Science fiction - Term Paper Example

Just like the 1950s and 1960s when dangers from nuclear war and fascination with UFOs (Unidentified Flying Object) led many science fiction movies produced on the theme (such as ‘2001: A Space Odyssey’ in 1968), so is the case in the last decade or so with global warming. Scientists, writers, and movie directors have all shown considerable interest in exploring the aftermath of the event of global warming. ‘Day After Tomorrow’ by Roland Emmerich is one such movie, which according to Lichtenfeld, takes us from the ‘Cold War’ to a ‘War on Cold.

’ (Wildmoon; Leiserowitz, 23) The paper discusses the different aspects of this science fiction movie with a note of impending warning to the society. The movie shows the devastating consequence of climate change that may appear to many as just a fantasy. In the movie, there are scenes of abrupt breakdown of the Greenland ice sheet, producing a 1000-feet- high tsunami smashing into New York. The movie did generate another wave of discussion over the issue of climate change and turned into one of the most successful box office hit The movie narrates the tale of Jack Hall (climatologist at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)) as he survives the breakdown of a colossal ice shelf flouting off Antarctica and returns to his work with a warning about the chances of a sudden and sharp climate change because of global warming.

Few weeks after Dr. Hall has submitted his theory, scientists at North Atlantic thermohaline circulation system find that the system is briskly closing down. Thermohaline Circulation (THC) denotes part of the extensive ocean circulation that is driven by density gradients generated by surface temperature and freshwater fluidity. There are some conjectures that global warming might, by way of a slowdown or shutdown, activate localized freezing in the North Atlantic and lead to cooler