40 pages., via online journal., The present essay comparatively explores and reflects on
popularizing the environment in a changing media ecology
wherein content is no longer exclusive to traditional television
viewing or distributed for cinematic release. Specifically, the
aim of this essay is to illustrate how screened presentations
such as film, television, and recently digital media, promote
environmentalist ideals in the hopes that if audiences are
entertained, then perhaps these narratives can subtly influence
thinking and behavior. This review also draws from research on
mediating the environment in television and film studies as
well as scholarly literature on entertainment-education. The
implications of this essay indicate that whether real or fictional,
eco-friendly content is growing in popular media and no
longer the backdrop to the story being told. As this essay
shows, media professionals have started embracing entertaining content infused with content of value so that audiences
can “see” why the environment is important.
18 pages., via online journal., This essay explores the different meanings of the 1960s’ pesticide controversy
as conveyed by the multiple representations of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring
(1962). I argue that to understand the impact of Carson’s work on a heterogeneous audience in the early ’60s, we must move beyond an examination
of the book, Silent Spring, to consider its other media manifestations, as a
serialization for The New Yorker and as a television expose for “CBS Reports.” ´
Each conveyed a unique message stylized for the audience of that particular
media. This analysis demonstrates the problems and opportunities for scholars
attempting to gauge the influence of a book on the public understanding of
science. This argument also suggests that to understand the transition of
environmentalism from a grass-roots movement to near universal consensus,
we need to examine carefully the role of media in shaping divergent messages
for different audiences—a phenomenon that assisted in transforming local
environmental issues into a matter of national concern.
