Title: 'Why aren't people terrified?!' Analysing the efficacy of the apocalyptic narrative of climate change

Authors: Mrinalini Kumar; Niru Sharan; Srikant Pandey

Addresses: Amity Institute of Social Sciences, Amity University, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India ' Amity Law School, Amity University, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India ' Delhi College of Arts and Commerce, University of Delhi, New Moti Bagh, Netaji Nagar, New Delhi, Delhi, India

Abstract: The recently concluded eighteenth G20 meeting failed to reach a consensus for outlining an agreement on the requisite action for dealing with climate change. Such disagreements have come to shape the climate change discourse since its inception, translating to a complacent attitude that affects human rights. Contrarily, green movements challenge this complacency through an apocalyptic lens. Consequently, this paper seeks to understand this apocalyptic narrative by dissecting its components. With the rise of apocalyptic narratives and their representations, this paper will analyse the effectiveness of this narrative in the fictional world of Dr. Randall Mindy and Kate Dibiasky from the Netflix original, 'Don't Look Up' (2021) as well as its emulation in the real world of climate activists like Greta Thunberg. It will also seek to comprehend the utility as well as the futility of this narrative concerning climate change, while simultaneously exploring alternative narrative styles.

Keywords: apocalyptic narrative; climate change; Don't Look Up; environment; fear; G20; Greta Thunberg; human agency; human rights; rhetoric.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHRCS.2025.145268

International Journal of Human Rights and Constitutional Studies, 2025 Vol.12 No.2, pp.129 - 141

Received: 15 Aug 2023
Accepted: 01 Sep 2023
Published online: 31 Mar 2025 *

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