Running head: WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

WRA 110 Cultural Analysis Proposal: Deforestation

Benjamin J. Beckas
Michigan State University

WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

Executive Summary
The short film The Lorax illustrates deforestation. Deforestation is defined by the World Wildlife
Fund for Nature as a process whereby natural forests are cleared through logging or burning,
either to use timber or to replace area for alternative uses. This is shown in The Lorax when The
Once-lers company cut down an entire forest of truffula tree and used the land for his
company and his city. The Lorax also shows how people dont care about issues that are harming
others or the environment until it starts affecting them. Forests have many benefits including
housing and feeding wildlife and eliminating carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. These
benefits are being lost very quickly to deforestation. Logging, fires, and agriculture are the main
causes of deforestation. Deforestation causes more greenhouse gases to leak into the atmosphere,
causes extreme weather, and hurts wildlife numbers. A solution to deforestation would need to
reduce deforestation while still allowing use of timber. One solution is reusing and recycling the
timber that has already been cut down. Another solution is a policy from governments that
requires logging companies to replant trees that are cut down. Both these solutions would work if
everyone involved cooperated, however it is likely that that wouldnt happen, therefore the
solutions would not be effective.

WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

Cultural Analysis Proposal: Deforestation

Introduction
The objective of this proposal is to analyze how the short film The Lorax depicts the
social issue of deforestation. Then discuss a solution to deforestation and predict its effects on
society and the environment. The Lorax is a short film produced by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises
in 1972 and is based on a book by Dr. Seuss. Its main theme is deforestation and is a good
artifact to depict this social issue.
Background Analysis
The short film The Lorax illustrates the social issue of deforestation and its impact on
society and the environment. The plot of the film begins with a boy who discovers the home of
The Once-ler on a dried up and polluted street. The Once-ler explains that the place they are
in used to be a forest filled with truffula trees, clean air, and wildlife. The Once-ler shares
his story of how the area came to be like it is now. He tells that he came to this forest and
discovered truffula trees. He discovered he could make thneeds, which are multiuse clothing
items, out of these trees. He quickly made a shop and started selling thneeds. They grew in
popularity and he was forced to expand his business to meet the demands of customers. The rate
of truffula trees being cut down went up to be able to make enough thneeds to meet the
demand of the customers wanting thneeds. As the trees were cut down wildlife were forced to
leave because their homes and food source were the truffula trees. The lack of trees allowed a
city to be built around the factory which introduced a new element of pollution. This forced the
rest of the wildlife to leave what was once their home. Soon the last truffula tree was cut down
and the city and factory were deserted quickly, which leads up to the present. The Once-lers

WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

story ends and he gives the boy the last truffula seed and asks him to undo his doing by
replanting the forest with truffula trees. Deforestation is defined by the World Wildlife Fund
for Nature (WWF) as a process whereby natural forests are cleared through logging or burning,
either to use timber or to replace area for alternative uses. Logging is defined by American
Foresters as the cutting and loading of trees. In the film The Once-lers company is cutting
down and loading truffula trees, which is the definition of logging. The company then uses the
trees to make thneeds and used the area to build a factory and city. The company is cutting
trees and using them and the area they used to obtain, which is the definition of deforesting. In
conclusion the short film The Lorax illustrates deforestation.

In The Lorax, the company created by The Once-ler is shown not to care about the
environment that is being destroyed because of what they are doing. The Once-ler doesnt see
the consequences of his actions until his company shuts down because of the lack of truffula
trees. Which shows that people will not act on something, despite having knowledge that is
harming something until it effects them and gives the incentive to act. There are examples
throughout the film that show characters disregarding the effects of what they are doing because
at the time it isnt directly affecting them. One example is when The Once-ler looks out his
window and sees that the air is covered with smog. He sees this and shows he is disregarding the
problem by pulling down a curtain of a clean, smog free sky. Another example is when The
Once-ler discovers that all the animals that used to live in the forest that he cut down have left
the area due to the pollution and lack of shelter and food. He shows some small concern and
quickly forgets the issue when he is told his company did very well in the stocks that day. The
last example is throughout the story the Lorax constantly informs The Once-ler that his

WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

company is destroying the environment they are living in and that he needs to stop production of
his thneed. The Once-ler gives little thought to the Loraxs demands to him until the last
tree is cut down and production stops. After the problem harms him and his company he then
gives the boy the task of replanting the forest and meeting the Loraxs demands. To conclude
The Lorax shows that people will not act on issues that is doing harm to something until it starts
affecting them.

