Liz Parkinson/Netflix; Christian Black/Paramount Pictures and Skydance; warner bros pictures
It undoubtedly carries a powerful feminist message, but no one explains it. Bobby This is a film about the effects of human-caused climate change.
But the topic sneaks in.
“You are killing the planet by glorifying rampant consumerism!” Sasha, a teenage character played by Ariana Greenblatt, rants about Barbie's bad side.
It's because of this line that the pinkest, fanciest summer blockbuster has passed a new climate reality check. A new test of writers, producers and other entertainment creatives aims to measure the presence of climate change on screen by evaluating all 31 feature films nominated for this year's Academy Awards. Documentaries and shorts were not considered.
This simple, new test is inspired by the famous Bechdel test, invented by cartoonist Alison Bechdel in the mid-1980s to measure the presence of women in movies and other fiction. It was created by Good Energy, a climate change storytelling consulting firm, in collaboration with the Buck Lab for Climate and Environment at Colby College in Maine.
“The test is whether climate change exists in your story world, and if so, do your characters know about it?” said Anna Jane Joyner, CEO and Founder of Good Energy.
For a film to qualify for a climate reality check, it must also meet two additional criteria.
“It was built on this earth,” Joyner said. “And it will happen now or in the future.”
Many works nominated for an Oscar have been disqualified.
Climate Reality Check's rules actually disqualify many of the feature films nominated this year, including stories set in the past, such as: Flower Moon Killers — even though one of the film's main themes is the dangers of fossil fuels.
Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, an associate professor of English and environmental studies at Colby College and a key collaborator on Good Energy's Climate Reality Check, acknowledged that the new test has some blind spots, including excluding movies that may not directly address climate change. As is the case in science fiction, fantasy, and historical films, it is explained through allegory or by modeling sustainable behavior.
“Some movies may include positive climate action, such as people installing renewable energy in their homes or deciding to become vegetarian,” Schneider-Mayerson said. “These tests can’t necessarily capture these behaviors unless they are somewhat explicitly related to climate change.”
Although Schneider-Mayerson said the new test is not comprehensive, his team has been working on a much larger study scheduled for April, applying Climate Reality Check to the 250 most popular feature films of the past decade. .
“You’re never going to be able to capture all of the different nuances in representing an issue as complex as climate change,” Schneider-Mason said. “But we’re hoping it’s a good start and something people can apply.”
Movies that passed
Of the 13 current or future Oscar-nominated films set on Earth, only two are Bobby Passing the Climate Reality Check: The Latest Tom Cruise Action Epic Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 (CIA Director Eugene Kittridge, played by Henry Czerny, says, “This will be a ballistic war over a rapidly shrinking ecosystem. It will be the final war over dwindling energy, drinkable water, and breathable air.” I warn you.) And the biopic nyadExtreme athlete Diane Nyad describes her attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida in dangerous conditions due to rising ocean temperatures. (“So the UMiami people think the box jellyfish came up from the shallow reefs when we left Cuba. Global warming,” says Nyad’s coach, Bonnie Stoll, played by Jodie Foster.)
good energy
nyad, Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part 1 and Bobby Thanks to the ambassador, I passed the test. But a climate reality check also considers visual representations of the topic. For example, you might see a character react quietly to a media article containing a headline about climate change.
The fact that only three films passed the test doesn't seem like much. But Good Energy's Joyner noted that this was the case for nearly a quarter of the 13 films tested, and said he was satisfied with Climate Reality Check's baseline results.
“It just provides another example of how this story can be very commercially successful,” Joyner said. She added that by 2027, she hopes to see 50% of modern films and TV programs acknowledging climate change.
You can download the full Climate Check Reality Report. here.
This story was produced for broadcast. Isabella Gomez Sarmientoeditor: Jennifer Banasco For digital and broadcast.