For years, movies about the destruction of the planet and the power of mother nature for years have rained into theaters. Despite this, it seems like people are just as slow to learn in real life as in these catastrophe films. While the stories are fiction, they are based at least in part on real science, science that is telling us that it is time to take global warming and our abuse of the planet seriously. Will it take a real flood to get us to pay attention? Below are 5 films that show how crazy things can really get when man thinks he’s stronger than mother nature.
Them! (1954)
The film, directed by Gordon Douglas, was shot before global warming was really on people’s minds but that doesn’t mean the writers weren’t aware of other ways man has messed with nature. Monster ants, created unintentionally by a nuclear bomb test, are murdering people. FBI agent Robert Graham (James Arness) is sent out to solve the mystery and recruits scientists Harold and Pat Medford (Edmund Gwenn and Joan Weldon) for help. This film reflected the fear many had of not only the initial damage that could be caused by nuclear bombs, but the long term effects these bombs could have on nature. After all, would you really want to live in a world inhabited by giant killer ants?
Silent Running (1972)
Bruce Dern stars in this film as Freeman Lowell, a scientist willing to both die and kill to protect the last plants in existence. Earth is a wasteland and these plants exist only in floating greenhouses in space. Unfortunately, as is typical of humanity, no one but Lowell really cares and he’s ordered to destroy the plants. He rebels and ends up a fugitive on the run. The moral of this particular film, directed by Douglas Trumbull, seems to be that people won’t stop ravaging the planet even after they’ve been forced off it due to their own bad shepherding. At least there’s one guy in the film willing to hug a tree.
C.H.U.D. (1984)
With Douglas Cheek’s C.H.U.D., we’re back in radioactive mutation territory. Once again it’s greedy shortsighted men who are the problem. Nuclear waste is being dumped illegally under New York City and is turning the homeless population into murdering cannibals. It’s up to George Cooper (John Heard) and AJ Shepherd (Daniel Stern) to figure out what is going on and who is to blame. Plucky policeman Captain Bosch (Christopher Curry) is the third musketeer. It seems like in the end it would have been better for everyone had they just recycled.
The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
People really ruin everything, especially in this film by Roland Emmerich. Jack Hall (Dennis Quaid) plays yet another ignored scientist, though instead of nuclear radiation we finally are dealing with climate change. Hall tries to warn the government of what is coming, but of course they don’t want to hear it. Hindsight being what it is, they surely come to regret this decision when crazy arctic weather erupts and destroys most of the United States. On the plus side, the snow makes everything look clean and fresh and there’s probably some great new ski slopes.
Children of Men (2006)
In this movie, directed by Alfonso Cuaron, the main thing people have destroyed is themselves. No one can have kids anymore, and humans face extinction. Rather than deciding that this would be a good reason to sit down and try to figure things out, the world erupts into pandemonium and war instead. Clive Owen and Clare-Hope Ashitey star in this grim film about the fight to save our own species. The one baby that is born to Ashitey’s character during the film results in people scheming and plotting to use it to their own advantage. No wonder the aliens are keeping their distance – based on this film, we’re definitely not ready to join any interstellar community.
As grim as these movies are, they are based in a certain amount of truth. Global temperatures are rising – about 1.5°F in the past century with more to come – and it is our fault. We’ve burned so many fossil fuels that we’ve created a thick blanket of greenhouse gases, trapping heat and melting icebergs. In fact, according to Alberta Energy, human activity emits over 5,000 million metric tons of carbon dioxide yearly. Although we’re not at Day After Tomorrow levels of bad yet, we’re getting there. Films like these, though melodramatic, might be the gentle yet terrifying wake up call needed to get people to pay attention. People were scared enough of nukes in the 50’s and 60’s to avoid using them. Maybe we’ll be scared enough of cooking our planet to actually turn off a light or two.
Written by Maria Rosita
Maria is a writer interested in comic books, cycling, and horror films. Her hobbies include cooking, doodling, and finding local shops around the city. She currently lives in Chicago with her two pet turtles, Franklin and Roy.
