In 2018, India has seen a record hot summer, and the primary reason for this is Climate Change. Pollution, deforestation and overpopulation are destroying the Earth as we know it. The best tool to protect our environment is to spread awareness about this phenomenon, and what better way to do so than through cinema? With that in mind, Corporate Citizen brings you the best movies on Climate Change
Remember when everyone was worried out that the Mayans had predicted the world as we know it would come to a screeching halt in 2012? fortunately, it did not, but at least we can pretend by watching this John Cusack movie about the total destruction of Earth via the magnetic shift of the poles, which also features Woody Harrelson as a conspiracy theorist, and Danny Glover as the deeply concerned US president. Mostly, though, this film will make you appreciate the destructive power of nature and why we must ensure that we do not bring this planet to the brink of destruction.
Kadvi Hawa is the only Indian movie on the list. The film delves deep into existing social and environmental issues and poignantly brings the human cost of dramatic climate change to the fore. This movie is as much about the crisis ridden life of farmers, portrayed masterfully by Sanjay Mishra, as it is about the impact of climate change in peripheral areas, with perhaps an emphasis on the latter. The best part of the film perhaps is that it doesn't intend to answer or preach on the difference between right and wrong but instead leaves you with plenty to think about.
After losing the Presidential race in 2000, former US Vice President Al Gore travelled the world presenting a slideshow on global warming. An inconvenient Truth is the filmed version of his PowerPoint lecture on the evidence behind the theory and the steps the world can take to combat it. This environmental call to arms is not just revelatory but hugely entertaining to boot. Al Gore presents his arguments without being patronising, boring or dry. He mixes in jokes to keep you going between the beautiful but terrifying pictures of melting glaciers and disappearing forests. Of all the films on the list, this one will stay with you for a long time to come.
Happy Feet 2 is a beloved family enviro flick that is the sequel to the Happy Feet, the Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature Film. Both are environmentally conscious films, But Happy Feet 2 refines its environmental message to show, not tell, and is thus more exemplary of how a film can powerfully illustrate a personal story—in this case, one penguin's fear of parental inadequacy—and use a social issue for situational context that gets people to care without hitting them over the head with the message or terrifying them. Happy Feet 2 is a story about cooperation, an absolutely necessary component for penguins—or humans—trying to survive climate change.
by Neeraj Varty
