Sci-fi cinema tackles environmental crisis through slow, ecological narratives

The 2021 sci-fi season features Denis Villeneuve's 'Dune' in theaters and the first two episodes of 'Foundation' on Apple TV+, both characterized by slow pacing and ecological themes. These films draw from the environmentalist sci-fi of the late 1960s and early 1970s, rooted in the 1970 oil crisis and films about overpopulation, food scarcity, and environmental protection. 'Dune' adapts Frank Herbert's novel about resource exploitation on a desert planet, starring Timothée Chalamet. 'Foundation' stars Jared Harris. The article also mentions 'Y: The Last Man' on Disney+, based on Richard Matheson's 'I Am Legend'. The new sci-fi is described as modernist in its narrative stillness, contrasting with action-oriented genre films.