ECOLOGICAL DYSTOPIAS IN CONTEMPORARY CINEMA: ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND CLIMATE CRISIS IN KALKI AND UGLIES

This paper examines how contemporary cinema engages with environmental crisis through an analysis of two distinct dystopian narratives: Kalki and Uglies. Through comparative textual analysis, this study explores how these cinematic texts deploy world-building, visual symbolism, and narrative structure to critique humanity's relationship with nature and warn against environmental negligence. By positioning these works within broader ecocritical frameworks, this research demonstrates how dystopian cinema serves not merely as entertainment but as a vital medium for environmental discourse, collective ecological conscience, and sociopolitical critique. The analysis reveals how both films, despite their different cultural contexts and stylistic approaches, converge in their warnings about climate change, human disconnection from nature, and the consequences of environmental exploitation.