Being from the Golden State, seeing more and more people sporting canvas tote bags, bringing their own collapsible, stainless steel straws to restaurants, and swapping out Tupperware with mason jars have become more of the norm over the last few years. And perhaps it is because I live close to the ocean, or perhaps it’s because I live in a college town where many eco-activist groups reside, thatI feel the issue of plastic pollution hits closer to home. Journalists, nonprofit executives, and activists are among the many groups of people that know the power that a compelling visual can have, especially when it comes to social justice, politics, or in this case, reversing some of the devastation we’ve brought to our own environment. But often times, it’s not enough to simply tell an audience that recycling isn’t enough to protect marine life or that one beach cleanup day will solve the problem. That’s why storytellers will use striking visual aids to raise awareness of their chosen issue. “Scientific Storytelling using Visualization” authors Kwan-Liu Ma, Isaac Liao, Jennifer Frazier, Helwig Hauser, and Helen-Nicole Kostis iterate the importance of using “causally-related events” to send a message in a visual story: “First, they take time to unfold, and their pacing matches the audience’s ability to follow them. Second, they hold the audience’s attention by having interesting settings, plots, and characters. Finally, they leave a lasting impression, either by piquing the audience’s curiosity and making them want to learn more, or by conveying a deeper meaning than your normal everyday.” In other words, the visuals need to connect to the viewer’s own life in some way in an engaging way. It’s not always enough for someone to hear that sea turtles can choke on plastic waste; they have to see it for themselves, or visually understand how the actions we take today can affect our tomorrow. The World Wildlife Fund reports that 8 million tons of plastic are dumped in the oceans annually, and that one in every two marine turtles have consumed plastic at some point in their lives. I chose to present this image first, because audiences are often swayed by rhetoric that involves animals. It also presents the big picture - just how far our plastic use can threaten inhabitants in our environment. Researchers Fabiola Cristina Rodriguez Estrada and Lloyd Spencer Davis iterate in their study, “Design Theories and Practices Into Science Communication” that the fast-paced nature of our society forces communicators to present information in such a way that it can speak above the noise of “multinational corporations, cyberspace, and consumerism.” They write: “For this reason, science communicators need to find ways to connect at the same fast pace and to spread our messages over wide areas that go beyond the limitations of traditional media...We live in an environment shaped by images, which surround us all the time, telling us how to think, feel, and talk.” Which is why it was more compelling for Business Insider reporter Aria Bendix to include a photograph of a to indicate what some groups are doing to make the ocean free of plastic in her article, “The massive plastic-cleaning device invented by a 25-year-old is finally catching trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch,” than to simply publish an infographic showing the fast facts of ocean cleanup efforts. About six years ago, Boyan Slat began creating a U-shaped system designed to remove trash from the ocean by using the sea’s current. Slat founded The Ocean Cleanup, a group that is currently making efforts to remove plastic debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, “a trash-filled vortex in the Pacific Ocean that's more than twice the size of Texas,” according to the article. Seeing the efforts that are being made to fix the plastic problem is not only inspiring, but it answers the question as to what innovations are being pursued and addresses problem-solving - not just the emotional impact of aquatic animals eating humans’ trash. For those who think like scientists, providing causes and solutions to a problem is an effective way of engaging with this type of audience. In a similar vein, The Guardian reporter Anna Turns’ article about women activists lobbying their government to remove plastic from women’s sanitary products seeks to share the innovative ways different people from different walks of life are choosing to combat overuse of plastic. Nicole Dahmen, author of MediaShift’s “How to Do Better Visual Journalism for Solutions Stories” recognizes that the doom and gloom of most news stories need to be reported, but reporters also have the responsibility of shedding light on what can be done to solve societal issues. Dahmen writes, “There is growing momentum around the practice of solutions journalism, a fact-based, rigorous reporting method aimed at covering workable responses to societal problems...Indeed, words can provide key details needed for effective solutions reporting, but so can visuals—photographs, video, visualizations, virtual reality and the like.” Medium writer David Campbell would agree with this. In his article “Why it’s time for visual journalism to include a solutions focus,” he notes that most people tend to be attracted to ‘bad’ news,’ causing readers to dwell on and remember