Synopsis
ARCADIA - A HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTALISM
Presenter Scott Millwood takes us on a rollercoaster-ride through the history of environmentalism, drawing connections between art, music, science, politics and pop-culture to reveal the movement’s influence on the modern world.
"ARCADIA: a history of environmentalism" is a series of four one-hour documentaries, aimed at an ABC and BBC audience. In the tradition of works such as Simon Schama’s A History of Britain, the series aims to bring a fast-paced, multi-dimensional perspective to the most important question of our times. More than a story of the environmental movement, broader than a history of green politics, the series will create a comprehensive narrative of the relationship between man and nature.
The project is in its infancy, with questions of presentation, style and structural narrative to be determined. A group with diverse perspectives is serving as brain’s trust and script consultants in this process, including international intellectuals Prof. Peter Singer and Prof. Roderick Nash. Each episode will take a particular question and explore it with a surprising bent.
A brief outline of the four episodes:
EP 1: TREE
Explores the development of environmentalism as a modern rights movement, with particular emphasis on the tree, a metaphor for the growth of conservation.
EP 2: SNAKE
Explores the influence of religion on environmentalism, especially the Christian constructs of “good” and “evil” and the notion that man was granted dominion over the world.
EP 3: FISH
Explores our construction of the animal kingdom, the development of animal rights and ethics, and our capacity to empathise with other life.
EP 4: LAKE
Explores the possibility of environmental reconciliation through the prism of the restoration of Lake Pedder, the global movement to address climate change and the absorption of environmentalism into the international politic.
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