ABSTRACT
Critical Reflective diary – This diary has
inequality & framing as important
conceptual underpinnings.
Word count: 2595
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BSC Human & Physical Geography
GV3CPS: Consumption, Politics and Space
, GV3CPS 19/20
26003082
4th October 2019
Week 1: Introduction to Consumption, Politics and Space
Key readings:
• Stokes, J. (2003). How to Do Media and Cultural Studies (Third Edition). London: Sage. Read
Chapter 3: Analysing Media and Cultural Texts
• Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials
[4th Edition]. Read Chapter 8: Discourse Analysis I: Text, Intertextuality and Context,
London: Sage.
Task: N/A
Critical reflection & Title:
The hero for climate change? – Semiotic analysis on Greta
Rose’s (2016) work defined discourse analysis as the structures behind the way something is thought
about, which shape’s our comprehension of the world through images & language. Stokes work
(2003) introduced the main methods of analysis including semiotic analysis which was defined as the
study of sign systems & meaning. These readings made me wonder how power is expressed in
discourses that establish the regimes of truth & defining what creates legitimate narratives.
The dark atmosphere around her & She also raises questions as to who
her bright yellow coat – symbolism do we listen to? It’s easy to flick
for hope? channels, or turn the page when a
scientist is involved. She managed
Given voice and heart to the
to get the world’s attention (Open,
climate change conversation
2019)
Greta: You either love her, hate her
Greta also symbolises how
or don't know her. She’s been
consumption is an increasingly
subjected to online hate. It’s
important the formation of an
interesting to see how her trolls in
individual identity (Pakulski, and
digital space a specific race, gender
Waters, 1996).
& age – referring to the middle aged
white men (Fair Observer, 2019).
Figure 1: Greta Thunberg, 16-year-old Swedish activist who has shaken the environmental activism arena
when she spent her school days protesting outside Swedish Parliament calling for stronger action on climate
change (source: Campanella, 2018).
In this era of mass-communication the conveyance of the visual message is important & Thunberg
demonstrates this. The image of her activism being reported in the media & digital space allowed her
to gained traction (Cloke et al. 2005). Her message is strong as she is telling us to change our
lifestyles & rethink consumption patterns. Figure 1 invokes a powerful idea of this heroic defiant
young teen, demanding to be taken seriously by politicians who are idle on climate action (Rose,
2016). You almost feel sorry & ashamed as she takes on the burden alone (Parsa, 2004). Figure 1
replicates the good (her) vs evil (everyone else) narrative which is reminiscent of the parallels of
civil-rights movement.
I wonder why she has rocketed into being the face of environmental activism? Maybe it’s politically
the right time? But what if, it was a refugee sitting outside a parliament and protesting about their
treatment? How would they be received? What about all POC activists (Unigwe, 2019; Gayle, 2019)?
Though I fervently agreement with her sentiments, she highlights the racialised nature aspect of
activism, as she is typified as the perfect almost-Aryan mascot for the movement.
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References:
Campanella, M. (2018). Greta Thunberg [ONLINE]. Available at: https://portugalinews.eu/wp-
content/uploads/2019/03/Greta-Thunberg-2-750x450.jpg [Accessed 7 October 2019].
Cloke, P.J., Crang, P. and Goodwin, M. (2005). Introducing Human Geographies. 2nd ed. London:
Hodder Arnold
Gayle, D. 2019. Does Extinction Rebellion have a race problem?. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/04/extinction-rebellion-race-climate-crisis-
inequality?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Facebook&fbclid=IwAR2j75otD1fw7LsXvrrNzT8BSPPmqTrluH
xbdIXurhg-kxssZ4aTwtqqCrA. [Accessed 19 October 2019].
Parsa, A.F. (2004). Visual semiotics: how still images mean? Interpreting still images by using semiotic
approaches. In 2nd International Symposium Communication in The Millennium: A Dialogue
Between Turkish and American Scholars, In Co-operation with University of Texas, Anadolu
University and İstanbul University (pp. 843-853).
Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials [4th
Edition]. Read Chapter 8: Discourse Analysis I: Text, Intertextuality and Context, London: Sage.
Rose, G. (2016). Visual methodologies: an introduction to researching with visual materials [4th
Edition]. Read Chapter 2: Towards a Critical Visual Methodology and Chapter 6: Semiology, London:
Sage
Stokes, J. (2003). How to Do Media and Cultural Studies (Third Edition). London: Sage. Read
Chapter 3: Analysing Media and Cultural Texts
Unigwe, C. (2019). It’s not just Greta Thunberg: why are we ignoring the developing world’s
inspiring activists?. [ONLINE] Available at:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/05/greta-thunberg-developing-world-activists.
[Accessed 7 October 2019].
Open. 2019. Greta Thunberg: The Crusader Kid.. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=rdg&id=GALE|A600714916&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon.
[Accessed 23 November 2019].
Pakulski, J. and Waters, M., 1996. The death of class. Sage.
Fair Observer. 2019. Greta Thunberg and the Youth Will Not Be Silenced.. [ONLINE] Available
at: https://go.gale.com/ps/i.do?p=STND&u=rdg&id=GALE|A600834101&v=2.1&it=r&sid=summon.
[Accessed 23 November 2019].
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