Pro-Environmentalism in The End of Meat (2017) and Living the Change (2018): A Thematic Analysis Through an Ecocriticism Lens
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Abstract
The rise in the making of environmental documentary films has called for a richer dimension of critical analysis of the relationship between humans and nature to understand the media’s intended messages better. Ecocriticism comes into play in interpreting literary and visual texts with an engagement of ecological thinking. This article proposes a thematic approach using ecocriticism to analyze The End of Meat (2017) and Living the Change (2018). These two films were selected because they offer solutions in practice by groups of people in different corners of the world in response to the call for action to tackle the intensity of environmental issues. This analytical study used an ecocriticism lens to investigate pro-environmentalism’s determinants by speculating words, phrases, sentences, emotional expressions, activities, ambiances, and locations. The analysis revealed three themes: morality for the environment, connectedness to nature, and environmental citizenship. The study extracted cognitive and affective perspectives and discussed coherent characteristics of pro-environmentalism. The study found that the intended messages encircled around improving the balance between humans and nature, fostering empathy for animals and lands, and promoting conscious consumption and production.
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