The Nature of Future Myths: Environmental Discourse in Science Fiction Film, 1950-1999

The Culture of Nature and the Rise of Modern Environmentalism: The View Through General Audience Magazines, 1945–1980

“…An analysis of film also reveals antienvironmental tendencies. Science fiction films from the 1950s through the 1990s not only counter environmentalist discourses, but there also is a surprisingly strong resonance with discourse that legitimates the exploitation of nature (Podeschi 2002).…”

“…Likewise, much of the media research amounts to ''snapshot-in-time'' analysis that looks at cultural material at one point in time often from a relatively short and recent period (see for example Delli- Carpini and Williams 1994;Shanahan and McComas 1999;Papson 1992). Some work examines culture over longer periods, but with what are arguably narrow sources (see Podeschi 2002;Daniels 1996).…”

“…This finding has considerable resonance with that of Shanahan and McComas (1999) who found nature ''symbolically annihilated'' in commercial television. It is likewise reminiscent of Podeschi's (2002) finding that in the midst of the modern environmental movement and its rise, popular science fiction films failed to articulate in any clear or strong manner the worldviews or concerns of this broad and diverse movement. Perhaps the rise of the second wave of the environmental movement itself might help explain the decline in nature content.…”

Imagining decline or sustainability: Hope, fear, and ideological discourse in Hollywood speculative fiction

“…Many of these discursive influences can be found in the narratives and plots of Hollywood SF, whether to critique them, caricature them, or uncritically reinforce them. Prometheanism, for instance, is occasionally typified as SF's defining attribute (Podeshi, 2002), but SF now contains increasing influence from Survivalist discourse as well. But what do each of these categories mean?…”

A Comparative Analysis of the Vision and Mission Statements of International Environmental Organisations

“…The scope of this paper is to explore the range of views, values and option an array of organisations that approach environmental issues preferentiall the natural world (wildlife) or as the context that sustains human wellbeing et al1999, Brulle 1996, Podeschi 2002, Kaldis 2003. Among them, Kaldis (2003) points at a 'crisis of discourses', for which disciplinary concept schemes exert hegemonic control over the signification and values of environmental issues; language that serves other spheres of thought (e.g., scientism, managerial-utilitarian) restricts the way practitioners view and understand environmental issues.…”