Scripted TV and Movies Ignore Climate Change Concerns in Storytelling

variety.com:

William Earl A new study from nonprofit environmental firm Good Energy and the USC Norman Lear Center found few references to climate change and environmental crises in a survey of more than 37,000 scripts from 2016 to 2020.

The study aimed to track the level of “climate change representation” in mainstream scripted entertainment. The data showed that only 2.8% of 37,453 scripts analyzed used any “climate change keywords,” while only 0.6% featured the words “climate change.” Only 10% of stories that depicted “extreme weather events” tied the occurance to any form of climate change, while a mere 12% of those tied the problem to the use of fossil fuels.

CBS and HBO Max were cited as the broadcast and pay TV platforms with the highest rate of climate change-related scripted content, with CBS clocking in at 7.5% and HBO Max at 6.4%.

That compares with research indicating that some 40% of Americans live in countries that have been affected by extreme weather events. “Right now the vast majority of shows and films are set in an alternate universe that doesn’t include theclimate crisis.