Noah's Ark: The Temptation of Media

Summary

Genesis tells us a story about a man cast out by God to build an ark during a great storm sent to cleanse the earth of all that was corrupt. "Noah’s Ark" is a biblical narrative that has captured the attention of people, both religious and agnostic, for hundreds of years. Hollywood producers, recognizing an enduring tale of destruction and rebirth, have spent decades recreating this story, most recently in the 2014 blockbuster Noah starring Russell Crowe. Additionally, renewed interest among the news media was cultivated in recent years concerning the findings of a deep-sea exhibition lead by archaeologist Robert Ballard. Here, Ballard recovered an ancient shoreline in the Black Sea along the coastline of Turkey, close to Mount Ararat where Noah’s Ark is believed to have rested after the great flood. Focusing on Ballard’s approach to the media attention derived from his research, alongside an analysis of several published works of the same topic, this article examines the ways in which the media has interpreted the work of archaeologists over several decades. Further, this article investigates the relationship between archaeologists and the media and comments on the reluctance that some professionals may feel towards the world of journalism.

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This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for American Archaeology 80th Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA (2015)   •
• News of the Weird (Archaeology)

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