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Masters Thesis
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- Creator:
- Cardona, Martha Aime
- Description:
- Due to the many misconceptions about science and the general lack of scientific literacy in our society, there is a need to better distribute accurate, comprehensible scientific ideas in an engaging way. Science education films can be powerful tools in this effort. They can be used to explore and explain relevant scientific concepts, and have the potential to reach the general public and scientists alike. As more science documentary films are produced, the general public naturally increasingly turns to films as an important source for scientific knowledge. Unfortunately, much of the scientific media being produced are designed to entertain and not necessarily to educate. Most science film producers do not hold scientific degrees, and they also do not have experience in scientific knowledge and research. Through this project I take a look at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park through a series of short films that were produced after extensive scientific literature review, direct communication with scientists, and visits into the field. Thus, as a scientist myself, I am using a “Scientist as Filmmaker” production model with the aim to create engaging natural history film without sacrificing scientific relevance and accuracy. It is increasingly important that the drivers behind science media production, not only have the skills to captivate audiences through visual storytelling, but also possess an extensive understanding of the scientific process in order to ensure the distribution of accurate and diverse scientific information.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis, Presentation, and Video
- Campus Tesim:
- Humboldt
- Department:
- Biology
- Creator:
- Robinson, Rebecca Elizabeth
- Description:
- This thesis examines conventional approaches to addressing breast cancer within the United States, as they are reinforced by breast cancer awareness campaigns. Through these campaigns, companies and organizations emphasize the importance of making people aware of the disease and raising money for research by hosting fundraising events and selling consumer products. Additionally, campaign events, educational material, marketing, merchandise, and social media activity reinforce a dominant discourse around breast cancer, composed of the following elements: spreading awareness, pink ribbon products, saving breasts, optimism and survivorship, a search for the cure, early detection (mammography), and individual responsibility. This discourse bears the legacy of early cancer awareness-spreading efforts and corporatized philanthropy, situated within a neoliberal capitalist society that values scientific innovation and marketplace freedoms over environmental and human well-being. Within such a context, the mainstream discourse becomes a powerful rhetoric that maintains the dominance of industry over the public, and consequently, obscures corporate responsibility for environmentally linked cancers. Using the lens of Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), I examine three case studies to illuminate the ways in which they reinforce the key elements of the mainstream discourse. The first case study is the Breast Cancer Site and their associated Facebook page. The second case study is the NFL’s annual Crucial Catch Campaign. The third case study, which I label Fossil Fuel and Toxic Polluters, includes Avon, Estée Lauder, Chevrolet, and Ford. This study contributes to growing body of scholarship critiquing breast cancer awareness activities, which is an essential step in dismantling the stronghold companies have on efforts to address the breast cancer epidemic. The level of normalcy afforded to pink ribbon products and fundraising activities makes it difficult for the public to ask critical questions and understand why this approach is problematic. Therefore, this thesis aims to articulate how and why these activities are not only ineffective, but also damaging to real progress towards preventing and eliminating breast cancer as a disease that threatens individuals, families, and communities. My hope is that through my own analysis, the reader will gain a new understanding and new ways of thinking about these complex issues.
- Resource Type:
- Masters Thesis and Video
- Campus Tesim:
- Humboldt
- Department:
- Environment and Community