Some of these might be useful...
Soylent Green in 1973 was set in the year 2022, the film depicts a
dystopia, a Malthusian catastrophe that takes place because humanity has
failed to pursue sustainable development and has not halted population
growth. New York City's population is 40,000,000, with over half
unemployed. Global warming, air and water pollution have produced a
year-round heatwave and a thin yellow smog in the daytime. Food and fuel
resources are scarce because of animal and plant decimation, housing is
dilapidated and overcrowded, and widespread government-sponsored
euthanasia is encouraged as a means of reducing overpopulation.
And I think one of the Highlander films - Highlander II the Quickening
deals with the depletion of the Ozone layer. In 1995, the ozone hole had
been significantly expanded and covers most of planet Earth. In Africa
millions have died, due to the effects the unfiltered sunlight has had
on them.
Blade Runner explores the future implications of technology on the
environment and society by reaching into the past using literature,
religious symbolism, classical dramatic themes and film noir. A high
level of paranoia is present throughout the film with the visual
manifestation of corporate power, omnipresent police, probing lights,
and in the power over the individual represented particularly by genetic
programming of the replicants. Control over the environment is seen on a
large scale, hand in hand with the seeming absence of any natural life,
with artificial animals being created as a substitute for the extinct
originals. This oppressive backdrop clarifies why many people are going
to the off-world colonies, which clearly parallels the migration to the
Americas.
However, the film doesn't explain why natural life appears to have
disappeared but the gloominess of the film, for me, points to a gradual
environmental degradation and perhaps climate change.
The Fifth Element
We see in a brief shot of New York Harbour, that a lot of the water has
gone (the island containing the Statue of Liberty is now connected
directly to the mainland). Either there was extensive land reclamation,
or the surface of the ocean is considerably lower. There are, however,
still oceans left, as we can see the Earth from space in a few scenes.
However, pollution is so widespread that no one can walk or live
anywhere on the actual ground; this is seen in a police chase where
Korben Dallas flies his car down to ground level, where there is so much
smoke and fog that the police cannot see him and they drive their car
right past where he is hiding.
What about the related issue of lethal disease which might sometimes be
linked to climate change - i.e. The Andromeda Strain (1971), 12 Monkeys
(1995), and Outbreak (also 1995). I haven't watched these for a while so
I could be wrong.
Rachel Clarke
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-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Lyndsey Clark
Sent: 13 December 2006 12:18
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [PSCI-COM] climate change programmes
'Children of Men' isn't about climate change but it does figure in the
dystopian portrayal of the near-future.
-----Original Message-----
From: psci-com: on public engagement with science
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of tammy boyce
Sent: 13 December 2006 11:17
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [PSCI-COM] climate change programmes
Hi all,
I have a student who is doing research on media coverage of climate
change. She is interested in fictional representations of climate
change - bar 'Day After Tomorrow' - can any of you think any other
relevant television (UK only) programmes? We've been sitting here a
while and can't think of any.
Many thanks!
Tammy
Dr. Tammy Boyce
Research Fellow in Risk, Health and Science Communication Cardiff School
of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies Bute Building King Edward VII
Ave Cardiff CF10 3NB
Tel: 029 20870101
Fax: 029 20238832
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