Across the Ages: Eco-Horror and Our Climate

Senior Project Advisor

Lori Martindale

Document Type

Project

Publication Date

Fall 2025

Keywords

Climate change, Global warming, Eco-Horror, Film, Capitalism

Abstract

This project, in the form of a video essay, analyzes themes of climate change in the eco-horror film genre from the 1970s to more modern times to see how these films might impact the world's perception of our climate over time. Generally, media and art typically reflect the times they were created in, and global warming and climate change were just coming into the political and public eye in the 1970s, and are a vast ongoing issue now. This project analyzes films from multiple categories and with multiple themes, like plants, animals, fungi, monsters, weather, capitalism, and corruption. The main films mentioned include: 'Godzilla vs. Hedorah,' 'Shin Godzilla,' 'Frogs,' 'The Bay,' 'Silent Running,' 'The Happening,' 'The Girl with All the Gifts,' 'Soylent Green,' and 'The Day After Tomorrow.' The driving research question of this project is: how can a movie inspire people to take action and put their energy towards a larger cause, like climate advocacy?

[A visual outline for the video is included with this page as a supplementary document.]

Department

Honors

Type

Text

Rights

Copying of this document in whole or in part is allowable only for scholarly purposes. It is understood, however, that any copying or publication of this document for commercial purposes, or for financial gain, shall not be allowed without the author’s written permission.

Language

English

Format

application/pdf

Additional Files
Westermann outline for documentation.docx (27957 kB)
Supplemental outline
Link to Full Text

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