Birds are terrific, aren’t they? We like them. Some people even hang bird feeders in order to be able to see and hear birds more often. But then maybe those same people might unthinkingly kill the insects that the birds enjoy eating. Oops. In this short 2021 video, the World Wildlife Fund shows how all of nature is interconnected and comes around full circle to make one continuous chain of life.
Read it here.
EXPLORE, REFLECT, SPEAK UP.
1. World Wildlife Fund’s video is visually appealing, and the narrative making a tidy circle is pleasing, but despite its charm, the video is making a strong argument. What is the argument? Summarize it. Do you think the argument should have been stated more explicitly? Why or why not? Explain your reasoning.
2. The video uses a series of parallel phrases to emphasize the interconnectedness of everything in nature. Do you think the parallelism of the phrases is effective? Why or why not? Would you like to have heard more details about each of the examples? Are there any other rhetorical moves that the video makes to illustrate the interconnectedness?
3. LET’S TALK. The video begins and ends with close-up images of a colorful bird, a kingfisher we are told. Few people—maybe nobody—would say that that bird is ugly or unappealing, and we imagine that the kingfisher was selected for the video precisely for its attractiveness. Still, though, probably few people see and hear kingfishers as part of their daily life. Most of us are more familiar with pigeons, sparrows, maybe grackles or robins, everyday sorts of birds. Why didn’t WWF choose a more familiar bird for their video? How might you have viewed the video differently if it did start with a pigeon or sparrow? Talk with a few classmates about those two questions. Consider why each specific example might have been chosen, and how the tone and message of the video might have been different if it had employed other examples.
4. AND NOW WRITE. WWF’s video uses a bird, a fish, a river, an estuary, an ocean, clouds, rain, a forest, some fruit, farmers, shippers, consumers, household water, the water’s conduits, a river, some insects, a fish, and back to the same bird. The sequence of examples outlines a cycle that could really be expressed in a multitude of ways, with other plants, animals, and natural processes such as evaporation, photosynthesis, and more. Think of a different way to express the cycle of nature, and write a script for a video similar to WWF’s (you don’t have to make the video; for now, concentrate on a script, with or without accompanying still images). Try to have 8-12 examples in your cycle.
LetsTalkLibrary 