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Framings of Nature in Planet Earth Ii and Wild Safarilive

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Framings of Nature in Planet Earth Ii and Wild Safarilive FRAMINGS OF NATURE IN PLANET EARTH II AND WILD SAFARILIVE By Josh Gross A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of Humboldt State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Social Science: Environment and Community Committee Membership Dr. Nicholas Perdue, Committee Chair Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy, Committee Member Mr. William Goldenberg, Committee Member Dr. Mark Baker, Program Graduate Coordinator December 2018 ABSTRACT FRAMINGS OF NATURE IN PLANET EARTH II AND WILD SAFARILIVE Josh Gross The percentage of the world’s population living in cities continues to grow, while media technologies become ever more ubiquitous. As a result, the mass media’s role in connecting the general public to the natural world will only increase; the wildlife genre of television may have a particularly large role to play in this regard. Unfortunately, previous authors have argued that the over-dramatized depictions of nature in mainstream wildlife programs may serve to disconnect viewers from the natural world. Scholarship has also not kept up with recent developments in wildlife television, with few authors writing about hugely successful programs like Planet Earth II or innovative series such as Wild SafariLIVE. To understand how each of these programs portrays the natural world, I used a three-stage model from visual anthropology to apply the most widely- cited definition of media frames to their content: identifying repeating patterns of messages, or frames, within a sample of episodes. I then drew on literature about universal human values and connectedness to nature to theorize about how the most common frames in each program, along with more general features, might influence viewers’ pro-environmental attitudes and behaviors. I found that the dominant messaging pattern in Planet Earth II is “Spectacle,” whereas Wild SafariLIVE emphasizes “Discovery and Exploration.” While both of these programs are likely to foster pro- environmental attitudes and behaviors, Wild SafariLIVE might do so more effectively. ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My list of people to thank is substantial, partly because the process of arriving at this study topic was not straightforward. A host of faculty members at Humboldt State University provided me with helpful advice, and they all deserve recognition. This includes, but is not limited to: Dr. Mark Baker, Dr. Yvonne Everett, Dr. Matt Johnson, Dr. Marlon Sherman, Dr. Erin Kelly, Nicole Jean Hill, Dr. Tony Silvaggio, Dr. Janelle Adsit, David Scheerer, Dr. Laurie Richmond, Dr. Sarah Ray, Dr. Maxwell Schnurer, Dr. Marisol Cortes-Rincon, Dr. Aletris Neils, and more. I would like to especially thank my final thesis committee for all their assistance and helpful critiques. This would be: Dr. Cutcha Risling Baldy, Will Goldenberg; and, most of all, Dr. Nicholas Perdue. However, I must also acknowledge the producers, cast, and crew of Planet Earth II and Wild SafariLIVE. Without their hard work, and the excellent programs they have created, I would have nothing to study. I therefore owe much gratitude to Sir David Attenborough and everyone who worked on Planet Earth II, along with Emily and Graham Wallington and the entire WildEarth team. It has been an honor to have been able to immerse myself in their fantastic programs for so many months. Finally, all of the friends and family who supported me throughout the past two- and-a-half years require considerable thanks. You know who you are, but I must directly mention my parents, my sister Dr. Clare Gross, Marisa Formosa, Halle Rayn Kohn, Leah Ramnath, and Kelda Britton. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ II ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .............................................................................................. III TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. IV LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................... VII LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... VIII INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................... 6 Brief History of Wildlife Television ............................................................................... 6 The Era of Safari Films: The Johnsons ....................................................................... 7 The Rise of the ‘Classic’ Model: Disney’s True Life Adventures ............................. 9 Marlin Perkins and the Start of Presenter-led Wildlife Programs ............................ 10 Modern Presenter-led Wildlife Programs ................................................................. 11 Wild SafariLIVE ........................................................................................................ 13 Modern Blue Chip Wildlife Programs ...................................................................... 15 Framing ......................................................................................................................... 17 Frames as Nouns ....................................................................................................... 18 Framing as a Verb ..................................................................................................... 19 Framing in Wildlife Programs .................................................................................. 20 METHODS ....................................................................................................................... 23 iv Sampling ....................................................................................................................... 23 Three-Stage Model........................................................................................................ 25 Transcribing .............................................................................................................. 27 Frames Identification ................................................................................................ 30 Frames Construction Analysis ...................................................................................... 35 RESULTS ......................................................................................................................... 38 The Five Most Common Big Frames per Program ....................................................... 38 Wild SafariLIVE’s Most Common Big Frames ........................................................ 40 Planet Earth II’s Most Common Big Frames ........................................................... 43 Frames Construction ..................................................................................................... 44 Visuals....................................................................................................................... 44 Nonverbals ................................................................................................................ 47 DISCUSSION ................................................................................................................... 50 The Most Common Frames .......................................................................................... 50 Frames Construction ..................................................................................................... 52 Sub-Frames ............................................................................................................... 54 Impacts .......................................................................................................................... 55 Values in Media Frames ........................................................................................... 56 Sub-frames ................................................................................................................ 62 The Extinction of Experience and Connectedness to Nature .................................... 67 Summary ................................................................................................................... 70 v FUTURE DIRECTIONS .................................................................................................. 74 RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................. 77 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................. 79 APPENDIX A ................................................................................................................... 89 APPENDIX B ................................................................................................................... 93 Wild SafariLIVE Frames Identification Spreadsheets................................................... 93 March 11, 2017 Sunrise Drive Frames Spreadsheet ................................................. 93 March 18, 2017 Sunset Drive Frames Spreadsheet ................................................ 118 March 4, 2018 Sunrise Drive Frames Spreadsheet ................................................. 149 Planet Earth II Frames Identification Spreadsheets ................................................... 201 “Jungles” Frames Spreadsheet
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