Can Environmental Documentaries Make Waves?

Tasos Katopodis / EPA

By Michela Cortese, Bangor University

Trump’s first 100 days in office were, among other things, marked by a climate march in Washington DC that attracted tens of thousands of demonstrators. No surprises there. Since the beginning of his mandate in January, Trump has signed orders to roll back the number of federally protected waterways, restart the construction of contentious oil pipeline, and cut the budget from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Among the various orders and memoranda, the one signed to overhaul Obama’s Clean Power Plan is probably the most remarkable, along with promoting coal extractions all over the US.

A good time, then, to follow up Al Gore’s iconic documentary An Inconvenient Truth, which was released 11 years ago in a similarly discouraging political climate. At that time George W Bush, who is remembered for undermining climate science and for strongly supporting oil interests, was in power. In his own first 100 days at the White House, Bush backed down from the promise of regulating carbon dioxide from coal power plants and announced that the US would not implement the Kyoto climate change treaty.

This summer sees the release of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. More than ten years have passed and the documentary looks likely to be released in a very similar context. With republicans in power, war in the Middle East, and regulations on the environment to be reversed, this inconvenient sequel is a reminder that the climate of the conversation about global warming has not changed much in the interim.

But the strategies needed to grab the attention of the public certainly have. In the fast-paced, ever-evolving media landscape of the 21st century, knowing how to engage the public on environmental matters is no easy thing. The tendency of the environmental films that have mushroomed since 2000 has been to use a rhetoric of fear. But how effective has this been? Certainly, environmental activism has grown, particularly with the help of social media, but the role of these productions is unclear, and there is a lack of research on audience response to these films.

Personal planet
The selling point of An Inconvenient Truth was its personal approach. Although it had a lecture-style tone, this was a documentary that was all about Gore. He told his story entwined with that of the planet. It was extraordinary that people paid to go to the cinema to watch a politician giving a lecture. This was a big shift in cinema. Arguably, this format was enlivened by the way in which Gore opened up about his personal history.

The documentary opened with the politician’s notorious quote: “I am Al Gore, and I used to be the next president of the United States.” In November 2000 Gore had lost the presidential elections to George W Bush with an extraordinarily narrow defeat. The choice to run with a very personal rhetoric was certainly strategic – the right time for the former vice president to open up six years from that unfortunate election. Gore told the story of global warming through his personal life, featuring his career disappointments, family tragedies and constantly referring to the scientists he interviewed as “my friend”.

This was a very innovative way of approaching the matter of climate change. We are talking about a politician who decided to offer an insight on his private life for a greater cause: to engage the public on a vital scientific subject. The originality of the documentary led to An Inconvenient Truth scoring two Oscars at the Academy Awards 2006.

Today, An Inconvenient Truth is seen as the prototype of activist film-making. Founder of the Climate Reality Project in 2006 and co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize (with the IPCC), Gore and his movement soon became the core of environmental activism, gathering several environmental groups that, despite their differences, today march together for the greatest challenge of our time.
New hope?

Eleven years on, the revolution under Gore’s lead that many expected has yet to be fulfilled. The next decade was beset with disappointments. More recently, the 2015 Paris Agreement has marked a new era for climate action, proving that both developed and developing countries are now ready to work together to reduce carbon emissions. But today there is a new protagonist – or antagonist – in the picture. The trailer for An Inconvenient Sequel shows Gore watching Trump shouting his doubts about global warming to the crowd and announcing his plans to strip back the EPA’s budget.

It will be interesting to see how the tone of the film moves off from that of the original. The “personal reveal” tactic won’t work so well the second time round. And a change in the narrative is certainly evident from the trailer. The graphs of the previous documentary are replaced with more evocative images of extreme weather and disasters. While statistics about carbon dioxide emissions and sea-level rises were predominantly used to trigger emotions in the audience, this time round Gore can show the results of his predictions. One example of this is the iconic footage of a flooded World Trade Centre Memorial, a possibility which was discussed by Gore in the 2006 documentary and criticised by many for being a “fictional” element at that time rather than an “evidence” of climate impact.

