Laura Johnson

1 article
  1. (Environmental) Rhetorics of Tempered Apocalypticism in <i>An Inconvenient Truth</i>
    Abstract

    An Inconvenient Truth has inspired a wave of public concern about global warming. The film's environmental rhetoric invokes a millennial apocalypticism inherited from canonical works like Silent Spring. However, Truth moderates its apocalyptic tendencies with scientific rationalism and constructions of audience agency. In so doing, Truth offers a tempered apocalypticism that embraces the affect of a more fiery tradition while maintaining an authoritative voice, thereby appealing to a broader audience. Truth makes clear that there can be no singular environmental rhetoric, but a mixture of rhetorics that mirrors the contentious climate of environmental politics.

    doi:10.1080/07350190802540708