8 creative movies on the environment we must not miss!

A social message is well received via a medium that people enjoy- for example, art, books, movies or anything creative. Quite a few movies on the environment have thrown light on grave issues that majority of us may otherwise have never known existed. Being environmentally conscious is crucial especially with rapidly depleting resources and climate change engulfing us.

Here’s a list of few interesting movies on the environment we thoroughly enjoyed and learnt from:

The Red Turtle

It is a beautiful allegory, a metaphor for ecological awareness exploring man’s relationship with nature that is getting fragile with time. The Red Turtle in the movie represents nature as a whole and the man represents the entire human race. No matter how much we progress, our survival purely depends on nature and this movie, with no dialogues is an evocative wakeup call to that fact.

The Day After Tomorrow

It takes us on a disaster roller coaster ride as an arctic melt threatens the world. Using science fiction, this movie explores scenarios such as irreversible climate change threats and how it could affect our life, infrastructure, communities and ecosystem.

FernGully: The Last Rainforest

The magical inhabitants of a rainforest fight to save their home, which is threatened by logging and a polluting force of destruction called Hexxus. It represents the archetypal conflict between man’s hunger for resources and the fragile rain forest environment. In the end of course, nature wins.

Avatar

This epic science fiction film hits environmental talking-points — virgin rain forests threatened by exploitation, indigenous peoples who have much to teach the developed world, a planet which functions as a collective, interconnected Gaia-istic organism, and evil corporate interests that may lead to the destruction of everything.

Erin Brockovich

The film is a dramatization of the true story of Erin Brockovich, portrayed by Julia Roberts, who fought against the energy corporation Pacific Gas and Electric Company. When she discovers the dark secret that affects the health of the residents; with the help of her employer, she sets off to seek justice. We certainly want more movies about evil corporations polluting local water supplies that are this entertaining.

Wall-E

A robot who is responsible for cleaning a waste-covered Earth meets another robot and falls in love with her. We as a race have become so materialistic that eventually our planet be overwhelmed with toxicity and threaten every life form to extinction. With an important message wrapped in a sweet love story, Wall-E is a must watch!

Princess Mononoke

Set in the late Muromachi period of Japan, Princess Mononoke uses mythology and symbols to portray an important environmental message. In the 14th century, the harmony that humans, animals and gods have enjoyed begins to crumble. The protagonist, young Ashitaka – infected by an animal attack, seeks a cure from the deer-like god Shishigami. In his travels, he sees humans ravaging the earth

Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind

Far in the future, after an apocalyptic conflict has devastated much of the world’s ecosystem, the few surviving humans live in scattered semi-hospitable environments within what has become a “toxic jungle.” The main message of the movie is that the world is stronger than humanity’s violence, and with or without their help, it will recover. Change may be permanent, but it isn’t always inimical.

What are your favourite environmental movies or other content you like to consume?

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