We are still talking the wrong language to 'tv babies'

Abstract

In order to reach a young generation diagnosed with "nature deficit disorder" and flooded with mass media messages from a myriad of channels, non governmental organizations (NGOs) and environmental educators need to embrace musical videos as a tool for conservation education. Rare Conservation is one NGO that utilizes music videos as an innovative technique to reach a younger audience in order to foster a sense of pride and concern for the environment in which they live. In 1992, RARE Conservation produced a music video for the song "Quincy Rap" by Tony (The Obeah Man) McKay. The "Quincy Rap" music video was one environmental tool in the overall campaign to save the endangered and endemic Bahamian Parrot. By analyzing the "Quincy Rap" music video, a guideline for creating persuasive music videos can be constructed. In order to analyze a music video, like "Quincy Rap," it is best to take a multi-perspective approach, first dissecting the visual elements of the video then looking at the audio elements and then concluding with how the visual and audio elements intersect. By juxtaposing music video techniques with those found in other forms of video production, certain persuasive elements of music video production can be highlighted. This unique rhetoric of music videos can be utilized as persuasive environmental education.