more details about the bad than the good. The above image is striking because it involves a visual that references something many people (especially men) consider taboo - periods. The woman in the photo almost seems to challenge readers to come face to face with the problem at hand. But it’s also striking in that the very thing that some might find offensive might also be a key to helping combat plastic overuse. Likewise, National Geographic’s Randy Olson took a similar approach when highlighting the detrimental effects of plastic use in the story, “Plastic bans spread in India. Winners and losers aren’t who you’d expect.” Suddenly, the small handful of plastic tampons seems modest compared to the mountains of garbage shown in the photograph. What I find so interesting about this image is that it shows the environmental impacts of improper recycling and plastic waste to our neighbors abroad. It’s easy to sympathize with the otters and sea turtles that consume our plastic, but I’d venture to say that we aren’t as quick to think about how plastic overuse can be just as strong of an impact to other societies. In his 2013 TED Talk, National Geographic photographer David Griffin shared on the importance and impact that photo stories can reveal, beyond the surface level: “[Photos] that go beyond the superficial or just the immediate that demonstrate the power of photojournalism. I believe that photography can make a real connection to people and can be employed as a positive agent for understanding the challenges and opportunities facing our world today.” Perhaps this is why I find the above photo, taken from a Los Angeles Times article about a family vowing to go plastic-free, a simple but powerful example of a story that combines good storytelling with a real-world issue. In this image, two children are shown at a farmer’s market sipping out of stainless steel cups (no straw!) rather than styrofoam containers with plastic lids. Researcher Hugh J. Watson observes in his report, “Data Visualization, Data Interpreters, and Storytelling,” that “The focus of storytelling is to capture listeners’ attention with a narrative that is supported by visualizations...Your listeners will ask themselves what the story means to them. Put yourself in their place when creating the story. Include specific, personalized examples that people will remember” (Watson, 2017, pp. 9). That being said, I’d like to think that the children challenge readers to evaluate their own actions and think about the small ways they too can make a difference in the world around them. What I think is most compelling about all of these different images from various news sources is that they are all connected to the same issue (plastic’s negative impact on the environment) even though individually, they touch upon different parts of the plastic story. As news organizations shift more towards solutions-oriented storytelling and incorporating more visually compelling elements into technical subjects like science, medicine, and education, I look forward to being inspired. Works Cited Bendix, A. (2019, October 2). The massive plastic-cleaning device invented by a 25-year-old is finally catching trash in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.businessinsider.com/ocean-cleanup-catches-plastic-great-pacific-garbage-patch-2019-10. Campbell, D. (2018, January 22). Why it’s time for visual journalism to include a solutions focus. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://witness.worldpressphoto.org/why-it-is-time-for-visual-journalism-to-include-a-solutions-focus-5be15aec3afc. (MODULE 5) Dahmen, N. (2017). How to Do Better Visual Journalism for Solutions Stories. Retrieved October 3, 2019, 2019, from http://mediashift.org/2017/11/visually-reporting-solutions-stories-newsrooms-classrooms/ (MODULE 4) Estrada, F. C. R., & Davis, L. S. (2015). Improving Visual Communication of Science Through the Incorporation of Graphic Design Theories and Practices Into Science Communication. Science Communication, 37(1), I40–I48. doi: 10.1177/1075547014562914 (MODULE 6) Fight Against Plastic Pollution. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/02/the-women-taking-the-plastic-out-of-periods. How Photography Connects Us - David Griggin. (2013). Retrieved from https://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-photography-connects-us-david-griffin (MODULE 6) Ma, K.-L., Liao, I., Frazier, J., Hauser, H., & Kostis, H.-N. (n.d.). Retrieved October 3, 2019, from http://vis.cs.ucdavis.edu/papers/Scientific_Storytelling_CGA.pdf. (MODULE 6) Sampathkumar, Y. (2019, February 8). Plastic bans spread in India. Winners and losers aren't who you'd expect. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/02/india-single-use-plastic-bans-maharashtra-tamil-nadu/. Spillman, S. (2019, July 19). Living without plastic: One family's journey. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/story/2019-07-18/living-without-plastic. Turns, A. (2019, October 2). The women taking the plastic out of periods. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/02/the-women-taking-the-plastic-out-of-periods. Watson, H. J. (2017, February). ResearchGate. Retrieved October 3, 2019, from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316605154 (MODULE 3)
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |