Hollywood has delivered a plethora of blockbuster disaster movies, from “2012” to “The Day After Tomorrow” to “San Andreas,” that depict cataclysmic events threatening humanity. Yet, it is rarer to find films centered on real-life environmental pollution and its subsequent disasters. As climate change, global warming, overconsumption, overpopulation, and environmental pollution intensify, these films provide not only compelling narratives but also vital educational content. They inform the public about the very real and pressing climate dangers we all face. These movies, many based on true events, serve as powerful tools to raise awareness and spark conversations about our planet’s future.
WALL-E (2008)
Although Disney’s and Pixar’s masterpiece is generally known as a love story between two robots, the underlying theme of the movie that most kinds might not notice are much darker. In this animated classic, the story follows a garbage cleaning robot named WALL-E as he is left alone to clean up an uninhabited and deserted earth, in the year 2805. Through his daily activities, we see the remains of the human world and the digital advertisements that suggest all humans have left earth in large luxury starships called the Axiome due to earth being a garbage-filled wasteland about 700 years ago. The story quickly shifts however as an investigating robot named EVE arrives on earth to look for any signs of life on earth.
Even though most part of the story doesn’t even happen on earth, the concept is enough to scare people; the megacorporation Buy N’ Large had caused massive environmental damage to the planet through over-consumption and corporate greed and have forced people to leave earth and wonder the galaxy for generations as they all become morbidly obese as a result of not doing anything. This movie is a major criticism on the world population and majorly on American consumerism behavior and the growing environmental issues through allegories and even biblical references but majorly by just showcasing the true demise of humanity in the most subtle and effective possible way.
IMDB: 8.4/10
Dark Waters (2019)
This legal thriller, Based on the real life events of Robert Bilott’s case against the DuPont chemical manufacturing corporation over the course of a few years. The general story of the movie is based on a 2016 New York Times’ article “The Lawyer Who Became DuPont’s Worst Nightmare”. Bilott, who was a criminal defense lawyer in Cincinnati, was asked by an acquaintance of his grandmother to investigate the mysterious numerous deaths of his cattle in a farm in Parkersburg, West Virginia. This investigation leads to the discovery of unregulated chemicals in the drinking water of the entire town, dumped by DuPont corporation, deliberately poisoning the entire town over the course of decades.
Chilling, captivating, and ultimately silently terrifying, Dark Waters is a true depiction of the recurring American nightmare. This case was just one of the many that was discovered and taken to court. But the lack of affective policies, regulation, powerful monopolies, and lack of education and information about dangerous material to the public, Americans are more and more in danger of chronic illnesses such as all kinds of cancer as a direct result of lethal chemicals in the environment and even the food supply and everyday plastic materials.
IMDB: 7.6/10
Erin Brockovich (2000)
A very interesting legal thriller that showcases another true court case. Erin Brockovich is the true story of a woman by the same name who started a legal case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company on the accounts of groundwater contamination of the town of Hinkley, California. The story follows the single mother Erin, played by Julia Roberts, as she struggles to find a job and support her children, eventually managing to find a paid position in a legal office as a secretary. After studying a file in which PG&E is offering to buy a house for a resident of the town in addition to covering the numerous medical bills of the resident, she starts to suspect things are not right and decides to start investigating and eventually start a lawsuit against the company.
The unbelievable performance of Julia Roberts as Erin only adds to the thrill of the story. Having no official legal authority in the office, starting and proceeding and completing the paperwork and investigation for the case was a job that Erin did tirelessly after seeing the true state of how bad things are. The Hinkley groundwater contamination is now a famous case and a true symbol of fighting against corporate America poisoning entire populations.
IMDB: 7.4/10
Soylent Green (1973)
This dystopian thriller is loosely based on the 1966 book Make Room! Make Room! By Harry Harrison. The movie takes place in an imaginary future in 2022, where global warming, overpopulation and pollution have caused ecocide and a worldwide shortage of food. New York City has now a population of 40 million people, majority very poor, with only the elite having access to spacious apartments, clean water and natural food and protection while most people are given rations of the processed “new food”, called Soylent Yellow and Soylent Red, and the new more nutritious and flavorful product, Soylent Green. The murder of a chairman of the Soylent corporation and the investigation by an NYPD officer leads to more mysteries, questions, and most importantly, the source of this new Soylent Green.
Unrecognized many, Soylent Green is a masterpiece of dystopian art as it doesn’t focus on the scenery, but rather the people. The long scenes showing the long lines of people waiting for their rations of food in an overcrowded, constantly humid state scares the audience and creates a possible alternate reality in which the audience can see the worst of the outcomes that could happen if climate change and food issues aren’t addressed.
IMDB: 7/10
Mother! (2017)
This Cult classic by Aranofsky would probably not even show up on many environmental movie lists. The plot that is heavily inspired by the Bible, revolves around a husband and wife, played by Javier Bardem & Jennifer Lawrence, as they spend most of their time in a large Victorian home in the middle of a beautiful plain. He spends most of his time writing and she works on the house until one day a mysterious couple arrives, which starts a chain reaction of chaos and destruction in the house.
On first watch, this movie is pure nonsense. Long shots of party people and abstract conversations, followed by unreal events and mysterious behaviors that makes the audience wonder if the director was sober while making this. But in a rewatch, these biblical events start to fall into place and the inspirations begin to reveal themselves. Although it contains strong religious messaging and religion-based plot, it is anything but a religious movie but actually a criticism of religion itself and God personally, marking him responsible for the current situation of the earth and environment and the state of our world. Although it’s not for everyone, it is strongly suggested to watch the movie and read and study about it to understand it and understand why it’s one of the most powerful environmental movies I have seen.
IMDB: 6.6/10