Unfortunately, I am not sure how much this shift will affect the public or whether the sequel will be the manifesto of that revolution that Gore and his followers have been waiting for. The role that the media have played in the communication of climate change issues has changed and developed alongside the evolution of the medium itself and people’s perception of the environment. The last decade has seen an explosion of sensational images and audiences are fatigued by this use of fear.

Many look for media that includes “positive” messages rather than the traditional onslaught of facts and images triggering negative emotions. It has never been more difficult for environmental communicators to please viewers and readers in the midst of a never-ending flow of information available to them.

About Today's Contributor:

Michela Cortese, Associate Lecturer, Bangor University

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Famed WDC Rock Venue and Local Musicians Organize Benefit Concert for The Joe Strummer Foundation

Concert Poster

Washington DC's Black Cat has hosted no shortage of iconic bands over the years including Radiohead, Beck, the Foo Fighters, and the Kings of Leon. On May 25, 2017, the renowned music venue has partnered with DC rock band Stone Driver to organize a benefit concert to support The Joe Strummer Foundation, a charity created in honor of the Clash's co-founder and one of the biggest icons in punk and rock music history, which raises money to provide opportunities to musicians and support to projects around the world that create empowerment through music.

"As a musician and huge fan of Joe Strummer's work, I was humbled to learn about the foundation that was created to help others. When our band was brainstorming ideas of how we could contribute, we spoke with Lindsay from the Black Cat who suggested holding a benefit concert. The Black Cat team is going above and beyond to assist the Joe Strummer Foundation and the communities they assist, and are hosting an outrageously good rock concert to make it all happen," - Chad Lesch, member of "Stone Driver" musical group.

Stone Driver is a critically acclaimed DC rock band that recently completed their sophomore full length album "Rocks" with famed London producer Sefi Carmel (David Bowie, Phil Collins, Bruno Mars), and will be joined on stage with the exceptionally talented power pop quartet Classified Frequency, and high energy rocker and DC music veteran Derek Evry.

Stone Driver press photo

The Joe Strummer Foundation was established in 2002 shortly after the rock icon's passing. The non-profit organization is committed to the prevention or relief of poverty, particularly of young people, anywhere in the world by providing grants, items and services to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organizations working to prevent or relieve poverty.

The Joe Strummer Foundation Benefit Concert will take place on May 25th, 2017 at the Black Cat in DC.  Doors open at 7:30PM, and the benefit concert will begin at 8:00PM and end by 11:30PM.  Tickets are available in advance on Ticketfly for $12, and the Black Cat is located at 1811 14th St NW, Washington, DC 20009.

• To purchase tickets in advance on Ticketfly, please go to www.ticketfly.com/event/1434040-stone-driver-washington/
• For more information about Stone Driver, please go to facebook.com/StoneDriverBand and/or www.StoneDriver.com
• For more information about the Joe Strummer Foundation, please contact them at +44 (0) 208 133 9101 or email at info@joestrummerfoundation.org.

SOURCE: Stone Driver

Strong And stable Leadership: Inside The Conservatives' Election Slogan

Do you even lift, Jeremy? PA/ Jane Barlow

By Scott Taylor, University of Birmingham

If you’ve heard an interview with any Conservative politician during the current election campaign, you’ve probably heard the phrase “strong and stable leadership”. Theresa May used the phrase three times in seven minutes on the day she announced the vote.

It was clearly a key slogan – and therefore a key aspect of the campaign – right from the start. Since then, Buzzfeed has tracked May’s use of the phrase (giving up at 57 times in ten days). It even featured in the political cartoon for the first edition of the London Evening Standard under its new editor.

It would be easy to dismiss this as just one of those irritating political hooks that are part and parcel of any election. Political history is littered with some far worse campaign slogans (remember the Conservatives’ 2005 “Are you thinking what we’re thinking?” – an obscure slogan, to which the public’s answer was a clear “no”). But everything we know about leadership tells us that language is central, so we have to take this careful repetition seriously. What does Theresa May mean by “strong and stable leadership” – and why is it important?

