The Twelfth Meeting of the Irish Environmental History Network will feature a talk by Dr. Pat Brereton of the School of Communications, Dublin City University. The talk is entitled "Ecology, Climate Change and Film", and a short abstract may be found below.
The talk will draw upon textual analysis of film undertaken for Dr. Brereton's PhD, together with ongoing research and publications on ecology and cinema that can be used to measure and evaluate the power of mass media in framing debates on ecology and climate change. Using examples from Climate Change narratives, Green Irish cinema, and an upcoming symposium on Eco-cinema, the talk will tease out some issues that influence a range of ecological debates. The Hollywood dream factory frequently produces ecological fantasies, which feed into the public consciousness of world audiences. While 'feel good' narratives focusing on fears of environmental catastrophes and humanity's need to reassess their role as part of nature can be criticised as vacuous, endorsing grand symbolic gestures, nevertheless such narratives also remain significant in keeping the environment at the centre of human consciousness.
The meeting will take place from 5pm, Thursday 10 February, 2011, Trinity College Dublin, in the Neill/Hoey Lecture Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub.
All welcome.
