From Climate Crisis to Polycrisis: Integrating Verbal, Visual, and Cinematic Resources in Environmental Protection Videos

This paper examines the multimodal construction of polycrisis as a consequence of the climate crisis in Greenpeace’s environmental protection videos. The study focuses on the diverse multimodal tools and social factors contributing to meaning-making in these videos. Utilising multimodal discourse analysis and the theory of conceptual integration, the research incorporates qualitative content analysis and semiotic analysis. The videos illustrate connections between the climate crisis and economic, political, health, and humanitarian crises through the Cascade Effect Strategy, which employs tactics such as argumentation, teasing, information provision, and appealing to authority. This strategy underscores that climate change impacts extend beyond environmental concerns into social issues. The multimodal perspective reveals how semiotic elements interact to construct a nuanced understanding of polycrisis, with each element contributing to meaning-making. Specifically, verbal elements (precise lexical choices, rhetorical devices, and figurative language), visual elements (depicting humans, wildlife, industrial construction, and natural disasters), and cinematic elements (camera movements, background music, sound effects, and lighting) dynamically interact to form a cohesive narrative, illustrating the multifaceted dimensions and interconnected impacts of polycrisis.