Abstract
This thesis is submitted alongside the film Forecast (2015) to be a submission for the PhD project Cantre’r Gwaelod and Tales of Inundation. The project aims in its entirety to propose film as a mode of enquiry regarding ways in which the dangers of climate change, specifically anthropogenic climate change, can be addressed in a documentary film. Using the possible allegorical power of the Welsh flood myth of Cantre’r Gwaelod, the original aim of the project was to create a documentary film which used this myth as a way to illustrate the effects of a changing climate. During the research, however, it became apparent that myth as a concept presented several points of interest which overall problematised its use in this way. Myth itself could be seen to be present in mass communication because some simplification of complex issues needs to take place in order to make this type of communication possible. Furthermore, it also became clear that the issue of climate change had to some extent been mythologised through a similar process of simplification.This project looks closely at the ways in which this tendency towards mythology in communication, especially regarding complex issues such as climate change, might, in fact hinder the communication of themes and ideas and damage the efficacy as a result. It therefore became obvious that the purpose of this project was to develop a methodology which attempted to communicate through a documentary film in a way that eschewed mythology as much as 2 possible. This written thesis looks at the ways in which this was achieved, both theoretically and practically and details extant work that serves to illustrate this.
Date of Award | 11 Apr 2016 |
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Original language | English |
Awarding Institution |
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Sponsors | Knowledge Economy Skills Scholarships |
Supervisor | Paul Newland (Supervisor) & Dafydd Sills-Jones (Supervisor) |