This thesis examines the relationship between commercial television and the more than-human world at a time when global ecological degradation challenges human well-being and the survival of other species. In the latter half of the twentieth century, television became the means by which most people got to know about society and publicly important events or issues. As billions of people the world over regularly view television the planet’s ice caps, rainforests, soil and oceans continue to be depleted. The research considers three questions aimed at a fuller understanding of the role of commercial television in Western society’s approach to global ecological degradation. What arises from being immersed in the more-than-human world? What arises from encountering the broadcast of commercial television? What arises from being immersed in the world of producing commercial television? The literature on global ecological degradation is substantial; the reasons why Western society is having difficulty coming to terms with the issue is less understood. While quantitative studies of the environmental content of television output have been undertaken, there has not been research into understanding the relationship between ecological awareness, television viewing and commercial television production. This research takes a hermeneutic phenomenological approach to the questions above. Firstly, the researcher immerses himself in the native woodlands and creeks of his immediate vicinity and gradually peels back layers of his perception. He then immerses himself in the world of watching contemporary commercial television and reflecting on his memories of Australian television since 1956. He juxtaposes the content of twenty-four hours of commercial television with personal recollections that reflect both the invisible and sedimented experiences of commercial television. Thirdly, the researcher observes a range of commercial television production environments (News, Advertising and Drama). In doing so he reflects on conversations with and between television executives, directors and scriptwriters who occupy this world. The main findings are that commercial television scriptwriters and personalities hold the most available tools for delivering an Australian-based ecological message through the plot and actions of characters, via a ‘green mise-en-scène’. However, there are severe constraints on this process because of the over-riding importance of ratings. Commercial television is a ratings hungry ‘third parent’ that has increasingly occupied the everydayness of Australian homes since 1956. The invisible technological nature of television has created a particular distance between the production of commercial television and how its mise-en-scène is perceived in domestic Australia, by a population that is technologically and procedurally removed from the more-than-human world. / Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/204270 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Fell, Bruce G., University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, School of Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
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