Interstellar
Ran Watari
Embedded Files
Interstellar is a 2014 science fiction movie which was directed by Christopher Nolan. The story is about a mission for humanity’s survival and seeking a habitable planet. In the film’s setting, the Earth is devastated by a global crop blight and gigantic dust bowls, where the soil is increasingly barren and the air unbreathable, and humans can no longer continue to live there. The protagonist is a former NASA pilot Cooper, and he tries to find which planets could be mankind’s new home with a team of researchers. The setting, which humans start looking for another planet to live in due to environmental destruction, is said to be the Earth’s probable future in reality. I thought it is worth analyzing from an Ecocinematic lens.
Interstellar implies the current climate issues, pointing out dustbowls and crop blight as factors for leaving the Earth. Even though those issues are just a part of the blockbuster's story, they are the starting point of the whole story and impressive for many audiences. That means the film may be able to gather the audiences' attention towards global climate change in the real world. Historically, films have formed many people's perspectives and thoughts. Because of Interstellar's popularity and seriousness of the contents which is about the destruction of the planet, more and more people may concern the current environmental change.
Dustbowls caused by climate change
However, such positive effects may be rare to happen because it is a science fiction film for attracting the viewers. The film's dramatic story, music, CGI, and its protagonist's cool actions can weaken the seriousness of environmental issues in the film. In fact, it won many awards so far, such as Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Best Achievement in Production Design, Best Cinematography, and we can see it is highly admired as art, not an environmental film. Unless the audiences think about what the film implies or the directors' messages at a deeper level, the film is just entertainment and cannot provide ecological benefits.
Interstellar has been engaging many people around the world. I think that it is aimed towards people of all generations because of its interesting and exciting story. Even though whether it can increase people's environmental concerns depends on the viewers themselves, there should already be many audiences who realize today's danger of climate change through the film. Therefore, I think that the film also works as an Ecocinema film to some extent.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse