Films About Climate Change You Need to Watch

Climate Change is one of the biggest and most pressing topics of collective concern in our time. The issue has taken a turn for worse with every decade lapsed ever since the industrial era dawned upon us. From the roaring engines that guzzle in gallons upon gallons of fossil fuels and smoke out soot that blots the sky and makes the air heavier, to the mountains of non-biodegradable waste disposal created by the mega industries and brands — the cost of consumerism is changing. A change that brings us way more steps backward than it does forward.

There has been a tremendous uprise in the awareness regarding climate change over the past decade. The issues have managed to find a somewhat prominent place in the public consciousness. However, there's a colossal amount of awareness still to be spread and work still to be done towards making climate change one of the foremost issues to contend with among the biggest corporations in the world. A major contributor to the awareness about climate change, or any topic for that matter, is the media.

There have been a number of mainstream movies contending with the topic and shedding some light on the underlying issues, causes, and possible grim consequences of climate change. We've compiled a few of these examples that range from poignant to the overtly dramatic, sincere to meta-ironic, and everything in between. Here are some films about climate change you need to add to your playlist right now!

Snowpiercer

Helmed by the uber-talented South Korean filmmaker who won an Oscar for his revered 2019 thriller "Parasite", this film also contends with the same issues of class struggle that the aforementioned film does. However, serving as the backdrop to the class warfare in Snowpiercer is the dark dystopian destination that climate change can lead us to. While the film comments on the current capitalist society and the class struggle of contemporary times, it also has a fair bit to talk about climate change. All in all, you need to add this must-watch to your playlist immediately.

Princess Mononoke

Second on this list of films about climate change movies you need to watch is Hayao Miyazaki's stunningly beautiful animation classic "Princess Mononoke". Continuing the trend of other Miyazaki flicks, Princess Mononoke is just as much ethereal in its beauty as it is poignant in its message. The Japanese animation flick tells a story about the battle between the nature conservationist forces and the might of industrial greed. A worth watching to say the absolute least.

Don't Look Up

The most recent entry in the list, Adam Mckay's "Don't Look Up" premiered on Netflix to a divisive reception, to say the least. While many, and surprisingly a large number of climate scientists, like the movie and its message told with an idiosyncratic, bold, and brash style. Meanwhile, many panned the film for being too cheesy and full of itself. Either way, the film does contend with the issues of climate change and climate deniers and its vast political and social repercussions, and it does so with enough force that triggers a conversation about climate and the surrounding topics regardless of your like or dislike of the movie.

First Reformed

Probably one of the grimmest and sadder entries in this list of climate change movies, First Reformed is first, a great and must-watch. A poignant and painful tale of a pastor plunging himself into despair following the death of a radical environmentalist, the film is written by Taxi Driver's screenwriter Paul Schrader. Ethan Hawke brilliantly portrays the lead role with conviction and panache. The pastor at the center of the story eventually gets ensnared by a similarly radical attitude toward the environment as the late activist and starts going down the unstable rabbit hole. A great watch, indeed.

Avatar

The film that probably needs little to no introduction, James Cameron's 2009 blockbuster Avatar went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, a title it holds to this day, despite a temporary dethroning a few years back. The film deals with climate change and the human corporate greed that causes it. Not just the grand spectacle that it obviously is, it is also a great message for the Green and the anti-war sentiment. Go watch it now!

 

 

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