Public Service Announcement "Unplug"

After finishing the final edits, creating the PSA made helps me summarize this class, and remember a lot of what I learned. The group chose a very broad topic, to be "unplugged" which is one of the basic messages of this course. The first reading, "Feed" conveys this message the most. That society is plugged into media, electronics and advertising and it has a brainwashing effect. Deciding what props to use in the video, the emotions the actors should be expressing helped understand the concept of unplugging much better. Articles from this class suggest texting, watching a TV or computer screen all day changes our attention efficiency. In other words new generations are having trouble reading books and getting a deep understanding from literature. Their brains are wired for fast advertising and an explosion of images.
Filming the PSA went by fast, our group picked a time after class and we completed it in a little over an hour. Editing was a little more tricky, that took up almost three hours. Since we did filmed a lot of clips the organization was not great, and we had to go through a lot of footage. The flip camera turned out to be a handy tool. Its size is advantageous for filming from different parts of the set, whether it be a corner or from the floor. The film quality did not seem to be lacking either which is good.
The final product looks good, I was a little worried halfway through the editing stages but after we added music and cut the volume on unwanted sound it looked much more professional. We also added slides with educational information that should motivate people to get outside intead of spend the day watching television. I learned more just researching the facts about how long Americans spend on the internet or how many text messages teenagers send a month. I feel good about our PSA, and I think it matches and improves upon the previous ones we viewed. Hopefully the rest of the class feels the same way

Nature Valley and Project Censored

Ad Analysis

As I was scouring the internet I saw some advertisements with some implicit false environmental symbolism or greenwashing. One company that constantly uses the environment to its advantage is Nature Valley. Why not? It says "nature" in the name it must be natural, or straight from the forest as this image implies. The marketing strategy is obvious, it wants people to think they are buying a natural, healthy, and trustworthy product. Looking at the ingredients of these granola bars it is hard to believe they use this kind of advertising campaign because these things are far from natural. It does have granola, but the list of oils and chemicals does not exactly make it seem like this food item was picked from the wilderness. The forest used in the background almost looks like a redwood forest from the pacific northwest. This region has been plagued by some of the worst deforestation and environmentally degrading logging practices. I am not linking Nature Valley to destruction of the redwoods but the imagery is a little ironic.

http://sisterlysavings.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/naturevalley.jpg

Activist Websites

After going through some of these sites, project censored was the most interesting to me. This site offers alterative news articles and videos to corporate media, and any messages that resemble propaganda. There are quotes and references that support the sites goals of critiquing journalism and any bias that might exist. The Interviews with co-editors Peter Phillips and Mickey Huff are really interesting, these are two people that know a lot about corruption in the news and are on top of their game. If there was anything critical about the site it would be the lack of organization. If you look at every category it is easy to find what you need though. Project Censored has a good message, maybe they should expand, and add more editors or journalists since I have never heard of them. One cannot really participate with this organization, unless you purchase their literature and guides but looking at the news and articles makes visiting this site worth it.

PSA

Plans fell through to get the filming done this weekend but our story is all set and our group is still in good shape to finish. We just need a few hours to get the filming done, and an hour or so to edit. I think it is good we have not filmed yet since this gives us more time to think about the scenes and the information we will use.

Taking Back Your Own Back Yard

Toxic Sludge Ch. 12:

A democratic system is fair and just and recognizes different voices in all communities. The last few years I have questioned the usefulness of Democracy in the United States. There is no doubt that the engine of corporate America is running on all cylinders with only profit in mind. This has debilitating effects on this vision of democracy. Accepting that the profit motive of business encompasses many people, democracy has a different meaning to me. In a true democracy everyone is on an equal playing field. Despite this, democracy in this country still has a meaning to me because one person still counts as one vote no matter one’s gender, race, or affluence. It is hard to stay true to the one equals one ideal because of propaganda and corporate lobbying, How many of our politicians are bought off by companies? Also the reading suggests that Public Relations campaigns have completely clouded the truth to what is a true democracy and who is looking out for the health of the public.

As corporations are using capitalism to gain power and wealth, the people can use it just as well to take it back. Every time people purchase a product they are voting. Buying hormone-free milk is a choice, and if enough of these choices are made everyday companies will have to change their policy to make money. Greenwashing is not an option when the public is educated enough to deconstruct the PR. Grassroots and NIMBY organizations; derisive label or not, are leading the charge informing the public about the truths of corporate injustice. I completely agree with the quote about the difference between propaganda and education, it fits the narrative well. There is hope in Tylczak’s efforts and grassroots organizations for sure but stimulating this progress is the democratic ideal that everyone can participate and one vote still counts the same.

Observation Experiment

This has been a rare weekend where I was not able to get out for a run, bike, or hike so I was not able to observe in a secluded wilderness location. I chose my 30 minutes away from the world to be on Church St, sitting down with some friends and ‘people watching’. I observed that it was a beautiful day out, and my overall feelings were ones of relaxation and content. I sat in the sun and did not want to move or feel the need to say anything. I observed all different kinds of people, the usual variety on Church St. In the afternoon. High schoolers going to the mall, college kids with their parents, street musicians, and older couples shopping. There was quite a relaxing atmosphere even though this was an urban environment.

