Ayushi Rai

I. Nature’s Saviours: Celebrity Conservationists in the Television Age by Graham Huggan

The book provides an account of environmentalism and conservationism in the current television age. It provides a critique of the roles that celebrity conservationists play in achieving conservation goals. Huggan differentiates between ‘conservationist celebrities’- celebrities endorsing conservation schemes and ‘celebrity conservationists’ – celebrities who are first and foremost conservationists. An example of the former category, in the Indian context, would be Amitabh Bachchan encoring conservation schemes undertaken by World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) whereas an example of the latter would be Jane Goodall who is first and foremost a conservationist known for her extensive work with chimpanzees in Tanzania. The book provides a detailed account of how celebrity conservationists with the help of television and other visual media are able to draw wider public attention to an extremely threatened world. Five key figures that book focuses on are: the English naturalist David Attenborough known for lending voices to many nature-based documentaries, the French marine adventurer Jacques-Yves Cousteau, the American primatologist Dian Fossey, the Canadian scientists-broadcaster-activist David Suzuki, and the Australian ‘crocodile hunter’ Steve Irwin. Huggan contrasts the approached adopted by these celebrity conservationists to draw public attention to the field of wildlife conservation. Some of the key questions that the books are: –

– How has the spread of television helped shape and mediate this relationship?
-To what extent can celebrity conservation be seen as part of a global system in which conservation, like a celebrity, is big business?

Some of the recurring themes of the book are nature, science, nation, and gender. In a gist, this book attempts to broaden our understanding as well as provide us with new insights into popular television shows such as Planet Earth and The Crocodile Hunter. Most of us now experience nature through a medium: may be a documentary, television show or images. There is a growing disconnection between man and nature and our experience of nature is through a particular form of medium. The ‘celebrity conservationists’ happen to be one of the most important mediums. Therefore it is critical for us to know the approaches adopted by them, the discourses around those approaches and to understand the difference between reality and television.

II.  Animal Internet: Nature and the Digital Revolution by Alexander Pschera

The main argument of the book is that for year nature has been seen separately from technology. However, in this age of anthroprocene, human domination is visible not only in terms of its impact on nature and environment but also in terms of humungous progress achieved so far in the field of technology. One of the impacts of the latter is that it has diluted the separation between nature and technology and the synthesis of nature and technology is currently fully underway. Alexander Pschera provides and alternative view on the impact of technology on nature. With several examples, Pschera argues that humans have now come closer to nature due to technological advancement. He compares this closeness with that humans had with nature during the Stone age. The author argues that after centuries of alienation, humans can now regain this proximity. He gives examples of several mobile apps that help rebuilding this proximity by providing information on bird calls, images, animal anatomy, location etc. Pschera argues that we are now getting back to our roots culturally. He gives example of how birders can share information and images of birds through Facebook pages. He compares this with the relationship that early humans had with Mammoth. He compares the two medium of Facebook pages and the Caves of Altamira that has Mammoth images engraved on its walls.

The Animal internet would help human reinvent nature. Technology, therefore, is now part of the solution. The books provides several examples of how digital technology is shaping and modifying our relationship with nature. The book also has examples that provide pictures of both sides. Pschera while arguing the need for technology to rebuild human-nature relationship also provides an account of the issues associated with it. One of my favourite examples is the one where he compares monitoring animal position with human surveillance by government and corporates. Today, we have data on almost 50,000 migratory birds and everyday more are being added to the list. This is leading to a more transparent natural world. However, as the natural world become more transparent it is also losing its autonomy and we are now digitally constructing our nature and environment. He raises concerns over Facebook pages and blogs on animal information, cameras with self-timers, animal tracking and smartphone apps revealing the location of highly endangered species. But at the same time, transparent nature would also mean better conservation schemes. This book is a must read for every millennial nature lover. With the help of several examples, it raises issue that many of us tend to ignore when it comes to the animal kingdom. The technology and the internet , much like humans, are both boon and bane for the animal kingdom as well.

III. Shoot in the Wild: An Insider’s Account of Making Movies in the Animal Kingdom by Chris Palmer

The book begins with a foreword by none other than Jane Goodall herself. She starts by highlighting the importance of wildlife documentaries in raising awareness in the general public about the wonders of the natural world. However, it is also essential for us to question the way these films are made and if we should believe everything that the narrators tell us. Chris Palmer in this books draws from his own personal experience, the ethics- or lack of them- shown by producers, directors, and the crews of nature films of all sorts. Palmer outlines the history of wildlife filmmaking by starting with nature films in cinemas and now wildlife documentaries broadcasted our television sets. The books provide an account of the extent to which many wildlife filmmakers stoop to provide exclusive footages of the animal kingdom. For instance, many times the vehicle of the film teams disturbs the animals being filmed. This leads to the question, where should we draw the line? Palmer raised ethical concerns that the filmmakers should keep in mind wild making documentaries and also gives ways to overcome these challenges.

The emerging digital culture has further caused havoc. For instance, amateurs have now started to post low-to-no-budge videos on Internet sites such as YouTube. This boom is credited to new technologies such as smaller and lighter cameras, varied options of editing tools making it easier for the filmmakers to work in remote and wild places. The film quality has also drastically improved. Almost everyone with mobile phones or digital camera has the video capability these days, meaning more footages. Palmer argues that we live in a ‘highly visual culture’. We spend a large amount of time in from of TV screens, particularly the kids. Wildlife films, therefore, offer a visual and dynamic way for us to connect to a natural world. Parents also want their families to watch educative and meaningful programs, thus a surge in wildlife films. However, not every documentary or filmmaker is a nature enthusiast. Many people are attracted to this field only because the genre has become extremely lucrative and entertaining in recent years. All these advancements have also brought ethical concerns that have always shadowed the enterprise. The biggest ethical issue has to do with how to bring truthful footage depicting the life of wild animals without endangering them as well as the film team; while also capturing viewers, sponsors, and funders.

The book is an essential read as it informs us about the reality of what actually happens behind the scenes in the context of nature film-making. We sit in our living rooms enjoying these footages, while completely being unaware of the harm it induces on the wildlife as well as several ethical breaches the team undertaken to produced entertaining footages. Nature does not exist for our entertainment. Many filmmakers bother animals by going too close, stage phone scenes to make animals seem more dangerous. Palmer argues that proliferation of wildlife shows in recent time has created a species of wildlife paparazzi – filmmakers who harass animals to get their ‘money shot’. He also uses the term ‘wildlife pornography’ to talk about footages where aggressive tactics are adapted to entertain and give pleasure to the viewers. While wildlife documentary is a way to be more informative and educating ourselves, it also has a dark side to it. It is essential for wildlife filmmakers to adopt ethical practices when it comes to nature videography.

IV. The Environment in the Age of the Internet: Activists, Communication, and the Digital Landscape by Heike Graf

The central theme of the book is the intersectionality of communication, environment, and media. By communication, the author here simply means the conversation or the dialogue i.e. a more general understanding of communication. Graf argues that without communicating about the environment, it would be difficult to have any form of knowledge about the environmental dangers such as climate change, pollution, and deforestation etc and therefore would be unable to react to them. The author argues that ‘nature is silent’ and cant communicates with society. The only way it reacts is in the form of changing temperatures, melting glaciers etc, disturbances which they garner public as well as political attention. Therefore, the environment is an actor that influences communication within our society. Whatever little we know about the environment, both non- human and human is from the (mass) media. As such, media plays a central role in constructing and spreading communication about environmental issues. Not everything can be said or shared, therefore there is a need for selective coverage of each medium or even communication forum. More so because media generally tends to add drama where there is absolutely drama. Graf argues that media is more concerned about the drama and not the science behind any environmental phenomenon. This is one of the most important objectives of this book. It investigated the ways in which the environment finds resonance in different communication forums. The book is critical to have an understanding of the environment in the current age of mass media where information is available almost any and even where. Most of what we know and understand about the environment is shaped by the information provided to us by the media. Mainstream media has often been blamed to add unnecessary drama about the environment instead of focusing on the science behind it. However, this is just one of the forms in which environmental concerns are popularised in the public domain. Various other important actors make use of several other forms of media to popularise environmental concerns. Therefore, the book, with the help of several examples, provides us with an insight into both , the positive and the negative, sides of media. For example, while media disproportionately does focus on violent and catastrophic events, activists in Argentina and Uruguay use digital media in the form of websites, newsletters, e-mails, and mobile phones, to disseminate, articulate and organise environmental protests. Now, social media has also become a popular medium to harness attention. ‘Ordinary’ citizens resort to the blog to popularise and spread opinions and experiences. The use of different media, as well as perspectives of the producers of information, have an impact on a group and its organisations. Media has become a way for a huge of the number of people to overcome ‘the marginalisation of their voice’.

References

Huggan, G. (2013). Nature’s Saviours: Celebrity Conservationists in the Television Age. London; New York, NY: Earthscan from Rutledge; Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group.

Pschera, A. (2016). Animal Internet: Nature and the Digital Revolution. (M. Wikelski & E. Lauffer, Trans.). New York: New Vessel Press.

Chris Palmer. (2010). Shooting in the Wild:An Insider’s Account of Mkaing Movies in the Animal Kingdom. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.

Heike Graf (Ed.). (2016). The Environment in the Age of the Internet: Activists, Communication, and the DIgital Landscape. Cambridge, U.K.: Open Book Publishers. Retrieved from https:// www.openbookpublishers.com/product/484.