Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect'
It is essential for us to understand what drives human behaviour if we want to tackle anthropogenic damage to the environment. Popular media can play an important role in shaping public attitudes, behaviours and norms towards wildlife, and documentaries in particular have become an increasingly prom...
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1893/32674 https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10221 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/32674/1/pan3.10221.pdf |
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ftunivstirling:oai:dspace.stir.ac.uk:1893/32674 2023-05-15T17:53:39+02:00 Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect' Boissat, Laure Thomas-Walters, Laura Veríssimo, Diogo University of Oxford Biological and Environmental Sciences orcid:0000-0002-3250-2799 2021-12 application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/1893/32674 https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10221 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/32674/1/pan3.10221.pdf en eng Wiley Open Access Boissat L, Thomas-Walters L & Veríssimo D (2021) Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect'. People and Nature, 3 (6), pp. 1179-1192. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10221 http://hdl.handle.net/1893/32674 doi:10.1002/pan3.10221 2-s2.0-85107237898 1733414 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/32674/1/pan3.10221.pdf © 2021 The Authors. People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ CC-BY animal welfare behaviour change complex systems conservation social science consumer research impact evaluation marine mammal captivity qualitative Journal Article VoR - Version of Record 2021 ftunivstirling https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10221 2022-06-13T18:45:18Z It is essential for us to understand what drives human behaviour if we want to tackle anthropogenic damage to the environment. Popular media can play an important role in shaping public attitudes, behaviours and norms towards wildlife, and documentaries in particular have become an increasingly prominent tool for social change. There is, however, a need for robust impact evaluation both in documentary-making and in conservation, to refine future interventions. The 2013 documentary Blackfish portrayed human–orca interactions at the US-based marine park, SeaWorld. Following its release, SeaWorld suffered financial difficulties and the company underwent structural changes, including a cessation of its orca breeding programme. These impacts have often been attributed to the Blackfish documentary, but little evidence has been provided to justify these claims. We combined an analysis of stock market data and semi-structured interviews with 26 key informants to build an in-depth contribution analysis. We used General Elimination Methodology, a qualitative impact evaluation methodology to build an understanding of the impact of Blackfish. We found a consensus among stakeholder groups that Blackfish induced negative publicity for SeaWorld and a change in people's perceptions of captivity. As a result, attendance at the park decreased and the market value of the company dropped. Blackfish catalysed a whole movement against marine mammal captivity. There were three key factors that led to its impact: the support from major distribution channels which allowed it to reach major audiences, emotional impact of the content and timing of its release. Blackfish benefitted from a perfect storm, building upon decades of activism to create an appropriate cultural climate for its release in 2013. Article in Journal/Newspaper Orca University of Stirling: Stirling Digital Research Repository People and Nature |
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University of Stirling: Stirling Digital Research Repository |
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English |
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animal welfare behaviour change complex systems conservation social science consumer research impact evaluation marine mammal captivity qualitative |
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animal welfare behaviour change complex systems conservation social science consumer research impact evaluation marine mammal captivity qualitative Boissat, Laure Thomas-Walters, Laura Veríssimo, Diogo Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect' |
topic_facet |
animal welfare behaviour change complex systems conservation social science consumer research impact evaluation marine mammal captivity qualitative |
description |
It is essential for us to understand what drives human behaviour if we want to tackle anthropogenic damage to the environment. Popular media can play an important role in shaping public attitudes, behaviours and norms towards wildlife, and documentaries in particular have become an increasingly prominent tool for social change. There is, however, a need for robust impact evaluation both in documentary-making and in conservation, to refine future interventions. The 2013 documentary Blackfish portrayed human–orca interactions at the US-based marine park, SeaWorld. Following its release, SeaWorld suffered financial difficulties and the company underwent structural changes, including a cessation of its orca breeding programme. These impacts have often been attributed to the Blackfish documentary, but little evidence has been provided to justify these claims. We combined an analysis of stock market data and semi-structured interviews with 26 key informants to build an in-depth contribution analysis. We used General Elimination Methodology, a qualitative impact evaluation methodology to build an understanding of the impact of Blackfish. We found a consensus among stakeholder groups that Blackfish induced negative publicity for SeaWorld and a change in people's perceptions of captivity. As a result, attendance at the park decreased and the market value of the company dropped. Blackfish catalysed a whole movement against marine mammal captivity. There were three key factors that led to its impact: the support from major distribution channels which allowed it to reach major audiences, emotional impact of the content and timing of its release. Blackfish benefitted from a perfect storm, building upon decades of activism to create an appropriate cultural climate for its release in 2013. |
author2 |
University of Oxford Biological and Environmental Sciences orcid:0000-0002-3250-2799 |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Boissat, Laure Thomas-Walters, Laura Veríssimo, Diogo |
author_facet |
Boissat, Laure Thomas-Walters, Laura Veríssimo, Diogo |
author_sort |
Boissat, Laure |
title |
Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect' |
title_short |
Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect' |
title_full |
Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect' |
title_fullStr |
Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect' |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect' |
title_sort |
nature documentaries as catalysts for change: mapping out the 'blackfish effect' |
publisher |
Wiley Open Access |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/1893/32674 https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10221 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/32674/1/pan3.10221.pdf |
genre |
Orca |
genre_facet |
Orca |
op_relation |
Boissat L, Thomas-Walters L & Veríssimo D (2021) Nature documentaries as catalysts for change: Mapping out the 'Blackfish Effect'. People and Nature, 3 (6), pp. 1179-1192. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10221 http://hdl.handle.net/1893/32674 doi:10.1002/pan3.10221 2-s2.0-85107237898 1733414 http://dspace.stir.ac.uk/bitstream/1893/32674/1/pan3.10221.pdf |
op_rights |
© 2021 The Authors. People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
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CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10221 |
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People and Nature |
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1766161362752372736 |