Dr Stephen Gibson
Introduction:
We will analyze presentations of the natural world, the environment, and environmental issues in American film. Applying the methodology of Ecocriticism, we will examine how American film has responded to and portrayed environmentalism and nature. By combining Ecocriticism with Film Studies, we will discuss how the interaction between audience and film both educates audiences and illustrates the state of environmentalism in American culture. Our aim will be to find a common ground between the films' portrayal of environmentalism and nature with discourses that occur publicly. We will seek to identify any system of images, conventions, languages, and discourses that provide insight into the messages Americans are receiving. Furthermore, by demonstrating how Hollywood portrays environmentalism, nature, or environmental problems, we will strive to find a perspective on how America is dealing with "environmental problems," its discourses, assumptions, and stereotypes.
The course will begin with American perspectives on nature, environmental thought and environmentalism. From there, we will examine cinematic displays of Green Romanticism, Green Radicalism, organized environmentalism, the relationship between humans and nature, pollution, industrialization, environmental limits, and anti-environmental views that contradict the pro-nature or pro-environment perspectives.
In doing so, we will examine how specific cinematic genres have illustrated these themes, while also addressing other issues such as: What is the role of nature or environmentalism in film in terms of plot or setting? How are the environmental problems defined or presented in the selected movies? Do the films offer any solutions? How are the movies' presentations, productions, or present interpretations shaped by history and current events? What message or moral--if any--do the films provide? Finally, just "how green is Hollywood" in its production process and its choice of subject matter?
Tentative Reading List
Books
Ingram, David, Green Screen, Exeter: University of Exeter Press, 2000.
Meister, Mark and Phylllis Japp, ed. Enviropop: Studies in Environmental Rhetoric and Popular Culture, Westport, CN: Praeger, 2002. (sections)
Vig, Norman and Michael Kraft. Environmental Policy: New Directions for the 21 st Century, Washington, D.C: CQ Press, 2003.(sections)
Nash, Roderick, Wilderness and the American Mind, (sections)
Cheryl Glotfelty, Ecocriticism Reader: Landmarks in Literary Ecology, Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1996. (sections)
Articles
Reed, T.V., "Toward an Environmental Justice Ecocriticism," Environmental Justice Reader , ed. Adamson, Joni, Mei Mei Evans, and Rachel Stein, Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2002. p. 145-162.
Beck, Roy and Leon Kolankiewicz. "The Environmental Movement's Retreat from Advocating U.S. Population Stabilization (1970-1998): A First Draft of History," Journal of Policy History, 12:1 (2000): 123-156.
Gottlieb, Robert. "Reconstructing Environmentalism: Complex Movements, Diverse Roots," Environmental History Review, 17:4 (Winter 1993): 1-19.
--------------. "Beyond NEPA and Earth Day: Reconstructing the Past and Envisioning a Future for Environmentalism," Environmental History Review, 19:4 (Winter 1995): 1-14.
Graham, Otis. "A Long Way from Earth Day," Journal of Policy History, 12:1 (2000): 1-16.
Haste, Helen. "Myths, Monsters, and Morality: Understanding 'anti-science' and the media message," Interdisciplinary Science Review, 22:2 (July 1997): 114-120.
King, Geoff. "Spectacular Narratives: Twister, Independence Day, and Frontier Mythology in Contemporary Hollywood," Journal of American Culture, 22:1 (1999): 25-40.
Lacy, Mark. "Cinema and Ecopolitics: Existence in the Jurassic Park," Millennium, 30:3 (2001): 635-644.
MacDonald, Scott. "From the Sublime to the vernacular: Jan De Bont's 'Twister' and George Kuchar's 'Weather Diary I'," Film Quarterly, 53:1 (Fall 1999): 12-15.
McGurty, Eileen Maura. "From NIMBY to Civil Rights, 'Origins of the Environmental Justice Movement," Environmental History, 2:3 (July 1997): 301-323.
McMullen, Wayne. " The China Syndrome : Corruption to the Core," Literary Film Quarterly, 23:1 (1995): 55-63.
Nash, Jeffrey and Anne Sutherland. "The Moral Elevation of Animals: The Case of Gorillas in the Mist ," International Journal of Politics, Culture, and Society, 5:1, (1991): 111-126.
Place, Vanessa. "Supernatural Thing," Film Comment, 29:5 (September 1993): 8-11.
Podeschi, Christopher. "The Nature of Future Myths: Environmental Discourse in Science Fiction Films, 1950-1999," Sociological Spectrum, 22 (2002): 251-297.
The Arrival. Dir. David Twoly. Live Entertainments/Mediaworks, Inc. 1996.
The China Syndrome. Dir. James Bridges. IPC/Columbia. 1978.
A Civil Action. Dir. Steven Zaillian. Paramount/Touchstone/Wildwood. 1998.
Day after Tomorrow. Dir. Roland Emmerich. 20 th Century Fox. 2004.
The Edge. Dir. Lee Tamahori. Art Linson Productions. 1997.
Erin Brockovich. Dir. Steven Soderbergh. Jersey Films. 2000.
Gorillas in the Mist. Dir. Michael Apted. Guber-Peters. 1988.
Jaws. Dir. Stephen Spielberg. Universal/Zanuck/Brown. 1975.
Jurassic Park. Dir. Steven Spielberg. Universal Pictures/Amblin Entertainments. 1993.
Never Cry Wolf. Dir. Carroll Ballard. Walt Disney/Amarok. 1983.
A River Runs Through It. Dir. Robert Redford. Columbia/Allied Filmmakers. 1992.
Silent Running. Dir. Donald Trumbell.Universal Pictures. 1972.
Silkwood. Dir. Mike Nichols. ABC/20 th Century Fox. 1983.
Soylent Green. Dir. Richard Fleischer. MGM. 1973.
Star Trek IV: A Voyage Home. Dir. Leonard Nimoy. Paramount Pictures. 1986.
Waterworld. Dir. Kevin Costner/Kevin Reynolds. Davis Entertainment/Universal. 1995.