Unpacking Significance, Detailing Your Chosen Phenomena

Hi, class,

I just read Timo's post below on Krombacher, and I wanted to add a note. This is precisely the kind of "greenwashing" that we like to analyze. In this case, we might even be more specific and suggest that it's the deployment of alienating statistics (in the form of those vast sums of acreage) that signify in the following way:

1. They reassure us that Krombacher is indeed thorough in its science. The precision with which it treats the environment, then, also must reflect on the quality of their beer. They are rigorous and thorough as scientists, so we can also trust that their beer is also controlled and regulated.

2. The numbers also seem so mindbogglingly big as to signify Krombacher's elite status as a global yet responsible business enterprise. They are capable of affecting these unimaginably big areas, so they must have enormous power in the global market. Yet, as the ad suggests, they are simultaneously responsible about their effect on the environment. They get to have their cake and eat it, too, then. That is, they may signify "powerful corporation" even as they also signal their "care for the environment." In the corporate world, that's a win-win situation, and it's created by their use of those numbers.

Just by unpacking the various ways in which a sign "signifies" in our culture lends a great deal of nuance and critical rigor to your studies. Good beginning, there, Timo.

Keep diving deeper.

Hey this is cool!

Copy and paste this, bitte

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110530/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_germany_nuclear_power

Krombacher and Greenwashing

Hey, anyone seen the new commercial for Krombacher, one of Germany's most successful beer brands?

They had a campaign last year to save 1m² of the rainforrest for every sold crate of beer. Now, one year later, they show a new Advertisment on TV stating that they managed to save 94.000.000 m² of the rainforrest. That sounds like a lot, indeed. But according to this website (Attention, it's in German, here it is translated by google *klick*) 7000 hectare (In m²: 70.000.000), are cut down. So they managed to save one days work. But now they are presented as a environmentally considerate company. Now that's high class greenwashing.

I will post a link to this commercial once I can find one.

(Critical Junkyard) Utilitarianism

While reading Garrad's chapter on animals, I happened to stumble upon the term “Utilitarian”. Utilitarianism is, in short, an ethical assessment of any action with regard to its usefulness to the entirety of sentient beings or, in other words, one could describe it as the pursuit of maximum global happiness, which makes it part of hedonist or eudaimonist ethics.

Posted by Christopher O'Sullivan

(A toxic text) BP oil catastrophe and the media

BP

I have got another good example for the greenwashing of a concern and the media. About one year ago the oil catastrophe happened at the Gulf of Mexico.

To keep their good image, BP fed tthe media with downplaying misinformations which hav been shared unaudited.

After the sealing of the oilleak the media reported that most of the oil at the Gulf of Mexico was vanished and implied that the situation is under control again. They even showed pictures of clean beaches. BP used solvents to disperse the oil and stated that two-thirds of the oil dissapeared from the surface of the sea, collected, evaporated, burned or liquidated.

With every statement it became more and more obvious that BP controlled and manipulated the informations of the media. The solvents used to remove the oil let it sink at the bottom of the ocean instead.

The mixture of oil and solvents leads to health problems or the citizens of the gulfregion. More and more citizens suffer from symptoms of intoxication and suffer from nausea, irritation of the respiratory tract, amnesia, etc. And still the situation is played down from official side.

Despite of all incidents the companies still continue with deep water well. However, the rest of the world almost forgot about the whole thing due to the new incidents which happen in the world and demand the world population`s attention temporarily.

(Here are some links if you are interested in videos.

http://www.nola.com/news/gulf-oil-spill/deepwater-disaster/index.ssf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gre9cDDG-Ec&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt4Zbrto86c&feature=player_embedded#at=555 )

(A Toxic Text) Spirited Away (2001)

One could possibly go with any of Hayao Miyazaki's movies, because all of them deal with environmentalist themes and ecocentric ideologies. The most obvious choice, I think, would have been Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), a movie about the struggle to detoxify a post-apocalyptic world, but unfortunately I have yet to see that film. So, now let me tell you something about one of my favorite animated motion pictures of all time.

In short, Spirited Away tells the story of Chihiro Ogino, a young girl who has to work in a witch's bathhouse (designed for exhausted spirits and gods) to break the spell that turned her parents into pigs.

Where Captain Planet and the Planeteers had its shortcomings--meaning on every conceivable level--Spirited Away succeeds, and does a brilliant job of forwarding its messages to the target audience (Spirited Away was rated PG). Not only does it take a serious approach to deal with topics such as pollution, greed or the interrelation of good&evil, it also does it subtly and rather shows than tells.

