A new study calls for the entertainment industry to acknowledge that “climate change is our reality” through a proper “reality check.”
“It's happening here and now, not anywhere else or in the future. It touches every aspect of life. But that reality is still largely absent from our on-screen stories,” the study reads. “The Climate Reality Check is a simple tool to assess whether our climate reality is being represented in films, television shows and other narratives. It is inspired by the Bechdel-Wallace test, which measures gender representation.”
The Bechdel-Wallace test refers to an idea popularized by comic book artist Alison Bechdel in 1985 that claimed that a film accurately portrayed women if it featured at least two female characters having a conversation that did not involve a man.
The “Climate Reality Check” study emphasized that “characters in the stories we watch and love” would recognize climate change. (Gerard Bottino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Similarly, the “Climate Reality Check” requires that the movie or show acknowledge that climate change exists and that at least one character knows it. This can be accomplished by referencing “unprecedented” weather events or a character using the term “climate change” in dialogue.
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As an example, the study analyzed 13 Oscar-nominated films and found that 23%, or three films, passed the test. The films were “Barbie”, “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” and “Nyad”.
In “Barbie,” climate change is alluded to when Sasha, played by Arianna Greenblatt, tells Barbie played by Margot Robbie that “you've set back the feminist movement fifty years, you've destroyed girls' innate sense of worth, and you're killing the planet with your glorification of unbridled consumerism.”
The study took 23 Oscar-nominated films and looked for references to climate change. (AP)
In “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”, the United States develops an artificial intelligence cyber weapon to prepare for the possibility of “a ballistic war over a rapidly shrinking ecosystem.”
“Nyad” specifically cites “global warming” as one of the reasons for the changes in the ecosystem.
“The Climate Reality Check does not suggest or require that every story focus on climate change, nor does it prescribe what kind of stories filmmakers should tell. It simply measures whether our current climate reality is reflected on screen. How is it done? Friends, It's up to you,” the study stated.
The study reported that it reached its conclusion after its authors spoke with more than 200 writers, showrunners, executives, communications experts and others. The authors expected that by 2027, 50% of Oscar-nominated films would pass the “Climate Reality Check.”
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The “Climate Reality Check” expects that 50% of Oscar films will reference climate change in the future. (FOX News Digital)
“We are all being impacted by climate change and responding emotionally to it, so the characters in the stories we see and love would be too,” the study reads.
The study was published by Good Energy, an organization dedicated to accurate representation of climate change in the media, and the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment at Colby College. Fox News Digital has reached out to both groups for comment.
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