Narrative in wildlife films : how it shapes our understanding of the natural world and influences conservation choices : how it shapes our understanding of the natural world and influences conservation choices

Abstract

Storytelling is perhaps mankind's oldest tendencies. Their narratives give meaning to our everyday experiences and help us understand our world. Wildlife and natural history films in telling stories about the nature help define, to some extent, our relationship with it. Following the historical development of the classical narrative model in wildlife and nature films, the paper explores its impact on conservation choices and argues for an alternative approach to narrative in these films in order to change the oppositional relationship that we currently share with the nature.