For instance, there is one scene where a being enters the bathhouse which everyone believes to be a stink-spirit, but by helping it with its bath Chihiro unintentionally finds out that it is actually a spirit living in a polluted river, carrying all the sludge, wreckage and waste with it. Another spirit is without home, because its river had to be paved over to make room for an appartment complex.

These troubled anthropomorphic representations of nature are, of course, used to stress human impact on the environment (pollution/expansionism), but the viewer does also come across a creature called “the No-Face”, which seems to have access to an unlimited amount of gold and to be afflicted by insatiable hunger. This entity could be seen as the embodiment of (human) greed and over-consumption.

If you haven't seen this movie, do so and you will not regret it.

Posted by Christopher O'Sullivan

Tschernobyl nowadays

Hey there,

I have seen some pictures of the area in and around Tschernobyl and they left me shocked.

http://acidcow.com/pics/16330-chernobyl-today-52-pics.html

To be honest, I have never had such a close look on photos of the reactor accident before. Especially the pictures of the floor full of gas masks and the ones from the school touched me most. These photos demonstrate how the citizens left their cities in panic and fear.

Till now the land is abandoned, the houses and streets are almost the same like 25 years ago and sooner or later the nature will fetch back what the human have taken away from it a long time ago.

Shockingly despite the fact that the area is still contaminated some people came back and chose this area to become their home for themselves and their families. This shows how ignorant people deal with the danger of increased radioactivity

This ignorance somehow reminds me on the greenwashing of the event like we have seen in the movie „The China Syndrome“. To me they do not seem to know the danger and seriousness of an event like in Tschernobyl or now Fukushima.

(Critical Junkyard) 'Paleolithic Consciousness'

In Chapter 4 (Wilderness) of Ecocriticism, Garrard quotes John Muir's term 'Paleolithic consciousness' referring to, in my understanding, a state of environmental consciousness akin to that held by humans in the Paleolithic Age. This means that humans would have a renewed sense of the sacredness of all beings and the interconnectedness of the universe.

(A Toxic Text) Sony Electronics and Greenwashing

This video from Sony Electronics company is a perfect example of greenwashing used by companies causing dangerous waste. Sony's tagline in this commercial 'We're recycling our old commercials to remind you to recycle your old electronics' sounds like a fantastic way to lead by example. The issue here is that most electronics recycling centers ship their products to China to be recycled in unsafe conditions, wherein the hazardous materials from these electronics are not only harmful to those dismantling them, but are also then able to freely go into the environment in which they are taken apart.

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/04/10/ewaste

Nuclear Nightmares

Hi,
Look at this. It's an documentary of Chernobyl. We can see pictures of the event, of the evacuation and also an interview of a woman who lived there. After watching our film "China Syndrome" this film is really interesting but it's s only a part of the whole documentary. It shows what happens if an accident like the "unanticipated transience" in "China Syndrome" goes wrong.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z1HF_TnCkhg

My Quiz Redemption

Okay, so I got a 2.5 on the last quiz. I am hopping that if I fix one answer I can go to a 3.5. But I don't actually know the weight of the points, so if I need to redo another answer, just give me a shout out.

#5) Differentiate "environmental" from "environmental justice groups"

Environmental groups are more focused on nature for nature's sake. If there is a problem with animals in their habitat , these organizations bring awareness to the problem and try to resolve it. Whereas environmental justice groups are interested in harmoniously existing in nature and are more anthropocentric. They factor in a human element that determines the importance of a crisis. So groups that focus on toxic water in neighborhoods would be involved here.

Ja?

(Critical Junkyard) "Risk Society"

During our readings of Buell and Beck, the Risk Society kept popping up. A Risk Society is prepared for the environmental consequences that could *possibly happen, but have not really occurred yet, or at all. It views the future as living with decisions, rather than danger, so a Risk Society seems pretty optimistic and pragmatic at the same time. Risk Societies are aware of the past, present, and future, and the possibility of danger or disaster happening due to their actions at some point. Fear Societies reevaluate the cultural constructs of what is valued because having an element of fear or anxiety in the culture places more emphasis on totalitarian laws.

TOXIC TEXT! (Labyrinth)

Ah, the best movie ever made: 1986's Labyrinth.

