Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change
The film The Day After Tomorrow depicts the abrupt and catastrophic transformation of the Earth's climate into a new ice age, playing upon the uncertainty surrounding a possible North Atlantic thermohaline circulation (Gulf Stream) shutdown. This paper investigates the impact of the film on peo...
Published in: | Public Understanding of Science |
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ftmacquarieunicr:oai:https://researchers.mq.edu.au:publications/33734b73-45b3-4e98-b88a-1033c529a846 2024-09-15T18:23:31+00:00 Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change Lowe, Thomas Brown, Katrina Dessai, Suraje De França Doria, Miguel Haynes, Kat Vincent, Katharine 2006-10 https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/33734b73-45b3-4e98-b88a-1033c529a846 https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506063796 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33748555197&partnerID=8YFLogxK eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Lowe , T , Brown , K , Dessai , S , De França Doria , M , Haynes , K & Vincent , K 2006 , ' Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change ' , Public Understanding of Science , vol. 15 , no. 4 , pp. 435-457 . https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506063796 article 2006 ftmacquarieunicr https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506063796 2024-09-04T23:52:01Z The film The Day After Tomorrow depicts the abrupt and catastrophic transformation of the Earth's climate into a new ice age, playing upon the uncertainty surrounding a possible North Atlantic thermohaline circulation (Gulf Stream) shutdown. This paper investigates the impact of the film on people's perception of climate change through a survey of filmgoers in the UK. Analysis focuses on four issues: the likelihood of extreme impacts; concern over climate change versus other global problems; motivation to take action; and responsibility for the problem of climate change. It finds that seeing the film, at least in the short term, changed people's attitudes; viewers were significantly more concerned about climate change, and about other environmental risks. However, while the film increased anxiety about environmental risks, viewers experienced difficulty in distinguishing science fact from dramatized science fiction. Their belief in the likelihood of extreme events as a result of climate change was actually reduced. Following the film, many viewers expressed strong motivation to act on climate change. However, although the film may have sensitized viewers and motivated them to act, the public do not have information on what action they can take to mitigate climate change. Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic North atlantic Thermohaline circulation Macquarie University Research Portal Public Understanding of Science 15 4 435 457 |
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ftmacquarieunicr |
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English |
description |
The film The Day After Tomorrow depicts the abrupt and catastrophic transformation of the Earth's climate into a new ice age, playing upon the uncertainty surrounding a possible North Atlantic thermohaline circulation (Gulf Stream) shutdown. This paper investigates the impact of the film on people's perception of climate change through a survey of filmgoers in the UK. Analysis focuses on four issues: the likelihood of extreme impacts; concern over climate change versus other global problems; motivation to take action; and responsibility for the problem of climate change. It finds that seeing the film, at least in the short term, changed people's attitudes; viewers were significantly more concerned about climate change, and about other environmental risks. However, while the film increased anxiety about environmental risks, viewers experienced difficulty in distinguishing science fact from dramatized science fiction. Their belief in the likelihood of extreme events as a result of climate change was actually reduced. Following the film, many viewers expressed strong motivation to act on climate change. However, although the film may have sensitized viewers and motivated them to act, the public do not have information on what action they can take to mitigate climate change. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Lowe, Thomas Brown, Katrina Dessai, Suraje De França Doria, Miguel Haynes, Kat Vincent, Katharine |
spellingShingle |
Lowe, Thomas Brown, Katrina Dessai, Suraje De França Doria, Miguel Haynes, Kat Vincent, Katharine Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change |
author_facet |
Lowe, Thomas Brown, Katrina Dessai, Suraje De França Doria, Miguel Haynes, Kat Vincent, Katharine |
author_sort |
Lowe, Thomas |
title |
Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change |
title_short |
Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change |
title_full |
Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change |
title_fullStr |
Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change |
title_full_unstemmed |
Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change |
title_sort |
does tomorrow ever come? disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change |
publishDate |
2006 |
url |
https://researchers.mq.edu.au/en/publications/33734b73-45b3-4e98-b88a-1033c529a846 https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506063796 http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33748555197&partnerID=8YFLogxK |
genre |
North Atlantic North atlantic Thermohaline circulation |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic North atlantic Thermohaline circulation |
op_source |
Lowe , T , Brown , K , Dessai , S , De França Doria , M , Haynes , K & Vincent , K 2006 , ' Does tomorrow ever come? Disaster narrative and public perceptions of climate change ' , Public Understanding of Science , vol. 15 , no. 4 , pp. 435-457 . https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506063796 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0963662506063796 |
container_title |
Public Understanding of Science |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
435 |
op_container_end_page |
457 |
_version_ |
1810463748672978944 |