Title: Environmental melodrama, coal, and the politics of sustainable energy in The Last Mountain

Authors: Steve Schwarze; Jennifer Peeples; Jen Schneider; Pete Bsumek

Addresses: Department of Communication Studies, The University of Montana, Missoula, MT 59812, USA ' Department of Languages, Philosophy and Communication Studies, Utah State University, 0720 Old Main Hill, Logan, Utah 84322-0720, USA ' Liberal Arts and International Studies, Colorado School of Mines, 1005 14th St., Golden, CO 80401, USA ' School of Communication Studies, James Madison University, MSC 2106, 54 Bluestone Dr., Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA

Abstract: The Last Mountain is a 2011 Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) film. It examines an aggressive form of strip mining in West Virginia known as mountaintop removal (MTR). The Last Mountain was the first of more than 40 MTR films to be distributed nationally and, as such, marks the entry of the issue onto the political scene in the USA. This essay analyses the film's use of environmental melodrama to define the problems related to MTR and create identification between victims of MTR and viewers. However, the latter portion of the film attempts to scale up from the melodramatic depiction of MTR to advocacy on broader issues regarding renewable energy and global climate change. In doing so, the film breaks with melodramatic form, draining its emotional power, foreclosing systemic political action, and limiting its overall effectiveness as a sustainability narrative.

Keywords: mountaintop removal; MTR; environmental melodrama; environmental documentaries; The Last Mountain; coal; sustainable energy; sustainable development; environmental sustainability; politics; strip mining; West Virginia; USA; United States; films; movies; renewable energy; climate change; emotional power; political action; cinema.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSD.2014.061776

International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2014 Vol.17 No.2, pp.108 - 122

Received: 22 Feb 2012
Accepted: 08 Mar 2013
Published online: 30 Jun 2014 *

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