Constructing a reality?
Linda Smircich and Gareth Morgan, two of the world’s most prominent and insightful analysts of organisation, argued in the early 1980s that “successful” leadership (that is, persuading someone to do something they wouldn’t normally do) depended on a leader persuading people of a specific reality. This process of social construction happens mostly through language. That makes language central to politics, as a means of persuasion as much as a means of communicating ideas or policies.

“Strong and stable” tells us that the Conservative party strategists want us to think of all other options as weak and unstable. Social theorists have been telling us for a long time that the meaning we derive from language is relational. The idea of “strong” is therefore understood in relation to an implicit idea of “weak”. Conservative-sponsored adverts in this election and the last in 2015 are keen to tell us the parties and leaders who are weak and unstable.

There’s usually a hierarchy in this way of constructing meaning. The implication here is that strong is better than weak. This is especially true of the idea of leadership. We are bombarded daily with implicit and explicit messages that strong leadership is the ideal. You don’t have to be a believer in “servant leadership” to doubt the idea of strong leadership. There’s plenty of evidence of the damage that strong leaders, in politics and in workplaces, can do.

The strong man?
There’s another factor at play here, too. The repetition of “strong and stable” is becoming important because it carries a series of assumptions with it. Who do you think of when someone talks about strong leadership? Someone tall, able-bodied, probably white, speaking in a deep pitch – and probably male. This ideal is reinforced by corporate commissioned leader portraits and by the representation of leaders in popular culture.

Are you getting the message yet? PA/Chris Radburn

The promotion of this leaderly ideal by a Conservative party led by a woman at the moment isn’t especially surprising. We’re in the midst of a significant fourth wave of feminist activism and theory and political representation is one of the key areas of activity. British politics, with the honourable exception of the Labour party, is notoriously resistant to structural change through positive discrimination schemes such as quotas. In representing their woman leader in this way, the Conservatives emphasise their contribution to that wider social movement, but without really questioning it.

This election campaign will see a lot of discussion about whether we can trust political party leaders. Laying claim to being “strong and stable” shouldn’t mean unthinking followership. When any of us hear a politician, or someone with leadership responsibility in a workplace, tell us what kind of leadership they think we need – ask why they need to use language in this persuasive way, what they’re not saying, and what associations the linguistic images bring with them. Then maybe we can avoid following leaders without thinking. That can only end badly.

About Today's Contributor:
Scott Taylor, Reader in Leadership and Organisation Studies, University of Birmingham

This article was originally published on The Conversation.

Bonus Pictures:

Image via Trumpton

Image via Trumpton

Emmanuel Macron Takes Step Closer To French Presidency With Strong Performance In Fiery Debate

On your marks. Eric Feferberg/EPA

 By Delia Dumitrescu, University of East Anglia

Emmanuel Macron was a virtually unknown figure in French politics before 2012. Now, as leader of the new political movement En Marche! he finds himself in the position of being the defender of French liberal democratic values in the second round of the French presidential elections against the far-right Marine le Pen.

Many doubted that he would hold his own during the televised debate between the two candidates on May 3, the only one before the second and final round of voting on May 7. But Macron delivered a masterclass performance in public speaking.

A relative newcomer to politics, Macron has espoused policies that are too left-wing for many voters on the right, and too right-wing for many voters on the left. Yet during the debate, he proved he could deliver a clear and coherent message. He also proved that Le Pen’s programme could not stand the light of scrutiny.

Timing, tone, and attitude
Macron’s approach during the debate was pitch perfect. With both candidates given the same amount of talking time, Macron’s mastery of his own time was remarkable. He took control of the debate at the beginning, taking more time than Le Pen to deliver a message that both played on national pride, but also accused her of telling lies and spreading nonsense. After letting his opponent talk more in the middle of the debate, Macron finished strong, unmasking Le Pen’s contempt for the French justice system, while urging the French to be optimistic about the future.