As a child, I thought that Labyrinth was just a movie for my enjoyment and my sole source of life lessons, but tonight I discovered many of our toxic discourse topics are embedded within my precious movie.

I will give examples of 3 out of Buell's 4 topoi.

*Inescapable of the Toxin
*David & Goliath (Our favorite)
*Gothicized Squalor


Here is the "Bog of Eternal Stench". I like to think of it as toxic waste, for the most part. Hoggle is terrified of the bog and explains to Sarah that no one is allowed to touch it or else they too will reek for all eternity. So once you're in it, you can't escape it. Also, Sir Didymus lives near the bog, guarding the bridge, and admits that he can't even smell the stench anymore. The marsh has a similar effect that poisonous chemicals can have.












From the beginning of the movie, The Goblin King, Jareth, has complete control over pretty much everyone else. Aside from his goblin minions, the blackmailing of Hoggle, and the manipulation of Sarah, he can even command time and space with his "voodoo". This makes him a pretty formidable foe. On multiple occasions Jareth shows up merely to enforce his power and to intimidate Sarah. The size of his kingdom and maze alone shows how small Sarah and her quest really are. But of course, she defeats her Goliath and saves her brother and grows up along the way.













The film takes a Virgilian perspective of nature. I couldn't find a nice shot of the forest, but the woods is pretty dark and filled with goblins and Hoggle actually ends up betraying Sarah with a poisonous apple. Labyrinth's portrayal of the woods as a powerful and sublime reading of what nature is, mirrors the evil in human nature as well, since this is where Hoggle "loses his way".

P.S. I think Labyrinth actually has another interesting scene that argues ideas of classic pastoralism we read about earlier. The movie is NOT nostalgic. It emphasizes both a good present and a good future, but has a disinterest in memory. The scene after Sarah eats the polluted fruit takes her into a drugged out stage where she is buried in her material wealth, childhood toys, and photos of her absent mother that hold Sarah back from growing. More stuff in the movie happens, and then in the end, we see Sarah coming full circle and putting away her cluttered past to prepare for a better future.

(A Toxic Text) Cars

The Disney PIXAR movie Cars by John Lasseter and Joe Ranft exhibits a striking amount of pastoral. While the story focuses on Lightning McQueen and his journey to humbleness, there is also the storyline about Radiator Springs, a town that was forgotten as the interstates were built to get people from one city to another as fast as possible. The segment often called “The Story of Route 66” is a great example of elegiac pastoral as it mourns the loss of the harmonic balance of nature and Route 66. The decline of Radiator Springs is shown in flashbacks showing the town in its former paradisiacal beauty lost to the fast living times that can’t afford to wait and look at beauty.
The scene is accompanied by James Taylor’s “Our Town” which might seem a little heavy on the pastoral but works quite well with the rest of the movie’s soundtrack.
And as a treat:




P.S.:
With my rather brilliant nephew Fynn being nearly six it shouldn’t be a wonder that I’ve seen this movie.
It’s one of his favourites and we watched it a couple of times together (in English, of course, seeing that his is better than mine).
P.P.S.:
Perhaps I am not American enough but I just can’t any kind of harmony in “concrete streets + nature”.

Posted by Konstantin Zielke

(Critical Junkyard) “ecological imperialism”

In Ecocriticism‘s sixth chapter “Dwelling” we read about “ecological imperialism” a term Garrard ascribes to Alfred Crosby. Ecological imperialism can be described as introducing new plants, animals, insects, illnesses and bacteria into a foreign biotope, leading to a tripping of its ecological balance and extinction of formerly dominant species. According to Garrard Crosby describes this as a mainly “white” phenomenon which I’m sad to say hasn’t changed much as big companies usually prefer white males for higher positions, but I digress.

Posted by Konstantin Zielke

China Syndrome Take Two

As there is quite some "David vs. Goliath" themed response paper writing going on, I decided to change mine. As I wouldn't want to “pollute” the discourse with another one, I will now elaborate on the “clash of collars” with similarities and differences of Jack Godell and Ted Spindler. (And don’t worry, I won’t actually title my response paper “Clash of Collars” however tempting it might be)

