UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones 5-1-2020 An Ideological Criticism of The Green New Deal and Media Responses Corynn Miller Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/thesesdissertations Part of the Communication Commons, and the Environmental Sciences Commons Repository Citation Miller, Corynn, "An Ideological Criticism of The Green New Deal and Media Responses" (2020). UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones. 3929. http://dx.doi.org/10.34917/19412132 This Thesis is protected by copyright and/or related rights. It has been brought to you by Digital Scholarship@UNLV with permission from the rights-holder(s). You are free to use this Thesis in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. 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AN IDEOLOGICAL CRITICISM OF THE GREEN NEW DEAL AND MEDIA RESPONSES By Corynn Miller Bachelor of Arts - Communication Studies University of Nevada, Las Vegas 2017 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for The Master of Arts - Communication Studies Department of Communication Studies Greenspun College of Urban Affairs The Graduate College University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 2020 Thesis Approval The Graduate College The University of Nevada, Las Vegas May 14, 2020 This thesis prepared by Corynn Miller entitled An Ideological Criticism of The Green New Deal and Media Responses is approved in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Communication Studies Department of Communication Studies Emma Bloomfield, Ph.D. Kathryn Hausbeck Korgan, Ph.D. Examination Committee Chair Graduate College Dean Donovan Conley, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Philip Tschirhart, Ph.D. Examination Committee Member Denise Tillery, Ph.D. Graduate College Faculty Representative ii Table of Contents Abstract iii Chapter 1: Climate Change, Ecofeminism, and Media 4 Chapter 2: The Green New Deal 24 Chapter 3: Media Representation of the Green New Deal 46 Conclusion 64 References 69 Curriculum Vitae 8 ii Abstract Using an ecofeminist lens, this project aims to analyze the ideologies surrounding the creation and response to the Green New Deal (GND). By completing an ideological analysis of the GND, in addition to examining some news media portrayals of the GND, this thesis analyzes the underlying motivations and ideologies surrounding female politicians, climate change, and climate policies. This thesis examines reads the GND not as a policy that was meant to be passed, but instead as an ideological statement about humans and their relationship to the varying use of appeals to pathos, and shared use of backgrounding and anthropocentric values. These statements reflect both appeals and challenges to capitalism, patriarchy, and anthropocentrism, which prioritize special interests and money over the safety and well-being of the Earth, plants, animals, and ultimately humans. These counter-hegemonic ideologies present in the GND challenge traditional ways of thinking about the environment. I argue that while AOC proposes a radical reordering of the United States economy, the news media portrayals and parts of the GND still echo hegemonic discourses. Furthermore, I argue that these pervasive hegemonic discourses are manifestations of the problems facing collaborative and holistic climate policy. iii Chapter 1: Climate Change, Ecofeminism, and Media In 2020, the physical effects of climate change are more visible than ever. The consequences of climate change have come in the form of devastating wildfires, hurricanes, and the extinction of hundreds of plant and animal species. These effects, accompanied by reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and other federal projects have demonstrated that the results of climate change will be irreversible by 2050 (IPCC, 2019). While small-scale initiatives like recycling are helpful, large-scale changes like policy and regulation must be enacted federally to reverse the effects of climate change before it is too late. This urgency has prompted some politicians to propose legislation in order to begin reversing these negative effects, one of the most prominent being the Green New Deal. The Green New Deal (GND) was proposed by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) on February 5, 2019. The document was written based on the findings from the Special Report on Global Warming by the IPCC and the November 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment Report. The overall goal of the GND is to propose environmentally and socially conscious changes within the United States government. There are a wide range of topics covered in the GND, including but not limited to climate change, infrastructure, systemic injustices, and federal responsibilities. The document also covers a breadth of consequences that would happen as a result of climate change. In addition to environmental damages, the GND also addresses problems that may not be immediately associated with climate change, such as mass migrations and the labor needed to keep up with large infrastructural changes. The document provides information on how the climate crisis leads to social justice issues such as systemic prejudice and exploitation of vulnerable communities. 1 The GND is one of the most radical, large-scale policy initiatives that congress has seen in a long time (Douthat, 2019). This awareness may be attributed, in part, to the attention that has been given to AOC as a new Congressperson and to her unapologetic and aggressive advocacy of progressive policies (Arrieta-Kenna, 2019). Despite the large amount of media attention and public support for the bill, the GND was rejected almost immediately by the members of the United States Senate in February 2019. However, politicians and media outlets are still discussing the GND, even one year after its rejection. In this project, I seek to analyze the ideologies present in the GND and the media representation of the document. These tensions between the media representation and the document text reflect current iterations of climate skepticism and continued hesitancy toward meaningful climate change policies in the rhetorical phenomenon of climate skepticism and populism. These counter-hegemonic ideologies present in the GND challenge traditional ways of thinking about the environment. I argue that while AOC proposes a radical reordering of the United States economy, the media portrayals still echo hegemonic discourses. It is important to note that these conversations are largely influenced by power structures and ideologies, whether they be religious or political (Foucault, 1978). For example, President technical sphere category because the document was written based on findings from empirical scientific research and formatted as a proper bill of law. When it is covered in media outlets, journalists perform acts of translation and accommodation to make the information, whether accurate or not, understandable and entertaining to the public (Fahnestock, 1998). Through this translation from the technical to public sphere information will inherently be modified. However, 2 the outcome of this modification provides interesting information as to the priorities and objectives of the media. I read the GND not as a bill intended to be passed, but as an ideological statement about the relationship between humans and the environment. I argue that the ideologies in the GND represent ecocentric ideologies while challenging other, hegemonic discourses. In this project I support this argument through analyzing the GND through a lens of critical ecofeminism. In my analysis, I accomplish this analysis by analyzing the GND through three objectives: challenges to anthropocentrism, and challenges to capitalism, and challenges to the patriarchy. In addition to analyzing the GND in chapter two, chapter three examines eight examples of how the GND has been described through a variety of media platforms. The media articles that were selected are from either February or March of 2019, which was done strategically to encapsulate the immediate response to the GND. These articles are interesting because each platform chose to represent different arguments and ideologies, which, by necessity, deflects other components of the GND or ways of seeing it any given terminology is a reflection of reality, by its very nature it must be a selection of reality; and to this extent it must function as a deflection of reality" (p. 45). These articles that were published by major media platforms demonstrate how some of the most powerful influences in the American public sphere viewed the document, which inherently influences how the American public viewed the GND, and at the very least sets an immediate narrative in response. These publications provide rich information on how both environmental propositions and female politicians are viewed in the media. By examining these phenomena, I hope to gain a better understanding of the ideological influences that hinder climate policies from progressing in the United States government. 3 Polarization poses dire threats