[Ecoed] "Ecology in the Movies"

[Jennifer Riem]

I have a few suggestions. You could try Medicine Man for traditional
ecological knowledge and habitat destruction. It's been years since I
saw it, so I don't remember how accurate it is.

If you don't mind using animation, some of the environmentally themed
animated files might be a good way to address misconceptions since
they're often a mix of complex details and an oversimplified main point.
As an example, The Lion King was probably still pretty popular when your
students were younger, and if so it's likely influenced their ideas
about ecology quite a bit. It may oversimplify the "circle of life" idea
in some places, so you could use it as a jumping off point to bring up
and address misconceptions. It could also be a starting point for
discussion, since the characters have lines that relate to predator-prey
relationships, food webs, and nutrient cycling. There are lots of
biological details in the animation too.

Similarly, you could try Princess Mononoke (impacts of land use change)
or Spirited Away (water pollution). Both are Japanese animation with
lots of fantasy elements and a lot of symbolism, so they might not be
what you had in mind. If I remember correctly, their endings are more
ambiguous and complex though-- unlike movies like Ferngully that present
habitat destruction as a straightforward problem.

Jennifer

Jennifer Riem
Education Coordinator
Ecological Society of America
Department of Education and Diversity Programs
jennifer at esa.org
301.588.3873 ext. 314


-----Original Message-----
From: ecoed-bounces at ecoed.net [mailto:ecoed-bounces at ecoed.net] On Behalf
Of Charlene D'Avanzo
Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 2:48 PM
To: ecoed at ecoed.net
Subject: [Ecoed] "Ecology in the Movies"

Colleagues:

I am thinking about teaching a course for first year students next 
year called "Ecology in the Movies".  The idea would be to interest 
students in ecological topics via video and film. (E.g. the 
scientific basis for claims; follow-up of questions they have). 
These would be paired with readings from the literature etc. and 
other things.

So, I am looking for movie/video/DVD suggestions. Here are some 
mainstream ones I've already thought of:

Climate Change: Waterworld; Inconvenient Truth
Energetics of US Agriculture: Fast Food Nation
Species Loss: Jurassic Park

Plus some excellent documentaries: Dive to the Edge of Creation, 
about the deep sea vent community discovery, is one my favorites. 
Introduced Species - Cane Toads; Darwin's Nightmare

I wonder if anyone has taught a course like this. Any suggestions or 
ideas will by much appreciated!

-- 
Charlene

*******************************************

Charlene D'Avanzo
Professor of Ecology
Director, Center for Teaching & Learning
Hampshire College
Amherst, MA 01002

Voice 413-5595569
FAX 413-5595448
Email - cdavanzo at hampshire.edu

website: http://helios.hampshire.edu/~cdNS/
Teaching Issues and Experiments in Ecology (TIEE):
     tiee.ecoed.net/
Course website: http://ns.hampshire.edu/ns207/

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