Disaster flicks like 2012 seem to be the only real source of climate change in film and television. Other than documentaries that are explicitly about the hot-button topic, writers and directors seem to largely shy away from it if it doesn’t involve mass CGI destruction.

Science fiction, however, can bring climate change to life as a topic of discussion in the entertainment world. At this point in our timeline, it’s not exactly possible to have a movie that focuses too much on the issue. Whether it’s because of controversy or people simply not wanting to think about something like climate change while they’re in a movie theatre, the topic really thrives in movies or TV shows that aren’t as heavy-handed in referencing it.

Science fiction allows for less in-your-face approaches to climate change to be possible, mainly because it works really well as an element of the plot.