Posted by Konstantin Zielke

The China Syndrome Proposal

People interpret tradition differently depending on class, education, and personal beliefs. The China Syndrome shows many people and the different social circles they represent and how they react to the circumstances portrayed in the film. Many characters in the film undergo a shift in perceptions, whether it is Jack Godell’s realization that those higher in the company only care about production and not the lives of the people that use their product or even his friend, Ted Spindler’s declaration at the end of the film that not all orders he receives proof to be the right ones. Traditions provide the impression that rituals or beliefs created in the past still hold precedence over more modern beliefs. For instance, Ted Spindler sticks out to both Richard Adams and Kimberly Wells because of his age, and Adams remarks that he “is the only one who looks like he knows what he is doing.” His interpretation of Spindler becomes contradicted later by Spindler himself when he talks to Godell about his interrogation with the investigators after the first SCRAM; he comments that he does not have the same level of education as everyone else in the control room and knows nothing about nuclear power. When Godell asks him why he believes the investigators were looking for a “scapegoat,” his answer: “Tradition,” spells out his thoughts about the hierarchy of the workplace. This idea is further developed as throughout the film he constantly asks for the next set of orders, and at the end of the film, he is given orders to distract his friend to give the SWAT team enough time to capture Godell. He, of course, does this without any outward disagreement because to him, tradition dictates that he follow the instructions of his superiors. Ted Spindler's character shows the audience the effects of both education and class structure and how that directly affects how he perceives the tradition of following orders and how the perception of those orders changes by the end of the film.

*A Toxic Text* Empire State of Mind

In a similar entry into an unknown world, Jay-Z gives hip-hop listeners a tour of the streets of New York. In “Empire State of Mind,” he paints himself as “hood forever,” or as always belonging to the city. He navigates the streets that have impacted his life, such as 560 State Street and 8^th Street, but he also mentions other places in the world, like Texas (which brings country connotations) and the Dominican Republic (with its Caribbean culture and from the eyes of many Americans, it has an exotic flare). He says that New York is a “melting pot,” that “No place in the world can compare.”

New York itself is a very dirty city that is well known for its crime and rudeness; however, Jay-Z’s representation of the city creates a “concrete jungle where dreams are made of.” His lyrics say that The Big Apple is a place for inspiration, a place where you can go and always have something to do and see, where you can belong.

In the second half of the song, he mentions how even the “good” people give in to the temptation of the city: “Don’t bite the apple, Eve, caught up in the crowd / Now you’re in style.” He goes on to rap about how faith or religion really has no place in the city, because New York possesses the power to inspire its people: “Mommy took a bus trip, now she got her bust out… And Jesus can’t save you, life starts when the church ends.”

And in an effort to show the city has powerful, he directly says that he is from the “Empire State.” Using the state’s nickname calls to attention the hold the city has over its inhabitants. He also comments on the popular sites of the city like the Statue of Liberty and the memorial of the World Trade Centers. He uses those to create a sense of pride and strength that the people much have to “make it.”

Here are the lyrics.

And here is the music video. (Sorry to the Native Americans for using YouTube)

China Syndrome (Maybe) Topic

Hi guys and gals,


Well, I took a lot of notes about the relationship on what is actually happening and what the audience sees in the movie. There are a lot of scenes with two screens, one being filmed and one not being filmed, and how the actions are different depending on whether or not they are being watched.
I think the instances in the control room go along similar lines of the two TV screens. In the beginning, when the plant is shuttering, Jack keeps telling the people in the observation deck that every thing is fine. But really it's not. And Michael Douglas films Jack's body language without anyone knowing. We see a clear difference between what he says and the reaction he gives.

So there is always a level of performance when communicating with others that I think the movie shows really well. And it reminds me of how the indian commercial is an act and has ulterior motives as well.

I don't know. I am just having trouble picking up some Toxicity theories to connect this to. I've been looking at a lot of Buell. I think I might have confused myself more over this post. But it's 5:10, so "publish"!

If everyone hates this idea I have backups I can explain in class better.

Bis bald!

China Syndrome

I was also planning on writing about the "David and Goliath" theme in the movie. I plan on focusing on the relationship between Richard and the news station, as well as that between Jack and the people involved in the upper workings of the nuclear plant (his boss/boss' boss/ those in charge of falsifying information etc.)

China Syndrome

Because we already have the "David and Goliath"-Topic four times (well, not only because of this, but partly), I'd like to elaborate the character of Jack in combination with apocalypticism. I will try to concentrate on one specific scene from the movie, a key passage, and relate this to the dawning apocalyptic event.

China Syndrome

The David and Goliath myth came to my mind as well while watching the film. It would be interresting to look at the relation between the construction company on the one side and Jack Godell, Kimberly Wells and Richard Davids on the other side.

