Review of Chapter 27- Seeing Green: Knowing and Saving the Environment on Film

The Fantasies of Natural History Film



The use of film as a source of media to spread the word about environmental concerns can be very useful as you get a visual picture of what is happening to the natural world. The destruction of the natual world can be viewed and heard throuhg the use of film. I remember when I was growing up that I would watch the "Wild America" film series, and would be amazed at how animals fight for surrvival. If they (animals) do not put in effort to find food, they will not eat. The natural world is a tough and unforegiving place. Marty Stouffer is the director of the "Wild America" series http://shopping.discovery.com/DiscoveryStore/images/products/largenew/775270_lg.jpg . According to the text he would damage the natural world with his film crew destroying the land as they filmed on location in the animal of topic's natural realm, and they would torture animals to make them perform on video. Apparently it is very hard to find animals performing exciting hunting manuvers, and to film it in a graceful pleasurable way is also very difficult as animals do not cater to the film crew and performing within the frame of the picture being recorded. So, are nature films about documenting animals for scientific research, or are they about entertainment?



On page 108 of the text it refers to nature films as origanally being shot for "scientific records that preserve a natural heritage being lost to the forces of modernity (Mitman 1999:60)." When we "stage nature" for the excitment of the film we risk the validity of the scientific record of the film.



My favorite quote from the book

Author of the book Reel Nature: America's Romance with Wildlife on Film by Greg Mitman (1999). "Nature is not all action...Conditioned by nature on screen, we may fail to develop the patience, perseverance, and passion required to participate in the natural world with all its mundanity as well as splendor." In the time that I was a young boy I would watch wild nature documentaries all of the time, so much so that I thought if you were to step foot outside eventually an animal is going to attack you. This notion of wild animals is not true, because animals will only attack you if you if you fall into a certain category such as, Are you endangering the animal's offspring? Do you look like their natural prey? Is the animal suffering from a dibilitating disease? For more answers



When we watch too many fictional shows as uneducated children or adults, we generally will believe what we see as a constant truth. For example, many believe that seeing a wolf in the wild means they will attack you immediatly with no hesitation. This notion is untrue as animals generally only attack humans out of extreme hunger. If the ecosystem is in balance then the predators will not always attack the prey in that ecosystem. The predators will only eat the sick and dead. The balance of an ecosystem is very important to maintain this is why killing off species is so detrimental to the planet and its ecosytems.









New Concepts


The bias of the filmmaker. "Since the Company Came" (Hawkins, 2000) Does the film only involve one side of the story? If so, then does that bias show a certain side to make money off of the issue to use scare tatitics to elicit more sales of their video as it brings on the issue of what is a bigger concern. Save the environment or make some money?

What I took from this reading

It is very hard to understand those people (Hafori) in another area of the world, and how their economy is so dependant on the logging industry. It would be hard to tell a big buisness to not give your people jobs as it hurts the environment. Some areas of the world are not as econmically diverse as the United States. The situation would be a delicate one as there is so much to be gained (economic), and so much to be lost (ecosystem).

The use of film in media can give its audience a first hand look at every situation you maybe only glance at in the newspaper. Film can bring to light many parts, some not so well known, and some very well known topics. It is important to remember when you are watching the movie that you try and decipher all of the sides of the story. Who and what effect each other and remember for every action there is a re-action/result.

Additional Resources






Logging the forrest, everything you need to know about how, what, and why

For the environmentally friendly Tree Hugger, this website shows every angle of how we can save the environment from food, to business and politics.

Definitions


Ecosystems- An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (bioitc factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment



Haforai- The Haforai people live in a very remote part of the world, Rendova in the Solomon Islands. Location of Solomon Islands the archipelago of Solomon Islands is located in the southern region of the Pacific Ocean. Papua New Guinea is the nearest big land mass northwest of it. The Solomon Islands are a part of the group of islands better known as Oceania. The continent of Australia lies a little further off, south west of it. The water bodies, aside of the South Pacific Ocean that surrounds the Solomon Islands are the Solomon Sea, the Coral Sea and the Arafura Sea.


Shamanism- Shamanism is a range of traditional beliefs and practices concerned with communication with the spirit world.


Ecotourism- is a form of tourism, that appeals to ecologically and socially conscious individuals. Generally speaking, ecotourism focuses on volunteering, personal growth and learning new ways to live on the planet. It typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Ecotourism is a conceptual experience, enriching those who delve into researching and understanding the environment around them. It gives us insight into our impacts, as human beings and also a greater appreciation of our own natural habitats.