Graduation Year
2026
Document Type
Senior Thesis
Degree
Bachelor of Arts
Primary Major
Interdisciplinary Studies
Thesis Advisor
Jordan Lieser, PhD
Abstract
Anthropogenic activity is actively leading to environmental degradation, highlighting the need for large industries to take responsibility for their environmental impact, particularly the film industry. While sustainable practices in the film industry such as virtual production, recycling of set construction materials, or the use of renewable energy present opportunities to improve sustainability, there is still a substantial amount of progress to be made. For example, research has demonstrated that increases in production budget correlate with higher carbon dioxide emissions, with fuel, utilities, and travel acting as the top contributors (Sustainable Entertainment Alliance, 2022). Conversation among the scholarly community is centered around the most effective strategies to properly address sustainability in the film industry. However, there are still a handful of factors that need to be considered when analyzing how film production impacts the environment and how to properly alleviate those issues. To address what current studies have missed, it is crucial to investigate the question, how does the environmental impact of the film industry vary across genre? This question is analyzed through a comparative case study of the science fiction, biopic, and action genres. Due to variation in production requirements, each film genre is characterized by different material demands, thus calling for specific sustainability interventions.