Celebrity, media and the environment research network
Print version
A research network met today to explore and develop research between scholars, researchers and practitioners working on the relationship between celebrity, the media and environment. This innovative international research network seeks to forge a range of creative and interdisciplinary approaches to a highly topical and increasingly controversial subject. The group aims to shed new light on the mediation of environmentalism, the power of celebrity and the effects of both on politics and practice.
The interaction of celebrity and the environment is not new. The Adamson’s’ won fame for their relationship with lions and advocacy for conservation in East Africa in the 1960s. ‘Grey Owl’ spoke to packed audiences in the 1930s in the UK and Canada. John Muir was revered the early 1900s for his role in US conservation and his pilgrimage to Thoreau’s grave. Wildlife film has been producing celebrity conservationists for decades (e.g. Attenborough, Cousteau, Goodall, Durrell).
Yet, the longevity of the interactions makes recent developments all the more interesting, for it means we are better able to understand what is different about them. For example, we can see how celebrity involvement in climate change issues (e.g. DiCaprio, Madonna) reshapes previous interactions with the environment, how conservation NGOs (re)formulate their interactions with celebrity, how wildlife film has been restructured for contemporary audiences and how celebrity itself has expanded in its outlets and, especially, its power/impacts. Turning analytical lenses to today’s relations between celebrity and environmentalism allows us to explore the cultural and political economies/ecologies of media events alongside the work of politicians, NGOs and ‘green’ corporate capital.
This network of scholars from a variety of disciplines—in combination with environmental media/communications practitioners—is tied to the exploration of these phenomena and their implications. The research interests of this proposed network include the history of wildlife film, the activities of conservation NGOs, the climate change ‘industry’, the political economy of wildlife conservation, celebrity activism, sustainable consumption and interpretations of environmental discourse in film and text. Practitioners include members of NGOs working with celebrity-fronted campaigns, other ‘spectacular’ media/marketing forms and film-markers devoted to representing environmental concerns and the ‘environment’ more broadly. The goal of this bid is to develop this embryonic network and to use this research to contribute to public debate through the involvement of artists and NGO media practitioners.
The Network is organised by Dr Mike Goodman in the Environment, Politics & Development Research Group.
The interaction of celebrity and the environment is not new. The Adamson’s’ won fame for their relationship with lions and advocacy for conservation in East Africa in the 1960s. ‘Grey Owl’ spoke to packed audiences in the 1930s in the UK and Canada. John Muir was revered the early 1900s for his role in US conservation and his pilgrimage to Thoreau’s grave. Wildlife film has been producing celebrity conservationists for decades (e.g. Attenborough, Cousteau, Goodall, Durrell).
Yet, the longevity of the interactions makes recent developments all the more interesting, for it means we are better able to understand what is different about them. For example, we can see how celebrity involvement in climate change issues (e.g. DiCaprio, Madonna) reshapes previous interactions with the environment, how conservation NGOs (re)formulate their interactions with celebrity, how wildlife film has been restructured for contemporary audiences and how celebrity itself has expanded in its outlets and, especially, its power/impacts. Turning analytical lenses to today’s relations between celebrity and environmentalism allows us to explore the cultural and political economies/ecologies of media events alongside the work of politicians, NGOs and ‘green’ corporate capital.
This network of scholars from a variety of disciplines—in combination with environmental media/communications practitioners—is tied to the exploration of these phenomena and their implications. The research interests of this proposed network include the history of wildlife film, the activities of conservation NGOs, the climate change ‘industry’, the political economy of wildlife conservation, celebrity activism, sustainable consumption and interpretations of environmental discourse in film and text. Practitioners include members of NGOs working with celebrity-fronted campaigns, other ‘spectacular’ media/marketing forms and film-markers devoted to representing environmental concerns and the ‘environment’ more broadly. The goal of this bid is to develop this embryonic network and to use this research to contribute to public debate through the involvement of artists and NGO media practitioners.
The Network is organised by Dr Mike Goodman in the Environment, Politics & Development Research Group.
