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How Artists are Transforming Climate-Related Storytelling
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Silhouetted human and animal figures cross a burning, orange screen, as a narrator repeats the Bible鈥檚 exhortation to 鈥渂e fruitful and multiply 鈥� to fill the earth and subdue it.鈥�
鈥淪o why would the industries stop exploiting the Earth if it is our divine right to do so?鈥� the narrator asks, as black talons reach for the viewer.
Part of the Climate Woke series from The Center for Cultural Power, these are scenes from a , a reminder that 鈥渨e are the stories we are told,鈥� as the narration states. Matias follows his Biblical introduction with a series of myths from other traditions that offer very different views of humans鈥� place in the world: stories that begin with how human beings were created from wood, mud, or corn; a Mayan creation story where humans are tasked with tracking the passage of time and caring for Earth; a North American Indigenous tale of animals saving the first woman.
This video, and others like it in the series, reexamines humans鈥� relationship in caring for the planet, treating it as an innate responsibility, an ongoing process, or even a profound source of joy, rather than a moral obligation or burden. It is part of Climate Woke and The Center for Cultural Power鈥檚 push to transform how we tell stories about the climate crisis from a White, Eurocentric, 鈥渄oom and gloom鈥� approach to a more constructive one led by frontline communities. The goal is to empower people to take action and, according to Cristina Uribe, chief campaigns officer for The Center for Cultural Power, to 鈥渟hift our worldviews.鈥�
鈥淪o much of what people are seeing actually reinforces this narrative that 鈥� this problem is so big, I can鈥檛 do anything,鈥� says Uribe.
Such apathy, she says, stems from overlooking the emotional aspect of cultural change. It takes everything to make progress on climate change: facts and science, policies that can actually make a difference, and a sea change in how people feel when faced with the challenge of climate action.
鈥淲e have the facts, we have policy solutions to the climate crisis,鈥� says Uribe. 鈥淲hat we don鈥檛 have is the popular imagination, and that鈥檚 why we need artists. We need those new stories.鈥�
The Center gave the Climate Woke artists prompts, such as climate鈥檚 connection to the return of stolen Indigenous land, Black liberation, immigration, and the exploitation of workers. But beyond that, it allowed them free rein. Different things move different people, it reasoned, and who better to know how to move people than an artist?
In other Climate Woke videos, Aisha Fukushima, a vocalist and activist, ; Cheanie Noai, a Kaqchikel Maya artist and singer, celebrates ; and Denali Nalamalapu, a painter, in the environmental movement.
The Center for Cultural Power is led by women of color who have prioritized intersectional storytelling by, for, and about Black, Indigenous, Latino, and other communities of color. That鈥檚 partly because communities of color and other marginalized communities feel the effects of climate change most acutely, but it鈥檚 also because they are often leaders in climate action and organizing. Uribe points to the presence of 鈥渓and back鈥濃�攖he movement to return Indigenous lands鈥攊n the wider cultural conversation as an example of what effective storytelling paired with organizing can do.
Since releasing the Climate Woke videos earlier this year, The Center for Cultural Power has turned its eyes to the country鈥檚 biggest storytelling machine: Hollywood. Along with several outside collaborators, the organization has launched , a story consulting group for writers, producers, directors, and other participants in the filmmaking process to help incorporate climate change themes into their works. According to the , less than 3% of scripted films and TV shows include references to the changes associated with global warming. Good Energy is intended to change that.
The move into Hollywood鈥檚 world of glossy storytelling is a shift from the grassroots artistry of Climate Woke, but one that Uribe hopes has ripple effects. 鈥淗ollywood is a very big force in storytelling,鈥� she says. 鈥淲e need to shift the type of stories that they are telling, because many have been around doom and gloom,鈥� and centering a White, male point of view.
One day, Uribe believes, changing storytelling to reflect the climate crisis and its solutions will help cultivate a society-wide, bone-deep understanding 鈥渢hat we are not resigned to climate chaos 鈥� that is not the only ending to the story.鈥�
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Kate Schimel
is a writer and editor based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Most recently, she was managing editor for Searchlight NM, a local investigative news organization. She also edited business, transportation, education and health coverage for Colorado Public Radio and served as deputy editor at High Country News. She began her career as an education reporter, covering underserved communities in New York and Denver. Kate is a member of NASW, NAJA, and EWA. She can be reached through her website at kateschimel.com.
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Breanna Draxler
is a senior editor at 猫咪社区!, where she leads coverage of climate and environmental justice, and Native rights. She has nearly a decade of experience editing, reporting, and writing for national magazines including National Geographic聽online and Grist, among others. She collaborated on a climate action guide for聽Audubon Magazine that won a National Magazine Award in 2020. She recently served as a board member for the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Northwest Science Writers Association.聽She has a master鈥檚 degree in environmental journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder. Breanna is based out of the traditional territories of the Coast Salish people, but has worked in newsrooms on both coasts and in between. She previously held staff positions at聽bioGraphic, Popular Science, and聽Discover Magazine.
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