Research has shown that people remember and are persuaded more by information they receive either at the beginning of a message, or at the end, rather than in the middle. At the beginning and at the end of the debate, Macron was at his strongest.

The debate was full of accusations and insults on both sides, making it uncomfortable to watch. It is well known that people do not like incivility in debates. But here Macron was again a step ahead of his opponent. While he accused her of telling lies and not having her facts right, his accusations were for the most part specific, relating to what she had done, or had proposed to do or had said. When justified, people are more willing to accept incivility in debate.

On the other hand, he also debunked her accusations, for example when she accused him of being in charge of the takeover of a mobile phone company at a point when he did not hold elected office. At the end of the debate, she was reduced to simply shouting out the names of politicians who had endorsed Macron while he was espousing his vision for the future of France.

His nonverbal demeanour was also striking. Looking straight into the camera or straight into his opponent’s eyes, sitting slightly leant backward, shoulders straight, speaking with a clear, strong and calm voice, he exuded confidence. Opposite him, Le Pen often crossed her arms, leant forward, and lost eye contact. Research has shown that displaying nonverbal confidence is very important for voters’ impressions of a candidate’s leadership and winning potential.

Supporters of Emmanuel Macron watch the debate at a bar in Paris on May 3. Ian Langsdon/EPA

Catching up to do
Since taking over the reins of the Front National from her father in 2011, Marine Le Pen has strived to convince the public that the party has changed, that it is no longer a party catering to a niche electorate of the extreme right, but can be a party in government. Numerous analyses of her discourse throughout the year have shown this not to be the case, and that the changes are simply image based.

During the debate, the lack of viability of FN policies, such as on removing France from the euro, and Le Pen’s inability to show command of state and economic affairs, such as when she was surprised to learn that many medical drugs are produced outside of France, was obvious. She painted the FN’s familiar apocalyptic picture of France, full of despair and bleakness, mentioning key phrases such as “national interest” multiple times, but offered nothing else new.

Macron, on the other hand, clearly expressed his desire to change the way things are done in France, and to do so with a pragmatic approach that takes advantage of the current strengths of France, her people and her place in Europe and the world. On every topic raised during the debate, he presented a clear plan of action. He talked about small and very small businesses, about the problem of youth radicalisation, about schools, about fiscal policy, and about people with disabilities.

While both candidates’ performances may not change how people vote (Macron still has a 20 percentage point lead in the polls), it may have changed why people vote. No longer to stop Le Pen, but for Macron as a candidate and for his programme.

About Today's Contributor:
Delia Dumitrescu, Lecturer in Media and Cultural Politics, University of East Anglia

This article was originally published on The Conversation. 

Amazon: Stop Advertising On Breitbart! [Petition]

Image via CREDO action

Apparently, Amazon is still advertising on Breitbart... That's what the email I've received earlier from the peeps at CREDO (which I'm happily sharing on here) is about.

Have a read, and, if you live in the US, feel free to act accordingly. (Unfortunately, as I don't live in the US, I can't sign the petition...)

Thanks in advance

Stay safe!

Loup Dargent

Image via adweek.com

The Email:
"Dear Loup,

CREDO members recently helped force Bill O’Reilly, Fox News’ flagship racist and misogynist, off the air. Now we need to turn our attention to Breitbart, the white supremacist, misogynistic, fake news media outlet formerly run by Steve Bannon that helped fuel Donald Trump's rise to power.

After months of pressure from progressive activists, more than 1,000 advertisers have abandoned Breitbart over its racist, sexist, anti-Semitic and xenophobic reporting.¹ But one company stands out for continuing to fund Breitbart’s hate: Amazon.

Our friends at UltraViolet, SumOfUs and MoveOn — along with the social media campaign Sleeping Giants — have been pushing on Amazon executives for months, but they have so far refused to pull their ads. Can you help ramp up the pressure today?

Tell Amazon: Stop funding Breitbart’s hate. Click here to sign the petition.

Amazon won’t accept discriminatory ads on its own site.² There is no reason for it to advertise on a site that is literally the breeding ground for some of the most toxic hate in the country.

