Green or Greenwashed? Cultivating Ecomedia Literacy Skills
This lesson introduces students to the concept of greenwashing and develops their ecomedia literacy skills. Students will learn to identify various greenwashing techniques used by companies and critically evaluate environmental claims in marketing and advertising.
Teaching the Ecomedia Mind/footprint
This workshop introduces students to the concepts of the ecomedia mindprint and footprint, enabling them to critically analyze the environmental impacts of media technologies and explore how media shapes perceptions and actions regarding the environment.
Eco-Analysis of Personal Gadget
This learning activity aims to critically examine the environmental impacts of personal electronic devices through ecomedia literacy, fostering awareness of their ecological footprint and encouraging responsible usage and disposal. It highlights the importance of understanding the interconnections between digital technology and environmental sustainability within the broader context of ecomedia literacy.
Consumerism and Sustainability
Media literacy and critical thinking lesson asking students to consider their own consumer decisions relating to sustainability through a process of decoding TV commercials and videos about bottled water.
Story of Stuff
A simple and short video that helps explain how the global, linear supply chains of the economic system works from an environmental perspective. Synopsis: “From its extraction through sale, use and disposal, all the stuff in our lives affects communities at home and abroad, yet most of this is hidden from view. The Story of […]
Sun-Maid Raisin Girl goes to Hollywood
This advertisement for Sun-Maid Raisins is a strong example of the pastoral environmental discourse. It represents an idyllic version of farming that has a long tradition in Western visual culture. Discuss with students about whether or not this ad accurately represents the reality of industrial farming. They can research how raisins are produced and the conditions for laborers who pick grapes. They can also explore what kinds of beliefs about the environment are communicated in the ad. Finally, what do they think about the ad’s focus on celebrity?
Kia Niro Super Bowl ad: “Hero’s Journey” Starring Melissa McCarthy
This 2017 Super Bowl ad for Kia uses humor to show how difficult it is to save the environment. The ad offers an easy solution by encouraging people to buy Kia’s hybrid. This is good for exploring the representation of environmental activism and sustainability.
Ford’s EV Ad: Organic Compost
Pashon Murray, founder of Detroit Dirt (http://www.detroitdirt.org), parodies the Cadillac ELR Coupe Super Bowl ad. It shows a version of the American Dream in which an entrepreneurial Black women succeeds by creating a business of organic compost. This video should be juxtaposed with the Cadillac Super Bowl ad and can be used as the basis of a discussion about competing visions of the American Dream (who it includes or excludes and its impact on the environment). This ad can be used to explore ecological values. It can also be used in any discussion about the range of environmental politics portrayed in advertising.
Cadillac EV Super Bowl Ad: The American Dream?
This Cadillac 2014 Commercial is for their electric vehicle (EV) ELR Coupe. Explore with students how it represents the American Dream and its connection with class status, race, and gender. The ad is promoting an EV, but are the beliefs and values depicted beneficial or damaging to the environment? Compare this ad with Ford’s Upside: Anything is Possible ad.
Samsung Ad: Drag and Drop World
A 2008 ad from the early days of touchscreen technology, it touts the benefits of being able to change and manipulate the world. This is a great warm-up video to discuss whether or not it expresses anthropocentric (human centric) or ecocentric (environmental centric) values. Students can discuss who has the power to shape and change the world and for what ends (for example, what kind of person in the video has the power to manipulate the world). It also allows for the discussion of the types of behaviors that are beneficial or damaging to the environment. Finally, it also depicts gender relations and can be used to discuss the relationship between gender and the environment (ecofeminism).