Simulations of Climate Change: CGI and Hyperreal Representation in The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Geostorm (2017)

Abstract

Baudrillard’s concept of the hyperreal can be used to describe a context in which representation has achieved such a level of fidelity, resolution, and ubiquity that it becomes difficult to differentiate the referent from its representation. This level of representation is characterized by simulacra, representations that go beyond mere likeness to achieve structures of feeling and experience. In this respect, Computer Graphic Imaging (CGI) techniques have been important in forging hyperreal representation, with Hollywood productions exploiting these technological advances to portray stories, characters, and scenarios that are either difficult to represent or simply have no objective referent from which to obtain a model. The science fiction disaster film genre has exploited simulation and has been increasingly crossing over to climate change themes. The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and Geostorm (2017), are two examples of films that rely heavily on CGI to portray climate-related events that have no precedent in objective reality. This paper examines the use of CGI to portray climate change messages and their potential impact according to a theory of the hyperreal. I build on Baudrillard’s assertion that simulation produces a referent-less notion of reality and uses concepts from Object Oriented Ontology (OOO), particularly Morton’s (2011) idea of climate change as a hyperobject.