Description of the Issue

Forests include many benefits that society and the environment is losing due to
deforestation. They are responsible for producing the oxygen that is vital to survival for many
different species of life. Forests house and feed many different species of wildlife. Many of the
endangered species of animals live in forests. They are also responsible for climate as they
eliminate carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Without this carbon dioxide would be free in the
atmosphere and it would lead to a change in climate patterns. Forests are being lost at a very
quick rate of 46 to 58 thousand square miles lost each year. That is approximately 36 football
fields every minute (WWF). In conclusion forests have many important benefits and they are
being lost at a very fast rate.

There are a few causes that make the rate of deforestation so rapid. One is illegal logging.
Laws on logging can be violated by taking wood from protected areas, harvesting more than is
permitted, and harvesting protected species of trees. Forest fires are a big contributor to
deforestation. Millions of acres of forest is lost to fires every year and fires cause the same

WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

amount of deforestation as agriculture and logging combined. Another cause is agriculture. As

the population of the world goes up the need for food goes up. When the need for food goes up
more farmland is needed which causes forests must be cut down to make room for growing crops
and raising livestock (WWF). To conclude the main contributors of deforestation are logging,
fires, and agriculture.
Deforestation can have huge impacts on society and the environment. Forests help
eliminate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, however when they are cut down they are
sources of greenhouse gases. Deforestation now contributes about 15 percent of the total
greenhouse gases that are released into the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases contribute to increase
in temperatures, changes in weather patterns, and an increased frequency of bad weather. Trees
play a key role in the water cycle and deforestation disrupts this and causes droughts and floods.
Lastly disforestation reduces biodiversity. Many species of animals live in forests and
deforestation causes them to lose their homes and their food supply. This causes species
numbers to drop and some species to become extinct (WWF). In conclusion deforestation
increases the greenhouse gas amount, disrupts the water cycle, and reduces biodiversity.

Proposed Solution
An ideal solution for the issue of deforestation would allow society and the environment
to receive the full benefits of forests while still being able to use timber as a viable resource. The
main problem with finding a solution is that it is hard to have one benefit without losing the
other. Another problem is that there is no alternate resource that has been discovered that can
provide benefits like timber and forests can. One solution is recycling and reusing the timber

WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

already taken from the forests. The reason timber needs to be constantly collected from forests is
to replace the timber products that are disposed of. If timber was reused or recycled less timber
would be needed to be logged to create timber products resulting in less deforestation while
keeping the benefits of timber. Another solution to deforestation is governments passing laws
that require logging companies to replant trees that are cut down. If a tree was planted for every
tree that was cut down theoretically the tree population would remain the same while society
could still maintain the benefits of timber which is the goal of the solution. To conclude the goal
of a solution is to eliminate deforestation while allowing timber to still be used as a viable option
in products. One solution that met this goal was recycling and reusing of timber. The other
solution is governments to force a replanting policy on logging companies.

Anticipated Results/Effects
In a world where everyone cooperated and did their part to achieve a goal the solution of
reusing and recycling would work perfectly and the goal of reducing deforestation while keeping
the use of timber could be achieved. However, society is not like this. Not everyone cooperates
and does their part to reach a goal. The part of the population that didnt cooperate would drive
up the demand for timber, because they would not reuse or recycle their timber products, which
would force logging companies to cut down more trees to meet the demands of their customers.
This would eliminate the benefits of forests, which means the solution would not be achieving
the ultimate goal for a solution to deforestation. The solution of governments passing laws that
required logging companies to replant trees that were cut down would also work if everyone
involved cooperated. However, like the recycle and reducing solution not everyone involved may
want to cooperate. For example governments in countries where timber is a main product may

WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

not want this policy. Logging companies would then have to pay extra money to replant forests
which would force the company to drive up the price of their timber which would lower demand.
If demand lowers profits would lower, which would hurt the economy of these countries. To
conclude both solutions would work if everyone involved cooperated. If everyone didnt
cooperate the solutions would not work.

Conclusion
To conclude forests provide society and the environment many benefits, but these
benefits are being lost very rapidly due to deforestation. The main causes of deforestation are
logging, agriculture, and fires. From this greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere,
water cycles are disrupted, and many wildlife species numbers are going down. Solutions to
reduce deforestation while keeping timber as a viable resource is recycling and reusing already
cut timber. Another is governments passing a policy that requires cut down trees to be planted.
These solutions would work if everyone involved cooperated, however not everyone involved is
likely to cooperate to reach the goal of reducing forestaton.

WRA 110 CULTURAL ANALYSIS PROPOSAL: DEFORESTATION

References
SAFnet Dictionary | Definition For [logging]. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from
http://dictionaryofforestry.org/dict/term/logging
Deforestation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from
http://wwf.panda.org/about_our_earth/about_forests/deforestation/
Deforestation. (n.d.). Retrieved February 10, 2015, from
http://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/deforestation
The Lorax [Motion picture]. (1973). Warner Home Video.