Fascinating thing about apocalyptic films
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Archived from the IMDb Discussion Forums — The Walking Dead
dbentley666 — 1 year ago(November 30, 2024 09:18 PM)
David Wallace-Wells, in his excellent book
The Uninhabitable Earth
, draws our attention to something very interesting. He lists about a dozen disaster films, and points out that in every case the disaster comes from everything but its obvious cause: carbon emissions. We are threatened by aliens, meteors, plague-like diseases, evil madmen, etc… Not one film suggests that disaster comes from our own greed and rapacity; or if it does, it passes quickly over this.
I guess Hollywood can't afford to go there, since it trades in escapist fantasies. -
𝙵𝚞𝚐𝚊𝚣𝚒. — 1 year ago(November 30, 2024 09:29 PM)
I can't think of a movie, but there is a punk rock song about this.
?si=zt6pGylNQpDfnm6V
Early man walked away as modern man took control
Their minds weren't all the same, to conquer was his goal
So he built his great empire and he slaughtered his own kind
Then he died a confused man, killed himself with his own mind
Go!
Early man walked away
As modern man took control
Their minds weren't all the same
To conquer was his goal
So he built his great empire
And he slaughtered his own kind
Then he died a confused man
Killed himself with his own mind
Go!
Early man walked away as modern man took control
Their minds weren't all the same, to conquer was his goal
So he built his great empire and he slaughtered his own kind
Then he died a confused man killed himself with his own mind
Yeah!
We're only gonna die from our own arrogance (only gonna die)
We're only gonna die from our own arrogance (only gonna die)
We're only gonna die from our own arrogance (only gonna die)
We're only gonna die from our own arrogance
The singer also has a PhD in physics -
dbentley666 — 1 year ago(November 30, 2024 10:06 PM)
Yes, that was an unusual disaster film. Didn't do too well, though. Suggests that people don't want realism about climate change. There was also Kevin Costner's Waterworld, but that bombed because it was really very bad.
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WarrenPeace — 1 year ago(December 01, 2024 09:15 AM)
It's not too late.
With the invention of plastic and over population we still may check out that way.
I figure it's going to be our own doomed ways somehow based on greed or an asteroid/meteor.
We are way overdue for another one.
"Please vote to preserve the unique character of Warren…" - Robert Duvall -
Hepocles — 1 year ago(December 01, 2024 07:35 AM)
Because demise from carbon emissions (climate change) would be death by a thousand cuts. That is difficult to turn into an action/thriller
Here is a list of films and TV, that I just came up with, that do involve climate change:
Films:
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
A global climate disaster plunges the world into an ice age due to abrupt climate shifts.
Snowpiercer (2013)
Humanity’s attempt to stop global warming triggers an ice age, forcing survivors onto a perpetually moving train.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Set in a dystopian future where environmental collapse has turned Earth into a barren wasteland.
Interstellar (2014)
Earth is on the brink of collapse due to environmental degradation, forcing humanity to search for a new home in space.
Geostorm (2017)
A network of satellites designed to control the climate goes haywire, causing catastrophic weather events.
WALL-E (2008)
An animated film set in a future where Earth has become uninhabitable due to pollution and neglect.
Waterworld (1995)
In a future where the polar ice caps have melted, Earth is covered in water, and humans struggle to survive.
TV Series:
The Expanse (2015–2022)
Set in a future where Earth struggles with environmental degradation, though climate change is more of a backdrop.
Years and Years (2019)
This British miniseries explores the future impact of climate change, among other global issues, over the span of decades.
The Rain (2018–2020)
A post-apocalyptic Danish series where a virus carried by rainfall wipes out much of the population, indirectly touching on climate-related themes.
Planet Earth 2100 (2009)
A speculative docudrama imagining what life could be like if climate change continues unchecked.
Alba gu bràth -
dbentley666 — 1 year ago(December 01, 2024 03:55 PM)
Very good post. Though your list seems to corroborate Wallace-Wells's theory. Environmental change is often (in the films you mention) a backdrop to more immediate dangers, which are often fought by a brave individual, or group of individuals. I have to admit that I myself may not want to watch a long documentary about the damage we have done, and the disaster that is coming (though I have forced myself to sit through many of these).
