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Defending the Fort: Michael Crichton, Pulp Fiction, and Green Conspiracy

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Abstract

This chapter addresses the intersection of voice, narrative, and argument. All seek an audience, and all aim to constitute evaluative grounds. My case study is science-fiction author Michael Crichton’s broad critique of the North American environmental movement as exemplified in two texts: a 2003 speech titled “Environmentalism as religion,” and the 2004 thriller novel State of Fear. Each work strategically orchestrates the spheres of personal, technical, and public argumentation (Goodnight, 1982) and thus invites critique of the politically dexterous voice of a prominent writer.

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© 2014 Patrick Belanger

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Belanger, P. (2014). Defending the Fort: Michael Crichton, Pulp Fiction, and Green Conspiracy. In: Peeples, J., Depoe, S. (eds) Voice and Environmental Communication. Palgrave Studies in Media and Environmental Communication. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137433749_3

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