Earth and Habitat (Commonwealth Union) _Aquaman might not mind if the oceans rise, but moviegoers increasingly do. A recent study has revealed that Hollywood blockbusters largely ignore the current climate crisis, failing a “climate reality check” set by researchers. The study surveyed 250 movies released between 2013 and 2022, finding that fewer than 10% acknowledged climate change in any meaningful way.
The climate reality check is straightforward: researchers assessed whether a movie’s storyline acknowledges the existence of climate change and if a character is aware of it. Notable exceptions include the 2017 superhero film “Justice League,” where Jason Momoa’s Aquaman quips about rising sea levels to Ben Affleck’s Bruce Wayne. However, this type of acknowledgment was rare, with climate change mentioned in two or more scenes in fewer than 4% of the films.
Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, a Colby College English professor and the study’s lead researcher, noted, “The vast majority of popular films produced over the last 10 years in the United States are not portraying the world as it is. They are portraying a world that is now history or fantasy — a world in which climate change is not happening.” This disconnect is significant for audiences who wish to see their reality reflected on screen.
The study, published by Colby College in collaboration with Los Angeles-based environmental consultancy Good Energy, was peer-reviewed and is being submitted to scientific journals. It aims to provide a tool for audiences, writers, and filmmakers to evaluate how climate change is represented in movies. Some surprising results emerged, such as Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” which passed the test due to Adam Driver’s character being “energy conscious.” Similarly, “Glass Onion” (2022) and “Midsommar” (2019) also met the criteria, while films like “San Andreas” (2015) and “The Meg” (2018) did not.
The authors excluded films not set on Earth or those set before 2006 or after 2100. They discovered that streaming services featured a higher percentage of movies addressing climate change compared to major studios. This finding underscores a growing trend towards more environmentally conscious content on digital platforms.
Harry Winer, director of sustainability at New York University Tisch School of the Arts, emphasized the study’s value for marketing and data collection, suggesting it could encourage filmmakers to connect with audiences on climate issues. “The audience will be more open to hearing a dialogue about what is right and what is wrong,” Winer said.
The researchers likened their climate reality check to the Bechdel-Wallace test, which measures gender representation in films. Alison Bechdel, the cartoonist who popularized that test, praised the new study as “long overdue.” She noted that for movies set in the present, ignoring climate change “just doesn’t make sense anymore.”
However, Bechdel cautioned that integrating climate awareness should not be done superficially. “I do worry that screenwriters might do it in a kind of rote way, which could be counterproductive, just like rote ‘strong female characters’ are,” she said. “But injecting an awareness of our communal plight into the stories we ingest seems like a no-brainer.”