The outrage against Amazon funding Breitbart’s hate is growing inside the company. More than 550 employees have signed a petition demanding that executives stop advertising on Breitbart.³ According to an email sent to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and Senior Vice President Jeff Blackburn, an employee asked Blackburn, "What is it going to take for us to stop advertising on Breitbart News?" at a March company-wide meeting.⁴ Blackburn shifted the blame from Amazon to the third-party ad exchanges through which it buys its ads, but that seems a weak excuse given the enormous number of advertisers who have successfully cut their ties with Breitbart.⁵

Amazon's ads on Breitbart are not the only troubling part of its track record when it comes to Trump’s dangerous agenda. In December, Bezos was part of a meeting between tech CEOs and Trump that helped normalize and legitimize Trump and his extremism. Bezos called the meeting “very productive.”⁶ That same month, CREDO partnered with our friends at Muslim Advocates, Color Of Change, MPower Change, Courage Campaign, Democracy for America and more than a dozen other progressive and civil rights groups to demand that tech companies refuse to help build Trump’s Muslim registry. While Google, Facebook, Apple, Twitter, IBM and Microsoft all pledged not to enable Trump’s xenophobic hate, Amazon failed to join them.⁷

Amazon’s leaders have a choice: They can get their ads off Breitbart and make sure they never appear on other sites that promote racism, xenophobia and misogyny, or they can keep funding hate. Can you add your voice to demand they do the right thing?

Tell Amazon: Stop funding Breitbart’s hate. Click here to sign the petition.

Thanks for everything you do,

Heidi Hess, Senior Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets"

Add your name:

References:

1. Tom Embury-Dennis, "Breitbart 'loses advertising deals' with more than 1,000 companies," Feb. 16, 2017.
2. Amazon, "Creative acceptance policy," accessed April 20, 2017.
3. Lauren C. Williams, "Amazon employees pressure CEO to kill Breitbart ads," ThinkProgress, April 14, 2017.
4. Charlie Warzel, "Over 550 Amazon employees are pressuring leadership to cut advertising ties with Breitbart," Buzzfeed, April 13, 2017.
5. Ibid.
6. David Streitfeld, "‘I’m here to help,’ Trump tells tech executives at meeting," The New York Times, Dec. 14, 2016.
7. Sarah A. Harvard, "These 3 major Silicon Valley tech companies haven't condemned Trump's Muslim registry proposal," Mic, Jan. 18, 2017.

375th Anniversary Of Montreal - Unveiling Of A Spectacular Totem Pole Created By Charles Joseph

Charles Joseph (born in 1959), Residential School Totem Pole, 2014-2016, red cedar, acrylic paint, H. 1,524; W. 762; Diam. 152.4 cm. Collection Jim Balsillie Photo Greg McKee 2016. (CNW Group/Société des célébrations du 375e anniversaire de Montréal)

Artist Charles Joseph (1959) of the Kwakiutl Nation of the West Coast of Canada will unveil his work Residential School Totem Pole to be raised in the ancestral territory of Kanien'keha:ka, the nation to which it pays homage, in the context of an official opening ceremony for the work. This totem pole, displayed for the first time, will form part of La Balade pour la Paix – An Open-Air Museum, an exhibition of public art, designed and organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts with the support of McGill University as part of the official programme celebrating Montreal's 375th anniversary

This monumental piece (21.45 metres high) will open the exhibition route along Sherbrooke Street West in front of the MMFA's Michal and Renata Hornstein Pavilion. The totem pole is a tribute to the First Nations children, of whom the artist Charles Joseph was one, who were taken away from their families and sent to the residential schools of religious communities. On May 29, 2015 the Canadian government acknowledged that these children had been, between 1820 and 1996, the victims of a cultural genocide.

Charles Joseph states: "Presenting this pole is for all Canadians, not just residential school survivors. This is my reconciliation, and my story is on the pole. The story is not just about Charles Joseph, it's about everyone who went through it. I need to tell the story in this form, but it is about survivors from across Canada."

