Doug Specht, Senior Lecturer and Director of Teaching and Learning in the School of Media and Communication, wrote an article for The Conversation about the false sense of security apocalyptic films provide people regarding climate change.
In the article, Specht explained how the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s ‘code red for humanity’ report comes on the heels of months of devastating weather events around the world, and why the portrayal of such events does not depict a true representation in the films.
He wrote: “It might seem frivolous to compare such moments to films, but these comparisons play an important role in helping us to comprehend and make sense of particular moments in history. Like all works of art, films reveal much about the social and political zeitgeist in which they are conceived and produced, often acting as magnifying lenses for humankind’s hopes and anxieties.”
Comparing reality to films, he also added: “We are seeking the hope for renewal that these apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic narratives give us. Nevertheless, they are ultimately fiction. While rehearsing the end of the world through film can exorcise fears, at the same time they may have desensitised us, lulling us into a false sense of security that all will be well in the end – and that we are immortal.”
Read the full article on The Conversation’s website.
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