Eco apocalyptic films: A glimpse of our future?
October 21, 2009 at 10:47 am by Katie M.
We’ve been hearing about the plethora of environmental films and docu-dramas out today that preach about changing our ways concerning our food, climate change, pesticide use, and so on (Food Inc., The Age of Stupid, Fresh, A Chemical Reaction, etc.). But did you ever look at Mad Max as an “eco film”? Its portrayal of a dystopian future where fuel is scarce and society collapses as a result, thus leaving humanity with a ravaged Earth and living in anarchy. (The scenario now sounds more and more like a possible future of our own.)
TreeHugger has compiled a list of their picks for the best eco apocalyptic science fiction films, which include some classics such as Soylent Green and Logan’s Run, as well as some newer animated films like WALL-E and 9. It also lists an upcoming film due to be released next month, The Road:
Following a father and son’s (Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee) journey over a post-apocalyptic landscape, the book attracted global attention, and British environmental campaigner George Monbiot proclaimed “It could be the most important environmental book ever.” Both the movie and the book are about survival after an unexplained apocalypse: Nearly all of mankind appears to be dead, the air is polluted, and plants don’t grow.
Maybe these films are worth rewatching (and possibly re-releasing) to give a wake up call about the future of our people and planet. I would add The Day After Tomorrow to the list because of its graphic display of the effects of climate change (though it’s not necessarily in the sci-fi genre). Do you have any you think should be added to the list? Let us know in the comments section below.
See the full list of films here and check out TreeHugger’s other green-related movie lists: Three Green-Themed Films Worth Seeing For Yourself, and 5 Movies with an Unintentional Green Message.
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