When The Day After Tomorrow came out way back in 2004, it was something of a unique blockbuster compared to the usual fare. Whereas other big-budget flicks were magic-based, period epics, or goofy animated showcases, Tomorrow grounded itself by having climate change as its big bad as opposed to some super-powered evil being with loosely-written motives.
Sure it wasn’t perfect – the story and character were pretty stock standard, and the science made as much sense as sticking your dick in a black hole – but it did its job perfectly: be entertaining while appearing to be smarter than it actually is and make a bunch of money.
But in light of what’s happened to our green(ish) earth over the last few years, what was intended to be a dumb, showy blockbuster has instead turned out to be one of the most relevant films of today.
Literally can’t tell if it’s from the movie or real life.
You’ve probably heard that climate change is quickly becoming a serious problem, so much so that we may have already passed the point of no return when it comes to fixing it and schoolkids are actually doing more about the issue than adults.
All those unsubtle arguments about climate change and the protecting the environment in The Day After Tomorrow have suddenly taken on a whole new life upon rewatching the film again 15 years later. What initially seemed like bogus science may actually now carry some tiny grain of awful truth based on the number of severe floods and natural disasters we’ve had around the world over the last year or so.
Okay, maybe we haven’t reached the point where tsunamis several hundred metres high are crashing into skyscrapers but we’re definitely inching towards it.
Yeah, we can’t explain it either, Jake.
I don’t think anyone expected The Day After Tomorrow to go from blockbuster to pseudo-documentary in just 15 years but we’re living in strange times where the climate is changing for the worst yet those in power refuse to do anything to help and some people flat out deny that climate change is an actual thing.
It seems like the only way to save the environment is to educate people about how climate change is a real issue that needs our attention, and what better way to do that than to get everyone to watch a dumb, big-budget blockbuster from 15 years ago that will never be ranked as one of the greatest films ever made but is somehow the most important film of the present day.