Communicating about Climate Change Through Art and Science
Climate Change, Media & Culture: Critical Issues in Global Environmental Communication
ISBN: 978-1-78769-968-7, eISBN: 978-1-78769-967-0
Publication date: 14 October 2019
Abstract
The chapter reviews recent evidence of, and debates about, the integration of art, entertainment, and media in media portrayals (e.g., movies, photographs, theater, music, performance art, museums, story-telling, modifications of an environmental space, social media, painting, comics, dance, videogames, etc.) of climate change based on three sources of data: 1) articles listed in academic reference databases and Google Scholar, 2) online sites, and 3) climate change news images. 1) Retrieved articles discuss both the potential and challenges of communicating about climate change through art, entertainment, and media. However, research is inconsistent on and in some cases is critical of the nature and extent of effects of art-based climate communication. 2) The Internet is a rich and diverse source of websites and videos about climate change. We analyzed 49 sites based on the art medium or form discussed, the primary content related to climate change, and the apparent goal of the site or video. The most frequent goals were promote action, collaboration, raise awareness, climate change communication, discussion, empowerment, reshape public perception, and engagement. 3) Based on the major themes and frames identified through content and cluster analysis of 350 images associated with 200 news articles from 11 US newspaper and magazine sources through late 2009, we summarize the theme of art and mass media representations of the environment, and how those are associated with the other major themes. We conclude by suggesting promising areas for future research on the intersection of art and science in communicating about climate change.
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Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
Ronald E. Rice acknowledges ongoing support through his endowed Arthur N. Rupe Professor in the Social Effects of Mass Communication in the Department of Communication, UC Santa Barbara. Special thanks to Fanny Agniel, who helped with acquiring and digitizing a portion of the image sample.
Citation
Rice, R.E., Rebich-Hespanha, S. and Zhu, H.(. (2019), "Communicating about Climate Change Through Art and Science", Pinto, J., Gutsche, R.E. and Prado, P. (Ed.) Climate Change, Media & Culture: Critical Issues in Global Environmental Communication, Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 129-154. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-78769-967-020191010
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2019 Emerald Publishing Limited