One of the summer's biggest blockbusters features an extreme weather event but fails to mention any context of its potential origins, much to the dismay of climate experts.
What's happening?
"Twisters," starring Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones, follows a pair of rival storm chasers in Oklahoma. Despite its plot, platform, and star power, the Guardian's David Smith argued the movie squanders a perfect opportunity to inform the public about the climate crisis.
Director Lee Isaac Chung, who grew up in the heart of Tornado Alley, deliberately omitted any mention of the subject in his movie. "I wanted to make sure that we are never creating a feeling that we're preaching a message, because that's certainly not what I think cinema should be about," he told CNN. "I think it should be a reflection of the world."
Granted, the relationship between the planet's overheating and tornadoes' increased frequency and strength is inconclusive at best. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, "the majority of research stops short of connecting historical changes in tornado behavior to a warming climate."
Nonetheless, research suggests there has been an increase in tornadic activity during the offseason, and there is mounting evidence that rising global temperatures are shifting the behavior of these natural disasters.
"Making a movie about scientists studying worsening monster tornadoes who never mention the climate crisis is... a choice," Anna Jane Joyner, founder and CEO of nonprofit Good Energy, wrote about "Twister" on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Ignoring it sends a clear message."
Why is climate change in films important?
Smith pointed to potential pushback against perceived political messaging, the difficulty of pitching such stories, and a lack of a singular antagonist as reasons for Hollywood's hesitation to produce films that address the climate crisis.
Alice Hill, senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations, added that the topic can be "anxiety-provoking and depressing," which can deter moviegoers who seek entertainment and wish to escape the real world.
However, author David Lipsky stated that movies can create momentum in the fight against the dirty-energy industry. "Sometimes the expression of something can be so astonishing and so direct that it makes people take action," he told the Guardian.
"We're talking about 8 billion people reacting to oil companies destroying the entire livable climate," writer, director, and climate activist Adam McKay said, per the Guardian. "We need stories in hundreds of different languages, reflecting a thousand times more cultures experiencing varying degrees of awareness and emotional processing."
What's being done about climate change in films?
Too Small to Fail, the early childhood initiative of the Clinton Foundation, has encouraged storytellers to educate young children about the Earth's warming.
Joshua Glick, a visiting associate professor of film and electronic arts at Bard College, also noted that disaster films serve as a medium for studios to demonstrate their prowess in digital effects.
"As the climate crisis has become more visible or the topic of debate and of greater interest, certainly to the younger generation, you will see it surface on screen in various ways in mainstream cinema," he said.
Meanwhile, climate scientist Dr. Katharine Hayhoe believes a more solution-oriented approach could spark a revolution.
"I've read about how it was so empowering for people to see what a better future could look like, that they wanted that better future when they saw what it would look like," she said. "It's one thing for films to show us what we want to avoid but we at the same time have to show what we want to move toward."
Join our free newsletter for cool news and actionable info that makes it easy to help yourself while helping the planet.
Cool Picks
