Bob: People in the U.S. are poorly educated in science compared to other developed countries.
Lee [email protected] wrote: > Lee, > > You had told me about the maple and the show about it once before. I > agree that we would not likely see such a special on a single > beautiful tree in this country. Any thoughts on why or is that > straying to far from our interests? > > Bob > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Lee Frelich" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Sent: Friday, November 20, 2009 7:47:34 AM GMT -05:00 US/Canada Eastern > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Family Activity: The Disneyification of Nature > > Jenny: > > I accidentally came across a TV show from Japan about a maple tree. A > whole hour about one tree that turns unusually bright red in the fall > that is famous in Japan. They call it the giant maple, although its only > about 45 feet tall (which is rather large for a Japanese Maple). They > had professors who study physiological ecology and phenology study the > tree for a year and comment on it during the show. They show the tree in > all seasons. It was amazing what a good job they did of using the tree > to educate the audience about trees and ecology in general. Nothing like > that would ever appear in a U.S. TV show. > > Lee > > [email protected] wrote: > > I love Miyazaki and find that many many other Japanese movies convey > > high respect for forests. > > > > I've mentioned the Narayama movie > > (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnkSHX96cuc), but I also recently saw > > "The Mourning Forest" by Naomi Kawase (2007). A young woman > > recovering from the death of her young son nurses a senile old man. > > One day he wanders off into the woods and she has to find him and > > then they get lost. Beautiful > > movie. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3jFVebzJ-y4 > > > > Another really really good and weird one is Fire Festival (Himatsuri, > > 1985). A lumberman wages war against a developer in unexpected > > ways. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rt1UmDBRT8k > > > > There are so many more. > > > > No disneyfication going on in these movies, that's for sure! > > > > Jenny > > > > > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: Andrew Joslin <[email protected]> > > To: [email protected] > > Sent: Thu, Nov 19, 2009 7:19 pm > > Subject: Re: [ENTS] Family Activity: The Disneyification of Nature > > > > Ed, if I had kids I'd be glad to conduct your survey! > > > > Many of you have probably heard of the animated film director Hayao > > Miyazaki whose movies do a great job of capturing the mystery and > > importance of nature and the forest in a way that's appealing to > > children and adults. He is an environmental populist with deep roots, a > > rare species in the entertainment industry. My only caveat is try to > > watch the English subtitled Japanese language versions as opposed to > the > > dubbed English versions. The voices of the Japanese actors seem to > > convey the intent of the director better then the often poorly cast or > > directed English dubbed voices. > > > > If you're not familiar with Miyazaki's work I recommend the following: > > My Neighbor Totoro > > Spirited Away > > > > For a great parable of uncontrolled human enterprise, technology and > > destruction of the environment: > > Princess Mononoke > > > > This Studio Ghibli wikipedia entry has a thorough list of Miyazaki's > films: > > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Studio_Ghibli > > -Andrew > > <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hayao_Miyazaki> > > Edward Frank wrote: > > > > > > The Disneyification of Nature > > > > > > Andrew Joslin recently commented on the Disneyification of nature: > > > > > > /Yep nature metaphors are a double edged sword, you want to be able to > > > communicate to a wide audience. At the same time the power of the > > > metaphor can be diluted or co-opted/redirected by commercial/marketing > > > forces. I guess that's why I think forest and nature metaphors/myths > > > need to be reinvented and reinvigorated to stay ahead of > > > "disneyification". (November 16, 2009)./ > > > > > > Certainly how nature is portrayed in the popular media influences how > > > we perceive nature. In the latter part of the 19^th century and > early > > > part of the 20^th the safari’s in Africa by luminaries such as Ernest > > > Hemmingway and Teddy Roosevelt popularized and glamorized the idea of > > > the “Great White Hunter.’ This accompanied the romanticism found in > > > the journals of Robert Stanley and his search for Dr. Livingston in > > > the heart of Africa. Fictional stories by H. Rider Haggard such as > > > “She” and the “King Solomon’s Mines” glamorized the jungle > experience > > > and in turn inspired a series of over two dozen Tarzan novels by > Edgar > > > Rice Burroughs. Later on in the thirties to the present animated > > > movies and cartoons by Disney and others similarly influenced our > > > perception of the natural world. The Bambi effect for better or > > > worse has changed the public perception of hunting. More recently > > > explorations of the natural world by Marlin Perkins in his Mutual of > > > Omaha’s Wild Kingdom, Marty Stouffer’s Wild America, and Steve > > > Irwin’s Crocodile Hunter put a human face anew upon explorations of > > > the natural world. These television programs were produced against a > > > background of documentary films by Disney, National Geographic, and > > > various Nova producers showing a version of nature in which humans > did > > > not play an intermediary role. Some have characterized these > > > documentaries as the elevator music of nature programming. There is > > > little doubt that these examples of popular media influence our > > > collective view of the natural world. > > > > > > > > > > > > How are television, movies, and video games influencing our > children’s > > > view of nature? > > > > > > Specifically how are trees and forests portrayed in these media > > > formats? I am proposing a project that involves children’s > > > programming on television. Many of you have children or have close > > > relatives with children grade school age or younger (or perhaps you > > > can rent some.) The perception of children of these media > sources is > > > different from our perception as adults. The goal would be to > compile > > > results from surveys of what children see and interpret from > > > depictions of trees and forests in cartoons. In general terms > > > participants would ask their children about what examples of trees > and > > > forests they remember from cartoons, then the children would be > ask to > > > mark down and comment on what tree and forest images they see in > > > cartoons as they watch them. It can be treated like a game rather > > > than a homework assignment. Specific information required would be > > > the age and gender of the child and the name of the cartoon, in > > > addition to the comments. > > > > > > > > > > > > Preliminary Survey: > > > > > > Before they sit down and make notes on the cartoons as they watch > > > them, a series of questions should be ask. > > > > > > 1) Do you remember any trees or forests in the cartoon shows you > > > watch? > > > > > > 2) What show were they in? (Doesn’t matter if the answer is > wrong) > > > > > > 3) Were the trees part of the story or just things in the > background? > > > > > > 4) If they were part of the story > > > > > > a. Did they have faces? > > > > > > b. Could they talk? > > > > > > c. Could they move their branches around? > > > > > > d. Could they walk around? > > > > > > e. Were the trees friendly or mean? > > > > > > f. Were they happy or sad? > > > > > > g. Do you know what kind of trees they were? > > > > > > 5) What did the trees do in the story? > > > > > > 6) Is there anything else they want to say about the trees (or > > > even other plants)? > > > > > > The key is to not lead them into giving any particular answer, but to > > > document their impressions. After this preliminary session, they > > > should be given notepaper or a notebook so they can write down what > > > they notice about trees as they watch their cartoon shows. You > > > could even loan them a digital camera to snap photos of the > television > > > screen as they watch. Try to make it fun, a game or a contest. > > > > > > When these notes are completed, everyone can email them to me at > > > [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> > <mailto:[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]?>> rather than > post them > > > to the discussion list, and I will compile them all into a report > > > which I will post in a month or so. Feel free to include scans of > > > drawings they may make as part of the processes. > > > > > > > > > > > > Edward Frank > > > > > > > > > > > > Check out my new Blog: http://nature-web-network.blogspot.com/ (and > > > click on some of the ads) > > > > > > -- > > > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > > > Send email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > > > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > > > To unsubscribe send email to > [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > > > > -- > > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > > Send email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]> > > -- > > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > > Send email to [email protected] > > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] > > -- > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > Send email to [email protected] > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] > -- > Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org > Send email to [email protected] > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en > To unsubscribe send email to [email protected] -- Eastern Native Tree Society http://www.nativetreesociety.org Send email to [email protected] Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/entstrees?hl=en To unsubscribe send email to [email protected]
