The Lorax! by Rebecca T - Friday, 3 August 2012, 02:27 PM

Hi all!

As you may have noticed, I tend to steer toward an "easy-language/user-friendly" approach to IDS issues due to my background in non-formal education through art forms.

In light of this, I have a new forum topic for us to discuss in a "child-friendly" format - they are our future afterall!

Please read/watch "The Lorax" by Dr. Seuss (very short read, well worth it!), and let's discuss the lessons to be learned. Here are the links to the original video on youtube:

The Lorax, part I: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5jnJdnQPr8&feature=related

The Lorax, part II:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lzYRkGIQpOs

And here is the link to the text: http://sneakertalk.yuku.com/topic/53436/The-Lorax-by-Dr-Seuss

The story concludes with: "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better...It's not." And the boy is left with the last of the trufulla seeds, in charge of deciding the fate of future generations to come...

In our current world, is the fate of our people and planet still in our hands, or is it already too late and should we let humanity and nature run its course?

Thanks Becca for posting this, i think it is a great way to look at some very serious and important issues that we are faced with in today's world. Sometimes it is easier to understand an issue when it is presented in another way as you get different messages from it. There is value in presenting such issues in a kid friendly way, it does make it easier to understand! Kids also pick up on things that we may not, therefore learning from a young age the importance of our environment, not only in the present but for the future is a great way to educate them.

I think there are a lot of lessons that we can draw from as this story can be easily put into context with what is happening in our world today, with companies and governments exploiting our nature and resources for their own benefits and as stated is 'a wonderful chance to get rich'. I also liked the part where the lorax said 'I speak for the trees, for the trees have no tongues'. I believe that it is our role to protect nature as it cannot speak for itself. It is very similar to the deep ecology movement, a way of thinking about the environment in its inherent value of all other beings. The person is not above nature, therefore should stop dominating and exploiting it, instead we should respect and treat non-human nature equally.

I do believe that the fate of our planet is still in our hands and we can change the way we think see, and act towards nature, it's still not too late to act.

The environmental message in the Lorax is just as important today as it was 40 years ago when the book was written. It might be a cliché but children are our future and if we are able to influence them then there might still be hope. I think the fact that there was a seed left shows that the author also doesn’t think its ‘too late’, although so much damage has already been done.

When the book was written it was critisised for being propaganda for the environmental movement. Some sources claim the book was even banned from some schools and libraries (this is disputed). Interestingly, an opposing perspective was published in a book by the logging industry called 'Truax'. Worth a read and exemplifies how the environmental movement is often portrayed (whiny, hot headed, unreasonable).

http://woodfloors.org/truax.pdf

The book also features other issues; consumerism, corporate greed, capitalism. Reflective of today is that when the Lorax movie came out earlier this year, approx. 40 brands and products were associated with it. This included a fuel guzzling SUV and McDonalds Happy Meal toys. Do you think the author would have agreed with this? Would anyone argue it’s hypocritical that a story of corporate greed has turned into a large money-making franchise?

Thanks Becca for the post. The messages in The Lorax still resonate today, four decades after the book was written.

I think that communicating through ‘user-friendly’ media such as this is essential to promote greater understanding of environmental issues. In my experience, environmental practitioners (generally scientists) are often unsuccessful in communicating their messages effectively to the public. A classic example is climate change - there is recent, strong scientific evidence to support climate change, yet there is still much uncertainty in the public’s understanding of its causes, impacts etc.

As Kristin mentioned, The Lorax was criticised for being biased. I wonder if the one-sided approach adds or detracts from the overall power of the message? As for the corporate sponsorship associated with the movie - Dr Suess would be turning in his grave I expect!

Awesome post Becca, thanks for sharing!

I agree with you that this is an effective way to present issues of the environment and consumption to younger generations but I also think as adults we too can take a leaf out of the Lorax’s book (in an environmentally sustainable way, of course) As already pointed out by Fiona and Kristin, it has been 40 years or so since this book was written and we have yet to make any significant changes. This book really encourages us to have a rethink of our priorities and what truly constitutes ‘wealth’.

