Lights, camera, action: how have issue-focused documentaries influenced online public attention, mass media coverage, and social media chatter around the issue of fracking?
Date
2020
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Publisher
University of Delaware
Abstract
Over the course of the last several decades, documentary filmmaking has become a popular method of calling attention to social issues and changing public perception. One of many environmental issues that have been explored by documentarians is hydraulic fracturing, or fracking for short. Gasland, Gasland 2, and FrackNation are three examples of fracking-focused documentaries that were created to highlight the debate surrounding natural gas drilling. In order to understand what level of social impact these documentaries received, online public attention, mass media coverage, and social media chatter related to the Gasland and FrackNation documentaries are explored in this study. Using Google Trends and the LexisNexis database, web searches, YouTube searches, and national newspaper mentions of all three documentaries are counted over a three-year time period following each premier. Additionally, 900 tweets are analyzed for affect and framing. The findings suggest that both of the Gasland documentaries received more online public attention and mass media coverage than FrackNation. Twitter users were more likely to agree than disagree with the message of the films, and users frequently expressed emotional responses to all three documentaries. The producers of Gasland, Gasland 2, and FrackNation succeeded in creating films that generated online public attention and discussion on social media and within mass media about the issue of fracking. While Gasland resulted in social and policy change, Gasland 2 and FrackNation did not rise to the same level of social impact. Rather, Gasland 2 contributed to a stronger anti-fracking movement, while FrackNation contributed to a stronger pro-fracking movement.
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Keywords
Documentary, Hydraulic fracking, Gasland, Social Movement, FrackNation, Filmmaking, Mass media coverage, Social media