China Syndrome

I'd like to elaborate on David vs. Goliath as well. Specifically Richard Adams as David. Scenes to look at might be the first camera shoot inside the power plant, Adams’ commentary on nuclear power. Perhaps the hearing as well.

Posted by Konstantin Zielke

China Syndrome

I would also like to focus on the "David and Goliath" topic with special attention to the power of the gaze. The scene in which chairman McCormack stoically watches Godell from above and behind glass is what comes to my mind. I think it would be interesting to analyze this more closely.

Posted by Christopher O'Sullivan

An example of pollution and its consequences

I have found some terrible pictures about the pollution of the Ganges River in India. Have a look on this:

http://echsrosario.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/pollution-around-the-world2.jpg

http://www.all-about-india.com/images/Ganges-River-Body-Pollution.jpg

(I don`t want to post a picture of the dead people...)

How can a river be so polluted and disgusting? Factories funnel their sewage to the river. Furthermore the Ganges has an immense religious meaning for the Hindus. They cremate the dead bodies and throw the ash into the river for reincarnation. The dead bodies of babies or cattle are thrown in the river without burning them before with the hope, that the soul will be safed and can go up in the heaven.

As a result of this pollution the toxicity of the Ganges River goes sky high. Tragically the water of the river serves as drinking water for the cities and villages along the river and because of its religious significance the Hindus take a bath in the river, wash their clothes and even brush their teeth while dead bodies float by.

I also saw a shocking video in which children „played“ with a dead body and push it with sticks in front of their boat.

The problems of pollution escalated so far because the Hindus can not accept that their holy river brings them illness and death. I wonder how people can ignore that and let their children play in it...

Change for the better food

I found this cartoon about pesticides in fruits.

http://www.cartoonstock.com/lowres/jlo0048l.jpg

I think it`s kind of funny because since the people became aware of the toxicity in the air, water or, like in this case their food, they started to rethink about how their food has to look like. Only some years ago the apples had to be big, red and round whereas nowadays the people try to avoid pesticides or other toxic substances by buying organic food even if the price is almost 50-100 percent higher than of non-organic food and does not look that perfect.

China Syndrome

Hi,
For my response paper, I had the idea  to look at the "David and Goliath" behavior of the different characters in "China Syndrome". It would also be interesting to search for a real example from today.

*A Toxic Text* Serenity

Joss Whedon's film Serenity tells the story of Captain Malcolm Reynolds and his crew onboard the Firefly class spaceship Serenity as they uncover a government plot. The plot details the exploitation of a colony planet and its inhabitants through the experimentation of chemicals in the atmosphere. When we were discussing Buell's Toxic Discourse and the different "toxic topoi," this film jumped into my head as an example of of all four parts, but for the purpose of this post, I'm going to focus on #2: the inescapability from the toxin.

One of the main groups of enemies the crew of Serenity faces are the Reavers. Reavers are shown as insane people who are so violent and mad that they are no longer thought of as human. "Who are the Reavers?"

Later, when the heroes find themselves on a planet called Miranda, the truth comes out. The people of Miranda were subjected to a chemical that was supposed to "weed out aggression." Of course, as with any other potentially dangerous drug created by the government, it has negative effects. For most of the population, the drug works; however, not only does it prevent aggression, it also prevents any desire or need to do anything else. 30 million people just let themselves die.

The thing I like about this particular take on experimentation is that it shows not only what the drug is designed to do, but also the possible extreme opposite effect. Ten percent of Miranda's population reacted with an enhanced violence.

In the world of Serenity, planets are prepared for human habitation by the use of terraforming technology. For Miranda, the chemical called Pax was added to the mix. Everyone was affected by the Pax. There were two extreme outcomes to the experiment, and the film highlights the potential realities when facing this type of experiment. In Toxic Discourse, Buell quotes Carson's Silent Spring: "for the first time in the history of the world, every human being is now being subjected to contact with dangerous chemicals...until death," and this seems to be the basis for the ideas behind Joss Whedon's Serenity and its history of chemical experimentation.

(Critical Junkyard) “Eschatology”

In Ecocriticism we frequently read about eschatology and eschatological history (mainly in “Chapter 5: Apocalypse”). The word itself stems from eschatos (last) and logos (word / study of) so it is the study of “The Last” or (freely translated) the study on the end of times (not to be confused with End of Days).
As such it focuses on interreligious apocalypses which is why it has such a huge influence in apocalypticism and ecocriticism.