According to Nathalie Bondil, the Museum's Director General and Chief Curator, "We are deeply moved today to unveil this new totem pole by Charles Joseph in the context of the celebrations. Only six of the First Nations of the West Coast ever carved these works… and there are even fewer today because the technical and artistic skills required to make them are so demanding. Traditionally the gigantic witnesses to their history perpetuated the story of important events for the Native Peoples. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada estimates that 150,000 children were torn from their families during the past century, complying with the government's assimilation policy. Telling the story of this tragedy through the powerful artistry of one of our leading creators is essential in the perspective of our new century."

"We are very honoured to be a part of this totem raising ceremony here on Kanien'keha:ka territory," says Christine Zachary Deom, Chief of the Mohawk Council of Kahnawake. "Our territory has always been a place of gathering and exchange and we are very pleased to see these bridges being built with Montreal, the Kwakiutl Nation, and our community. Our people have been eager to have their presence and history acknowledged, and this is a great initiative towards reconciliation" she added.

"We salute the involvement of our First Nations artists in making Canadians aware of our history, even of its darkest side, as in the case of the residential schools. I thank Charles Joseph for this work, and above all for its positive consciousness-raising effect. This is a contribution that will help to bring about the reconciliation of our peoples that is so vital", stated Ghislain Picard, Chief of the Quebec-Labrador Assembly of First Nations.

"The Society for the Celebration of Montréal's 375th Anniversary is happy to emphasize the close links that bind together the First Nations peoples and our City. With its over 30,000 Native citizens, Montreal constitutes the largest indigenous community in Quebec. La Balade pour la paix, the flagship project of the official programme for the celebrations of the 375th anniversary, is an ideal expression of the wealth of links between our peoples. The work of the artist Charles Joseph of the Kwakiutl Nation, raised on the ancestral territory of Kanien'keha:ka, is a prime example of the cultural richness of the First Nations and of the ties that bind us", said Alain Gignac, Director General of the the Society for the Celebration of Montréal's 375th Anniversary.

"The City is firmly committed to reconciliation, and our pledge takes on new meaning as we stand before this totem pole and remember the thousands of Aboriginal people who passed through the residential school system. This totem pole reminds us of our present duty, and we are humbled by history. I would like to commend Charles Joseph for creating this work of art and thank all the partners who made its presentation in Montreal possible. As we celebrate Montreal's 375th anniversary, understanding and reconciliation with Aboriginal peoples are of vital importance," said Denis Coderre, Mayor of Montreal.

The totem pole is a symbol of reconciliation and commemoration. It embodies a strong sense of the identity and pride of the Kwakiutl Nation of the West Coast of Canada. Joseph's Residential School Totem Pole depicts, from the bottom to the top: the members of the family of the sponsor of the Totem; the cedar ring symbolizing safety; the wild woman responsible for the traditional culture; the killer whale, the guardian of memory; the crow representing the alliance of Church and State; the bear for its strength and wisdom; the Arctic fox, the witness of the past; the Kulus, the great black ravens that according to the legend created the islands of the West Coast of Canada by dropping pebbles into the ocean; and at the top the two-headed snake with its wings unfurled in the shape of a cross.

The sculptor Charles Joseph also works as a fisherman and in the forest to provide for his family. As a child he spoke only his mother tongue, kwak'wala, before he learned English. He is deeply committed to preserving his culture. The revitalization and dissemination of the Kwakiutl traditions is the legacy he hopes to pass on to future generations. His works breathe new life into a culture, his own, which might have been decimated by the policies and practices of the colonizing powers. These creations are part of the process of reappropriating the Kwakiutl identity and the preservation of the way of life of the ancestors.

La Balade pour la Paix –An Open-Air MuseumOn Sherbrooke Street West between the sections the MMFA/Concordia University – the McCord Museum/McGill UniversityJune 5 to October 29, 2017

La Balade pour la Paix – An Open-Air Museum is part of the official programme for the 375th anniversary of Montreal. A truly open-air museum, the route will display works by Canadian and international artists, and fly the flags with the colours of the Confederation of Canada and of some 200 other countries. Commemorating two other important events, the 50th anniversary of Expo 67 and the 150th anniversary of the Confederation, the Balade reminds us that Expo 67, visited by 50 million people, was a window on to the world, a memorable event for Quebec and for Canada.

