Climate Realism: An Environmental Justice Approach to Climate Fiction

Climate fiction, the film category that engages with representations of climate change, does not always acknowledge the experiences of people actually affected by climate change. Recognizing that Hollywood has a particularly unique opportunity to change the opinions and priorities of millions of people, I suggest that climate fiction filmmakers should take a more active role in accurately representing the struggles of climate change experiencers. Using Italian neorealism as a model film movement, I develop a ‘climate realist’ framework for addressing the situations of climate change experiencers in climate fiction, with the purpose of raising social and political awareness of their struggles. I then use this framework to analyze and discuss four recent climate fiction films: The Day After Tomorrow (2004), The Happening (2008), The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), and Interstellar (2013).