One possible method for raising public awareness of the issue of the world's fisheries is to follow the example of other promoters of global issues. One instance that comes to mind is that of Al Gore's film 'An Inconvenient Truth', a documentary designed to frighten the public out of it's apathy regarding climate change. Gore succeeded in executing a "multimedia plan for informing the public about the dangers of global warming" (Koeppel, 2007). What if Gore's tactic was applied to raising awareness about global fisheries?
The commercial success of Gore's film is quite apparent-it has become the fourth highest grossing documentary in history (Wray, 2006) and earned two Oscars at the 2006 Academy Awards (Koeppel, 2007). Even more impressive is that the film earned half of its gross outside the United States (boxofficemojo.com). This success proves that there are many more people in the world now who have a clear idea of the devastating effects that global warning will have on our planet and perhaps more motivation to do something about mitigating those effects. It also suggests that there is an appetite among the public for information about what is happening to our planet. If we appeal to that appetite by presenting the facts of a global issue in a format that is interesting, entertaining, and easily accessible, we can reach a wide audience with our message, both domestically and abroad.
Several factors other than pure entertainment value contributed to the popularity of 'An Inconvenient Truth". One of these factors was the identity of the narrator: a former presidential candidate who is a memorable and controversial topic in and of himself. Another factor is the widespread knowledge about global warming that already exists in popular culture. So in order for a film about the plight of global fisheries reach a sizable audience, we would have to have similar assets on our side: both a well-known figure (or several figures) presenting the message and educational campaigns to raise awareness about the problem that are separate from promotion of the film itself. However, with the proper approach, film and media could be powerful tools in the fight to save the fish.
References
An inconvenient truth. (2007). Retrieved 11/9/2007, 2007, from http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=inconvenienttruth.htm
Koeppel, P. (2007). The marketing of an inconvenient truth. Ezine, 11/9/2007.
Wray, L., & Flanagan, C. (2006). An inconvenient truth about youth. Electronic version. Washington Post, pp. A17. Retrieved 11/9/2007.