The recent Hollywood Climate Summit opened with an exceptional conversation between Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary) and Daniel Scheinert and Daniel Kwan—known as Daniels—(Everything, Everywhere, All at Once). They spoke to their excitement about the potential and power Hollywood has to embrace climate solutions within stories, behind the scenes, and throughout the creative process. Daniel Kwan shared that to imagine a better future, we need to tell original stories that counter systems we have inherited that perpetuate the climate crisis. "Systems are really strong and stories are like throwing rocks at a wall. But you have to remember, systems are fossilized stories. The stories that we told ourselves about all these things that are no longer serving us," he said.
As co-founders and executive producers of the Hollywood Climate Summit, an annual conference for entertainment and media professionals to advance their environmental justice knowledge and build a culture of courage and excitement around climate action, we understand that Hollywood's combination of creative ingenuity and global influence holds a unique responsibility and power to lead our collective cultural response to the climate emergency.
However, to date, few narratives have included climate. According to USC's Media Impact Project and Good Energy's recent research report, only 0.6 percent of scripts from 2016 to 2020 included the words "climate change." So, what kinds of stories can help re-envision systems when it comes to the climate crisis? Here are a few key takeaways from this year's Hollywood Climate Summit to spark some ideas:
Writing about climate change can be wildly entertaining ... and not preachy! From comedy to horror to reality, and everything in between, our content can reflect cultural changes while also being sexy, hilarious, shocking, and inspiring—sometimes all at once!
Shows and films have proven time and again that they have the ability to change perspectives on a huge scale. Take a show like Will & Grace, which introduced a beloved gay character to TV, garnering support for the LGBTQ+ community, and eventually being cited as one of the factors behind Joe Biden's support of marriage equality. Shows like Will & Grace wouldn't have had the same groundbreaking influence if the premise, characters, and storylines (outside of the social issue) hadn't been hilarious, heartwarming, and commercially successful.
We need to keep telling great stories we love. We're not asking Hollywood to change the entertainment value of the content created, we're asking the industry to help support creators at every level in leveling up their understanding of the climate crisis so that climate can directly inform and enrich character development and world building.
Brunson and Zoanne Clack of Grey's Anatomy spoke about how their shows tackled the same climate issue: heat waves. In Grey's Anatomy, a heat wave (based on a real, previous summer heat wave in Seattle) shut down the AC—preventing the doctors from performing surgeries because operating rooms must be temperature controlled. Abbott Elementary featured a similar heat wave in Philadelphia and highlighted how underfunded schools often don't have access to air conditioning, leaving the teachers to grapple with heat-rattled students as hilarity ensued. Both of these shows prove that it's possible to feature these scenarios in unique, entertaining, and subtle ways in both comedy and drama, without departing from the heart of the story.
We need narratives that debunk what fossil fuel companies have purported: that the climate crisis is the individual's responsibility. In reality, fossil fuel companies and other major industries have exacerbated the climate crisis. The antidote is to reimagine the hero's journey from individualistic to centering community resilience, care, and mutual aid. By showing characters we love moving through challenges together, we can inspire community strength and collective action. Stories that show journeys with multiple people (ideally who don't always agree) coming together to face a challenge mirrors the actual reality we face. It is wrong to place the burden of addressing a global problem on the shoulders of individuals—we're in this together.
While it is certainly valuable to showcase adopting sustainable solutions such as solar panels and plant based diets, it's important to remember that these are not equitable solutions for everyone and will only be meaningful if shown through an intersectional environmental justice lens.
During the Summit, we prioritized conversations centering Indigenous leadership, disability representation, environmental justice, and intergenerational movement building because we know there is no future worth fighting for that doesn't center climate justice for the communities most affected by the climate emergency, despite being the least responsible for it. As creators of culture, we influence the values of our society. Transforming our collective values and disrupting fossilized systems requires shifting creative power to leaders who have been historically excluded—particularly those with cultural worldviews that redefine our relationship with the Earth, each other, and break cycles of extractive lifestyles.
Stories can shed light on our present and illuminate our future. They ground us in the humanity of what it actually means to face the climate crisis—in complex, rich, and informed ways. At this point, U.S. adults spend an average of 167 minutes per day watching digital videos. Some people spend more time with fictional characters than their own family members or friends.
Wouldn't it be nice if those minutes were spent with characters who are trying to build a better future for themselves and their communities? Or even just trying to process how hard Mondays are, especially when the ocean is on fire? If you can relate, we're guessing that your favorite characters can, too.
Allison Begalman is an LA-based entrepreneur, activist, and entrepreneur who serves as the CEO of YEA! Impact, and the EP and co-founder of the Hollywood Climate Summit. She is a recipient of the Walking Softer Award, Roddenberry Impact Award, and created the USC School of Cinematic Arts' first ever social impact screenwriting lecture. Outside of social impact, Allison writes for television and film.
Heather Fipps is a co-founder and executive producer of the Hollywood Climate Summit and program director of The Redford Center. As a former professor of media and social impact at Cal State LA, and head of video production at Mark Bradford's studio, she has multifaceted experience in film and tv production, multimedia design, social impact strategy, and community centered leadership.
Ali Weinstein is a queer TV writer, climate storytelling consultant, and activist who has been featured in The Hollywood Reporter, The Atlantic, and Forbes for her work. She is an EP, co-founder, and this year's director of programming of the Hollywood Climate Summit. As a writer, she firmly believes every story is a climate story, which is evident in her previous work on NBC's Law & Order: For the Defense, Netflix's Glamorous, the upcoming AMC's Orphan Black: Echoes, and the Web3 video game, Wildcard.
The views expressed in this article are the writers' own.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