The ambassador for this exhibition is no other than Louise Arbour, who has battled throughout her career for the rights of man. She is currently the UN Special Representative for International Migration.

The exhibition has been designed and organized by the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts with the support of McGill University. Thanks to the support of the City of Montreal, La Balade pour la Paix runs for a kilometre along Sherbrooke Street between the MMFA and Concordia University and the McCord Museum and McGill University. The curators are Nathalie Bondil, Director General and Chief Curator of the MMFA, Sylvie Lacerte, art historian and consultant for public art and Diane Charbonneau, Curator of Modern and Contemporary Decorative Arts, Design and Photography at the MMFA. The design for the installation was conceived by Claude Cormier, landscape architect, in collaboration with designer Michel Dallaire.

To learn more about the contribution of the Québec government to Montréal's 375th Anniversary celebrations, click here.

SOURCE: Société des célébrations du 375e anniversaire de Montréal

Nalgene Outdoor Unveils New Marvel Universe-Inspired Bottles for the Guardians of the Galaxy

Nalgene Outdoor introduces a new universe of its popular reusable bottles inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy characters.

As part of its recent collaboration with Marvel, Nalgene Outdoor introduces a new universe of its popular reusable bottles inspired by Guardians of the Galaxy characters. The Guardians of the Galaxy bottles add to Nalgene's newly-launched Avengers bottle collection.

"We'll leave the fate of the universe in the Guardians' capable hands, but when it comes to defeating thirst, our bottles are known to hydrate even the toughest of Super Heroes," says Eric Hansen, product director, Nalgene Outdoor Products. "Nalgene's durable bottles together with the beloved characters from Guardians of the Galaxy bring this collaboration to life in another creative way we believe our users will enjoy."

For Marvel enthusiasts with big thirsts, Nalgene Outdoor selected its iconic, Made-in-USA 32-ounce Wide Mouth bottle for the Guardians collaboration. The new Guardians of the Galaxy bottles will include seven different designs featuring Star-Lord, Gamora, Drax the Destroyer, Groot and Rocket Raccoon. 

These bottles will join the popular Marvel Avengers collection featuring Captain America, Iron Man, Spider-Man, Hulk, Black Widow, and Marvel Avengers group.

"Marvel, a brand whose celebrated Super Heroes inspire people to achieve their potential, has been a great collaboration for Nalgene," adds Hansen. "We're looking forward to introducing the Guardians' Nalgene bottles and expanding the collection with other anticipated Marvel properties later this year."

All of Nalgene Outdoor's products are BPA- and BPS-free, dishwasher safe and carry a lifetime guarantee.

Samples and product or lifestyle photos are available upon request. For more information, visit www.nalgene.com.

Nalgene’s Marvel-inspired Guardians of the Galaxy bottles are now available in the iconic 32-ounce Wide Mouth style in seven different designs

About Marvel Entertainment 
Marvel Entertainment, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies, built on a proven library of more than 8,000 characters featured in a variety of media over seventy-five years.  Marvel utilizes its character franchises in entertainment, licensing and publishing.  

For more information visit marvel.com. ©2017 MARVEL

SOURCE: Nalgene Outdoor

How The Bible Shapes Contemporary Attitudes To rape And Sexual Assault

David seducing Bathsheba, Anonymous.

By Katie Edwards, University of Sheffield and Emma Nagouse, University of Sheffield

A retiring judge recently faced accusations of victim blaming when she used her final courtroom case as a plea to women to “protect themselves” from rapists by staying sober. Judge Lindsey Kushner restated these views in a television interview on Good Morning Britain, asking, “why shouldn’t you say – be aware ladies?”

