On the occasion of International Climate Change Day, celebrated on October 24, at 3Love Inc. we want to highlight 8 films that help us raise awareness about the negative effects of climate change on people, animals, and the environment.
- “Princess Mononoke” (“Mononoke-hime”, 1997). Director: Hayao Miyazaki. In this Japanese animated film, Prince Ashitaka becomes embroiled in a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. This anime depicts the devastating consequences of the destruction of nature and humanity’s inability to live in harmony. Filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki said that with this story he wanted to express his objection to the way environmental issues are dealt with, referring to the exclusion of humanity’s role in the environmental discourse in Japan. It is available on Netflix.
- “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001). Director: Steven Spielberg. In the 22nd century, rising sea levels due to global warming have devastated coastal cities and altered the world’s climate. With the human population declining, advanced nations have created humanoid robots to perform various roles in society. In New Jersey, David, an 11-year-old prototype robot boy capable of experiencing love, is given to Henry and his wife Monica, whose son Martin suffers from a rare disease. Although initially uncomfortable with David, Monica eventually warms to him.
- “The Day After Tomorrow” (2004). Director: Roland Emmerich. Paleoclimatologist Jack Hall’s research indicates that global warming could trigger catastrophic climate change on Earth. Hall warns political leaders of the need to take immediate action to prevent it, but his warnings come too late, as a series of climatic phenomena begin to occur in different parts of the planet. While Jack warns the White House of impending climate change, his son Sam and his friends find themselves trapped in New York. It is available on Disney+.
- “An Inconvenient Truth” (2006). Director: Davis Guggenheim. Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore paints a powerful portrait of the situation on planet Earth, threatened by global warming. Throughout the film, Gore analyzes the scientific consensus on global warming, as well as its present and future effects, and emphasizes that global warming “is not really a political issue, but rather a moral one,” describing the consequences that global warming will have if the amount of greenhouse gases generated by humans is not significantly reduced in the very near future.
- “Snowpiercer” (2013). Director: Bong Joon-ho. This science fiction thriller shows how a failed experiment to solve global warming creates a new ice age and ends up destroying much of life on Earth. The only survivors of the catastrophe are the passengers of the Snowpiercer, a train that travels the world powered by an eternal motion engine. The train’s passengers are segregated according to their socioeconomic level: the elite travel in the luxurious front cars, while the poor travel in the rear compartments, while armed guards watch over them.
- “Before the Flood” (2016). Director: Fisher Stevens. This documentary, produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, shows the actor visiting various regions of the world as he explores the impact of global warming. The film presents powerful testimonies about how climate change affects different people and communities through deforestation, rising sea levels, and other human activities. It also calls on world leaders to strive for a more sustainable future and provides viewers with solutions they can implement in their daily lives. It is available on Disney+.
- “Burning” (2021). Director: Eva Orner. This documentary examines the catastrophic and deadly wildfires that ravaged Australia between 2019 and 2020, known as the “Black Summer.” The film features testimonies from those directly affected by the fires, as well as activists and scientists. It also shows the irreversible damage left behind by the fires, which are a consequence of climate change.
- “Don’t Look Up” (2021). Director: Adam McKay. This comedy tells the story of Kate, an astronomy graduate student, and her professor Randall, who make a terrifying discovery: a massive comet is headed toward Earth. However, no one seems to care. Kate and Randall embark on a media tour to warn humanity, but the public is too obsessed with social media and memes to heed the scientists’ warnings. It is available on Netflix.
