Behind the Lens: Exploring Wildlife Films’ Portrayal

In recent years, audiences with a keen interest in visual entertainment could perceive a significant increase in awareness surrounding nature documentary titles. This phenomenon raises questions about the overarching role of documentaries, contrasting techniques of film storytelling to its scientific claim. Through the growing public interest in nature content, there is an increasing emphasis on the accountability of media producers in shaping narratives that engage audiences while addressing pressing environmental issues. This study explores how selected wildlife documentaries portray the impact of nature hazards by examining communicative frames employed in their textual narratives. In specific, the thesis addresses the following question: “How are environmental threats framed among the narrative of international nature documentaries?”. To answer this question, eight different documentary titles were analyzed, sourced from production outlets BBC, Netflix, and National Geographic. These titles all applied to the wildlife documentary genre and were released after 2016 to ensure comparable scientific standards. For extracting the frames, the study utilized qualitative content analysis, complemented by framing analysis using both deductive and inductive reasoning. Deductive frames were derived from prior research in news and environmental communication, encompassing Scientific Evidence, Economic and Ecologic Consequences, Public Health, Responsibility, Morality and Ethics, and Solution frames. Key insights from the research primarily reveals the dominance of Ecological Consequences and Moral perspective framing. Additionally, there is notable consistency among Netflix and BBC titles, considering the disruptive influence of streaming platforms predicted to disrupt the industry. Overall, the findings validate previously outlined frameworks while contributing a nuanced understanding of sub-categories and inductive frames, such as Examples of Hope. In light of these outcomes, practical implications underscore the critical role of further academic frame verification and expansion. In addition, filmmakers are encouraged to deepen their understanding of documentaries societal impact as cultural product, as well as experimenting with Solution frame focused formats. The study itself is limited by its sample size, and the transatlantic Western-European-American point of view. Future research should aim to transfer the framework to enhanced datasets, as well as investigating in the audience framing effects of nature content.