I definitely don’t think it’s too late for change. Though sometimes I tend to think that it will unfortunately take a major environmental catastrophe to occur in our own backyard for people to realize that we need to do something! (A very pessimistic outlook, I know…)

And Kristin, you raise a good point. I don’t think the author would be very happy about his story being swallowed up by the corporate machine. Pretty sure if he was still alive he’d have a few words to say about that.

Finally, while talking about “child-friendly” formats for understanding environmental issues one of my favourite TV shows as a child came to mind. Does anyone remember Captain Planet? It had a strong environmental message and promoted the idea of a global alliance of the people (each main character came from a different continent) to fight against environmental degradation and pollution. From memory at the end of each episode it also featured ways you could help the environment at home, thus placing a value on individual efforts.

Here’s a link to the intro: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vpXM9bj-WPU

And the theme song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vo0D6bzxLLw

I've been thinking that it would take a huge catastrophy too, but I'm starting to wonder if the path we're on could be changed in other ways. First off all, it seems to me that more and more focus is put on the environment, and human's impact on it, hence an increased awareness of the issue.

Second, the intreaging idea, that 'there's nothing that is more able to enable change as a small group of really dedicated individuals'. Imagine a group advcating change, working systematically with enlightening those who are decisions-makers. Using the 'power of the many' by engagning, and even 'infiltrating' important international structures as the UN and governments worldwide. Might sound a little like a plan of conspiracy, but perhaps that is a path towards change?

How could I forget captain planet? One of my favourite as well growing up! Like the Lorax, Captain Planet has been for many years (since the 1990s), showing us that the environmental issue has always been there. Yet nothing has changed. I’m even beginning to think that maybe people were not ready to see the importance of protecting our environment back then as it didn’t affect them at that time. Even people today don’t seem to be getting the message. However it is now clearly time to take action. What Captain Planet does teach us is that we do have the power; we just need to take the challenge and create the change we want to see.

I agree that a way to create change is to influence those who are making the big decisions and I believe this all comes down to education as well as the power of the people. Individuals can create change at a local level and I believe this is an important step towards change, however the ‘power of the many’ does have the will to change and influence things at the international level, where the bigger issues are played out. Influencing or ‘infiltrating’ international structures as you put it Emil, through this people power can be one way in going about creating this change.

It is of critical importance to use any means possible to counter hegemonic discourses. Dominant ideologies remain dominant if we allow them to do so. Hence, hegemonic discourses work by robbing us of visions of possibilities, making us slaves of such master (I use this word intentionally) tropes. We have to free ouselves from the chains of uncritical thinking. And here is where Captain Planet or Lorax play an important role. We need to 'inflitrate' not just international organisations but the minds of every human. Just imagine that not long ago the unequal treatment of women was regarded as 'natural'. Now anyone that does so is a dickhead. Unfortunately, there are still many dickheads but there is an increasing number of nice guys like Ajantha, Emil, Francesco, Gibran, James and Alberto and this is because the ideas circulated by the progressive movements for gender equality has 'infiltrated' our minds. Slavery was once commonly practised but it's frown upon. Now for social justice and ecological sustainability.

Placing the last seed into the hands of children is a very powerful tool on the behalf of social/environmental educators. After learning the facts via The Lorax, Captain Planet, etc, I believe children (as I remember myself) are willing to take on the responsibility of regenerating the forests, bringing back the animals and restoring peace and harmony on the planet.

The trick is to harness this dedication throughout their teenage years so they do not forget the passion they felt while watching their childhood heroes. Blockbuster movies and games like Grand Theft Auto are designed to kill any "childish" thoughts of idealistic realities for their futures. They are engineered to make people slaves to hegemonic discourses, and to generate isolation, distrust and hate among youths.

How can society nurture childhood ideals through the teenage years in a "cool" way? If we can manage that, will these ideals stay with people into adulthood more readily? If so, social justice and ecological sustainability will not seem like such a mission impossible.

Kristin, the Truax story book is infuriating and dangerous! It plays on all the misguided stereotypes of environmentalists and is very degrading. I hope this was banned from all schools!

Beccy, beautiful post, thanks for sharing. I too believe that the arts can be the most positive way of engaging and bringing about change. I have just been on a community digital storytelling workshop in Bendigo which combines two ideas of healing through storytelling and film and giving people the resoucres and tools to tell their own stories.

