Andreas,” a 2015 film about the West Coast earthquake disaster, and “The Meg,” a generic action film. 2018 is set in the ocean, they didn’t.

The authors narrowed the selection of films by excluding films that were not set on Earth, before 2006, or after 2100. They found that streaming services had a higher percentage of films that included climate change than major studios.

Harry Weiner, director of sustainability at the Kanbar Film and Television Institute at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, said the study is “valuable for marketing purposes, informational purposes, and data collection.” It could also help serve as a catalyst to connect audiences to climate stories, said Weiner, who was not involved in the study.

“The public will be more open to hearing a dialogue about what is right and what is wrong,” Weiner said. “It’s a conversation starter.”