A film's effectiveness in communicating scientific information or any other form of information lies within particular elements such as the plot, theme, imagery, and characters used (Bucchi, 2014). The documentary The Great Wild Indoors provides an insight into the hidden coexistence among different species from outdoors. The documentary, written and directed by Roberto Verdecchia, strives to show the adaptation of different insects when trying to survive their environment. The film makes use of communicating science through suspenseful scenes, empathy and persuasion, personal messages, visual aids, narration, and lighting to enhance the understanding of the life of insects living indoors.
The documentary begins with a suspenseful scene in which an outdoor ant is facing adverse climatic conditions. The scene is portrayed via slow motioned effect through a single raindrop that threatens the life of the ant. At first glance, it appears that the scene was to create a different perspective of considering the small size of the ant and how a single drop of rain could injure it. However, the shooting of the scene was a fantastic setup to the primary basis of the theme. This slow-motion pictorial sets up the theme for survival and the desperation for safety and how fragile life can truly be. It almost shows that animals as small as an ant seek to survive and have a right to survive and be safe, whether it be through harsh climate conditions or predation.
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The theme of the ant escaping danger in the documentary is portrayed through empathy and persuasion. The introductory scene is followed by an ant also climbing the wall to escape danger. The ant wandered into danger and faced the predation of a spider. The scene that follows involves the ant desperately trying to survive by wandering into a human home. Throughout this introduction, the narration and musical aptitude were similar to an action movie; suspenseful, rapid, tone alternated. This really set up the engagement and ability and the science of communication that would be important in succeeding scenes throughout the documentary. There is also a persuasion of narration to this degree, placing a protagonist or prey (ant) to be almost victimized by an antagonist or predator (spider) similar to the setup of a human story or narration relative to our species. Human stories usually involve a protagonist and antagonist where the protagonist goes through some challenges and has to fight and overcome the antagonist. The spider appears like the antagonist, while the ant appears as the protagonist. One of the unique requirements of any film when portraying its message is for the viewers to empathize with the characters (Dahlstrom, 2014) . The film successfully persuades the audience to empathize with other species one may not understand, no matter how little a species or an animal could be, their need to escape from predation or climate conditions is emotional. All the given elements of escape from danger serve to communicate the story with empathy and persuasion.
The film strives to engage in better communication by making the message personal and relating it to human experiences. Everyone has interacted with ants as they try to colonize their homes. Any occupation into homes involves extermination using insecticides. The film makes the message personally relate their previous experiences with an ant infestation and makes the realities of living like an ant. The documentary strives to enlighten the reality of predation both indoors and outdoors. The message of prey and predator is also a personal one that most human beings go through. Such personalization of the message makes it possible for a non-scientific audience that can understand the basic underlying relationships between prey and predator to find interest in the film. Ultimately, it can enhance the communication of insects living indoors by showing that although there are things that humans may not understand, it’s to create a survival arc even indoors.
Visual aid enhances scientific communication by depicting the homes and living conditions of the different species. There is a clear picture that shows where the insects have built their homes close to humans. The depiction of the homes provides an interesting perspective about how the ant species thrive. There is also a visual depiction of how the human family thrives, and comparison is drawn to the insects. The comparison of the homes makes the audience question whether humans invaded insect homes through industrialization or it was the insects that invade human homes. The visual aid also depicts the theme of the desperation of insects to survive and evade predation by colonizing homes of the human species. The visual depiction is further enhanced when a group of expert entomologists set up equipment in a family’s home to study the insects. There is a visual depiction of creatures like arthropods found in homes that cannot be found elsewhere. The animals live in critters and have adapted to the living conditions. There is a visual depiction that provides an overview of the survival tactics of the insects. For instance, when showing the cellar spider, there is a slow-motion speed of the spider being agitated to display the science of their reflex muscles (“CBC”, 2017). This is shown for almost all insects that were discovered, and this enhances the connection that there is still just as much survival instinct indoors and outdoors. The use of a strong visual depiction that goes beyond mere narration improves scientific communication, and it helps the audience to critically understand the living conditions of the different species.
The film makes use of a narration that enhances scientific communication. The narrator provides a vivid description of the habitat and how industrialization and urbanization have impacted wildlife (Bucci, 2014). T he narration had a very robotic tone with a very little wavering in pitch between the predator and prey. Such narration highly engages the audiences in terms of understanding the interaction between the two groups of insects. The narration was also successful in bringing attention to the scientific information given. Every illustration has a narration that explains the different discoveries in the species. Most of the scenes have a narration to explain to the audience the given topics and themes. The narration also helps to emphasize important topics like interspecies competition, the shift to a different ecosystem or habitat, and how the given changes can be detrimental to insects. The narration is an integral part of the documentary as it helps to construct the main story of the documentary.
The use of proper lighting enhances scientific communication as it helps to show the protagonist and antagonist among the insects. There is a clear difference between the insects that come out during the day and those that come out at night. Proper lighting during the night is used to create mystery about the creatures that actually live in human houses. There is a clear difference in the lighting between the upper area of the house that has proper lighting and the basement that is depicted as dark with very little lighting. The difference is used to showcase the different ecosystems and different types of insects that live in the different sections of the house. The lighting enhances the understanding of the audience by creating a clear visual image regarding the difference in the environments.
The portrayal of the different scenes is systematic and easy to follow to enhance scientific communication. The documentary begins with categorizing insects by the ecosystems. The different ecosystems in the house are identified as the basement and the main house, and the different insects choose the specific ecosystems for specific reasons. The choice depends on different factors such as the presence or absence of predators, the ease to colonize a place, and the suitability to produce their offspring. After analyzing the different ecosystems, the scenes advance further to show the quality of life in the different ecosystems. The step-by-step approach is beneficial for the audience who may not have grasped that there are multiple ecosystems. It also further enhances the theme of the film by showing that the choice of the living environment is dependent on their survival and the presence or absence of predators.
In conclusion, The Great Wild Indoors is a documentary that focuses on house-dwelling insects and how they relate to each other, the environment, and ultimately humankind. The film uses various science communication techniques to enhance the understanding of the different themes. The main aim of the film is to show that wildlife does not just live in the outdoors but also stays indoors. All the different science communication techniques have a specific purpose, and they build upon each other. The primary approach to science communication is the use of visual aid. The film incorporates different science communication techniques to enhance the story. Simple things like the repetitive use of slow-motion effects, a crisp shot of an insect species, and even a narration that enhances the learning of the survival of insects in everyday homes. Placing all the different science communication techniques together makes the documentary appealing to a large audience that may not be scientifically inclined. Anyone that watches the film can easily grasp some of the scientific concepts and develop a better understanding of insects living indoors.
References
Bucchi, M. (2014). Science and the Media: Alternative routes to scientific communications (Vol. 1). Routledge.
CBC. (2017). The Great Wild Indoors. https://gem.cbc.ca/media/the-nature-of- things/season-56/episode-12/38e815a-00bb709b0d4
Dahlstrom M. F. (2014). Using narratives and storytelling to communicate science with nonexpert audiences. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111 Suppl 4 (Suppl 4), 13614– 13620. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.132064511