I agree that we need to be challenging dominant idealogies. The workshop was with Dja Dja Wurrung Aboriginal mob capturing how they are connected to country, (research being done by Vic Health) . People shared stories about how they connect to the land in different ways, for example being able to summon the wind and listening to the river and seeing their ancestors in the wildlife. One young fella said that scar trees hold the secrets to his people's history which i thought summed it up beautifully! I've also heard from other indigenous people this same spiritual connection to the land guides every part of their life.

I guess what I'm getting at is modern science isn't the only way forward. Indigenous people have a spiritual connection to the land, that is impossible to understand through scientific explantation. And these people have nutured the land and lived with it for over 60,000 years so I feel like we have much to learn. We need to establish a new worldview that considers both scientific solutions to the economy (meaning people & the environment!) but we also need to look to our first people for some of the answers. I think there's alot of unlearning and fresh learning to be done, to open our minds to other possibilites.

Thank you for bringing this up Rebecca. I enjoyed the cartoon entirely and it has a beautiful message. My personal favorit is actually Princess Mononoke.

However, with the right-wing lurking more and more behind the science of global warming, showing a global warming message has been proven more and more difficult in the US (although I am thankful that the American media has a liberal bias). One example would be the Fox News bashing on Spongebob for showing global warming as being man-made. I know, Fox News is a bunch of bull, but we all know the power of mainstream media. Cheers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAJDaPlCHzU

I think you could say the same for the mainstream media in Australia – see http://www.acij.uts.edu.au/pdfs/sceptical-climate-part1.pdf

We do undervalue the importance of indigenous knowledge in understanding our environment. It’s become more common to engage with indigenous groups on some aspects of environmental management (e.g. management of parks), but we still have a long way to go.

When it comes to social/ environmental change, facts and figures are only part of the story. It’s equally important to appeal to people’s emotions and moral values i.e. the head and the heart, both at an individual and political level (although politicians and moral values may be a bit of an ask...).

Thank you everyone for your responses!

To respond to what you posted Kristin, I think it’s terribly unfortunate that they’ve lost the message of The Lorax in a whirl of consumerism – what a mess! Thank you for the history behind the book, and the response (Truax), though what I got from it was simply: “Only a few critters are losing their homes, and it’s worth it so that we can have all the stuff we want!”

Gibran, in response to your Sponge Bob-Fox News link - Incredible! The presenters sound so uneducated and clearly know nothing on the topic!

And I quote, “Clearly nickelodeon is pushing a global warming agenda” (Really? PUSHING a global warming agenda? I think they’re trying to raise awareness on an important topic!)

Another quote:

“The earth is getting a little warmer. For a while we’re cold, and then we get warmer, and then we get colder and warmer. A lot of scientists are saying it’s this, others are saying it’s that.” (Complete gibberish in the guise of an argument- Obviously there is a huge need for environmental education in the USA!)

And why even mention “our tax-paying dollars”?

And do notice the lovely slogan in the top right-hand corner of the screen that says: “Think Progress”

I think it is a very common trend to play “global warming” off as a myth, so that people can keep living a comfortable, ignorant and capitalist life. No one wants to take responsibility.

Becca, in response to your post, you are completely right about learning from our First Nations people. I was once part of a theatre company that did educational performance in the park during the summer, and we did a show for the celebration of First Nations culture in Canada.

We first presented it for an Aboriginal woman to get initial feedback, and she was disgusted by our “Pocahontas-Colonialist romance” theme. We changed the whole plot, and made it more accurate and culturally-sensitive. I think the “recent settlers” haven’t taken the time to truly understand the cultural meanings and traditions of the First Nations – if we did, we would have a lot to learn. It may even be the solution!

I found this topic really interesting, as a consequence I watched the recent movie of The Lorax and I realized that it shows very accurate how is the modern society, politicians and business men. For example, I could observe similarities, such as the importance of the economic growth over the environment like is happening with Canada and Russia about the Kyoto protocol, the excuse that "if we just cut few trees or if we just contaminate a little, it will be ok", the lack of willing of the society to change the consumerist tend or protect the environment, and the recent production of food or goods in laboratories, making think that if we do not have resources in the future we could create them. Finally, despite that the book is very old, the movie came out nowadays when the protection of the environment is urgent, and without caring that the book has had many critiques in the USA since its publishing.