Two Days Before the Day Before an Irritating Truth

Abstract

Critical scholarship on pro-environmental and dark green religious themes in popular culture must engage more directly with that culture’s means of production. To make this argument, I first draw on Bron Taylor’s theory of ‘dark green religion’ as a foundation for articulating the sacredness underlying the call to deep ecological ethics. Reflecting on the means of mass mediating that message provides us with an opportunity to critically evaluate the challenges of ecological ethics in late capitalist society. Second, through analyzing two of the most popular sitcoms of the last twenty years—The Simpsons and South Park—I contend that the task of articulating dark green ethics through mass media is inherently challenged by the capitalist modes of production that make opposition to them possible. While other scholars have been hopeful about these programs’ ecological statements, I argue that the programs are inherently hampered by their reliance on consumer capitalism and its modes of production. In conclusion, I provide a warning for those who would perform ecological ethics in the contemporary media sphere and offer a way to build towards potential alternative paths.