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There have been many science fiction films that highlight the possible outcomes for climate change, denoted as climate fiction films or Cli-Fi. But how effective are these films when increasing awareness of climate change to society? And more importantly, do they help?
Climate change is an ongoing issue that requires the attention and response on a global scale; however, it only became more of an issue to humans because of the increasing impact that we leave on the earth over time, such as our carbon footprint. So how would we be able to effectively portray this topic to society? Well that’s where Science Fiction films or Sci-Fi come in.
Sci-Fi films have frequently been a subject matter of interest and discussion for real world issues. We find that Cli-Fi/Disaster films in particular forecast the catastrophic consequences of humans destructive actions on the planet. Throughout all the Cli-Fi disaster films, there is a lack of accurate scientific strategies and emphasis on messages of despair, which fail to increase our awareness of climate change. WALL-E touches on these themes in a less explicit manner; it follows a trash compactor robot named WALL-E who is the last of its kind on Earth and spends its day cleaning up a largely abandoned city in a deserted world.
The social influence WALL-E creates in turn poses a question of, “How much of the planet will humanity ruin until a single robot needs to clean everything up?” Themes of excess human consumption indicates humanity’s extreme lack of action and foresight to mitigate wastage. If we fail to reflect on the warnings communicated through Cli-Fi, we will continue to slip back into our immoral routines.
WALL-E’s fascination and care in collecting human artefacts puts sentimental value in our undeniably catastrophic outcome but shows more of a post-apocalyptic setting. More serious Cli-Fi films are able to address the climate change issue and provide possible solutions that preserve humanity’s survival. Most Cli-Fi films depict extreme weather events or survivors struggling in bleak climate-changed landscapes. However, Downsizing released in late 2017 is one of those few films which addresses climate change mitigation.
In this film’s case, they provide a solution to reducing the carbon footprint by shrinking the actual human footprint. The movie raises an important question for discussion: “What is an effective human(e) response to climate change?”
The first part of the film highlights the theme of human prosperity to keep increasing consumption even as one makes “green” choices. The solution proposed to counter ever-expanding consumerism, in the second part of the film, is by nurturing deeper human connections and reducing total disparities. Humans will not prevent dangerous climate change without also addressing long-lasting social and environmental biases is the overall message implied.
In a seemingly normal environment, Downsizing connects the audience to the real world through every other aspect of the film, which triggers the response “This could actually happen in real life.” Downsizing is a good example of portraying humanity’s efforts to reduce the carbon footprint, but it doesn’t necessarily show a scientifically accurate solution for the current issue that we face around humans and our large carbon footprints.
Despite the lack of scientific accuracy seen in Downsizing, film producers also have to be careful in not creating a science documentary. Most of the attention of the Cli-Fi film will be brought from the fiction part of the Sci-Fi film. However, having more fiction than science will make it less believable and the audience will most likely not connect the realisation of climate change in the real world and climate change outcomes depicted in the film. If a film producer can balance the attractiveness of fiction and the accuracy of science, then our society would be looking forward to a Cli-Fi that can effectively increase the awareness of climate change and move us to a better outcome for planet earth.