Kushner’s comments were met with a mixed response. Some praised her for using her final speech before stepping down from the bench as a gesture of concern and warning to women who, she believes, make themselves more vulnerable to rape after consuming alcohol. Others, including representatives from Rape Crisis and some feminist activists, see these comments as acutely dangerous – comments that encourage and affirm attitudes of victim-blaming which, in turn, perpetuate the stereotypes that underpin rape culture.

Unfortunately, Kushner is far from the only judge in a sexual assault case to comment on the “irresponsible” or “provocative” behaviour of women and girls.

Biblical attitudes to rape
As a deeply influential cultural document, the Bible has a lot to say when it comes to attitudes around sex, shame and gender identity. Rape is endemic in the Bible (both literally and metaphorically) and, more often than not, functions as a conduit for male competition and a tool to uphold patriarchy.

Bathsheba at her Bath, Giuseppe Bartolomeo Chiari (1680).

For example, David’s rape of Bathsheba is echoed in his son Amnon’s rape of half-sister Tamar, and his son Absalom’s rape of David’s ten concubines. And in Judges 21, the Benjaminites are “saved from extinction” through the mass rape of women from Jabesh-gilead and Shiloh.

A common thread in the biblical text is that women are responsible for maintaining their sexual “purity”. This is not in the interests of their own well-being, but to ensure that as male property, women remain “undamaged”. This seems to be a no-win situation. The consequence for Dinah, who transgresses social boundaries by going “out to meet the women of the land”, is rape. Women who do fulfil feminine ideals, such as Bathsheba, who is described as “very beautiful”, tend to attract negative, often violent, male sexual attention.
In other words, one way or another, women are constantly implicitly blamed, both in the Bible and in contemporary culture, for their rape.

To blame for one’s beauty
A case in point is another “very beautiful” biblical woman, Susanna. Susanna is the subject of an attempted rape by two elders, who spy on her while she’s bathing before conspiring to coerce her into sex:

Look the garden doors are shut, and no one can see us. We are burning with desire for you; so give your consent, and lie with us. If you refuse, we will testify against you that a young man was with you, and this was why you sent your maids away.

In the biblical text, Susanna’s beauty is to blame for attracting the attentions of the elders. In a plotline that’s echoed in today’s court rooms, Susanna’s testimony isn’t believed and her sexual conduct is brought into question. It takes a man, Daniel, to advocate for her and to rescue her from execution after she refuses the elders’ offer.

In his successful defence of her and condemnation of the elders, Daniel says: “Beauty has beguiled you and lust has perverted your heart.” Here, as so often in contemporary society, rape and sexual assault are linked to the attractiveness of women rather than a violent crime of power and control. Even in art, Susanna is implicitly blamed for being targeted. As the critic John Berger has observed, Susanna, like Bathsheba, is often depicted looking at herself in a mirror while she’s bathing:

The mirror was often used as a symbol of the vanity of woman. The moralising, however, was mostly hypocritical. You painted a naked woman because you enjoyed looking at her, you put a mirror in her hand and you called the painting Vanity, thus morally condemning the woman whose nakedness you had depicted for your own pleasure.

Susanna and the Elders, Tintoretto (1555).

Kushner’s words continue this not-so-grand tradition of victim blaming. Kushner suggests that women who do not exhibit “disinhibited behaviour” by abstaining from alcohol are better able to fight off men with “evil intentions”. What is key here is that moderating women’s behaviour does not do anything to address the issue of rape or dismantle rape culture. It just shifts the collective social responsibility to prevent rape and sexual assault to that of individual women.

Women who do not agree to self-police are blamed for others’ actions. What Kushner is giving isn’t “just advice” or “common sense”; it reduces rape to a choice: choose for someone else to be targeted for attack rather than yourself.

Rather than continuing to judge women for their behaviour, perhaps it’s time we started to judge a society that blames women for rape.

About Today's Contributors:
Katie Edwards, Director SIIBS, University of Sheffield and Emma Nagouse, PhD Candidate in Interdisciplinary Biblical Studies, University of Sheffield

This article was originally published on The Conversation.