My 30 minutes watching television were extremely different. I was sitting down with my girlfriend flipping through the channels, and the entire time I felt anxious, annoyed, and happy that I never watch TV. I was disgusted with every single advertisement, I had to tell my girlfriend every little technique that was used to try and sell a certain product. The conversation turned to the obnoxious world of marketing and environmental atrocity and I was immediately sad. I usually do not mind discussing such things but I was trying to relax and watch some TV. Tiger Woods’ commercial with the voice of his deceased father put me over the edge, I just started laughing because I knew exactly what Nike was thinking when they put this add up. This says I am educated about corporate responsibility and environmental issues but I think for any person TV has to have a negative impact on their brain. Compared to 30 minutes on Church St. This was a completely different scenario.

PSA:

Our group, which plans to produce a visual of being ‘unplugged’ has some good ideas. We have created a storyboard and planned ahead for set selections and actors. We have lots of ideas whether or not they all get into the video might be doubtful. With a little more planning we should be set to shoot soon.

Toxic Sludge is Good for You!

Chapter 8

I have heard about the story of Hugh Kaufmann and the EPA whistle-blowers but this article sheds more light on the corruption of environmental legislation. There is so much conflict of interest between government and corporate bureaucracies. The same thing happened with the tobacco industry, there is this obvious love and marriage between lobby groups and government officials. The list is endless, in one instance the PR firm Powell Tate or had connections to the Reagan and Bush Administrations.

The renaming of sludge by the public relations group is very ironic in the context of this book, and particularly this chapter. The one quote by Rutgers Professor Frank Lutz on the newly coined term is hilarious, "It does have one great virtue, you think of biosolids and your mind goes blank." Some of the other proposed names are simply laughable, "recyclite" as if the stuff is recyclable, and "black gold" this must be the type of gold where only a few make a significant profit.

It is hard to believe that New York City was dumping its waste into the ocean only 20 years ago. It is also unbelievable that it took complaints from the fishing industry to actually change policies. The image of the barge of trash getting pulled around the Atlantic Ocean sticks in my mind when thinking of the sludge situation

The PR campaigns for spreading sludge in rural towns particularly the ones in Texas are ridiculous. How can this group get away with paying off the mayor, giving money to the board of education, and having turkey dinners to convince the public? Their use of "passive" techniques instead of protesting and handing out flyers is smart and impressive but the subtleness is scary.

One really scary point is the last paragraph referring to how far greenwashing can go. I agree that a PR representative would go as far as saying that sewage sludge is so environmentally friendly it might as well be certified organic. This is indicative of greenwashing today and how much the organic label actually means in the market. Media and public relations can change the image of anything, even if it is hazardous as sludge to seem healthy and environmentally friendly.

My question is how twisted and greedy are proponents of land spreading of sludge? And how far are they willing to go to make a profit from exporting New York City’s waste to host towns?

Chapter 9

This chapter does a great job of getting the perspective of anti-environmental groups and public relations campaigns with some good quotes. A good one is by former Interior Secretary James Watt saying "If the troubles from environmentalists cannot be solved in a jury or ballot box, perhaps the cartridge box should be used." Another good one is by Ron Arnold of Wise Use he says, "Our intent is to sue environmental groups whenever there is a legal reason to do so." He went on saying that environmental groups lie, skew data, and are economically harmful. These people should not have any power in this society.

There are so many references to the Greenpeace Guide to Anti-environmental Organizations, I feel I should purchase a copy of this, I am sure there is a list on their website. Anyway, it is interesting because I have never heard of some of these environmental PR groups such as ARCO or the environmental defense fund (EDF). They have clearly had an influence, especially for McDonalds to have risen to be one of the most environmentally friendly businesses. How is that possible?

It was a little disturbing to learn how much funding to the big environmental organizations received from notorious anti-environmental corporations. Corporate sponsors for the World Wildlife Fund, Nature Conservancy, Defenders of Wildlife, and more represent one quarter of the organizations in the Greenpeace guide.

I was never a huge fan of Earth day but it makes sense now because it is corporate public relations scheme. As described in the Good cop/Bad cop section of the chapter earth day helps create a schism in the environmental movement, and convinces people that the planet is healthy and worth celebrating. The one cartoon of the polluted industrial plant putting up an earth day banner explains the situation well. Public relations is everything, one company could be responsible for massive deforestation and unfair labor but if they put "recycle more" banners on their products or business they are fine.

Reiterated from Chapter 8, the issue of greenwashing is important and worse than I thought. Also termed as "Green PR" this form of propaganda has been rampant since Silent Spring was published. PR experts such as Burston-Marsteller, Ketchum, Bruce Harrison, and others are waging an all out war on environmentalists, and with the backing of large corporate clients they usually end up wining. It is amazing but $1 billion is spent by U.S. businesses every year on anti-environmental PR services.

My question is should activists try an focus on education to combat greenwashing and chemical corporations? Or is attacking the PR campaigns and businesses with protests and flyers more effective?