title: Duval County, Florida

text: The racial makeup of the county was 65.80% White (63.6% were Non-Hispanic White,) 27.83% African American or Black, 0.33% Native American, 2.71% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 1.31% from other races, and 1.96% from two or more races. 4.10% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.


title: Duval County, Florida

text: Of the 303,747 households 33.30% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.50% were married couples living together, 15.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.60% were non-families. 26.50% of households were one person and 7.80% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.06.


title: Duval County, Florida

text: The age distribution was 26.30% under the age of 18, 9.60% from 18 to 24, 32.40% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 10.50% 65 or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 94.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.90 males.


title: Duval County, Florida

text: The median household income was $40,703 and the median family income was $47,689. Males had a median income of $32,954 versus $26,015 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,753. 11.90% of the population and 9.20% of families were below the poverty line, including 16.40% of those under the age of 18 and 11.60% of those age 65 or older.


title: Duval County, Florida

text: As of 2010, 87.36% of all residents spoke English as their first language, while 5.74% spoke Spanish, 1.18% Tagalog, 0.53% Arabic, 0.48% Serbo-Croatian, 0.47% Vietnamese, and 0.46% of the population spoke French Creole (mostly Haitian Creole) as their mother language. In total, 12.64% of the population spoke languages other than English as their primary language.


title: Duval County, Florida

text: According to the Secretary of State's office, Democrats comprise a plurality of registered voters in Duval County.


title: Duval County, Florida

text: Duval County is somewhat conservative for an urban county, and it began moving away from the Democratic Party sooner than the majority of Florida counties. Despite the small Democratic plurality in registration, the county's Democrats are nowhere near as liberal as their counterparts in other large Florida counties, such as Miami-Dade and Orange. The county has only supported a Democrat for president three times since 1952, in 1960, 1976, and 2020.


title: Duval County, Florida

text: However, the Republican edge in Duval has lessened somewhat in recent years. It swung from a 16-point win for George W. Bush in 2004 to only a three-point win for John McCain in 2008. Mitt Romney won an equally narrow margin in 2012 and in 2016, Donald Trump only won the county by fewer than 6,000 votes even as he narrowly carried Florida. In 2020, Joe Biden, despite losing statewide, broke the 44-year Democratic drought in Duval County, winning by less than four points.


title: Duval County, Florida

text: In 2018, Andrew Gillum, despite losing the election, won Duval by 4 points, the first time a Democrat has won the county in a gubernatorial election since Steve Pajcic's losing bid in 1986. In the Senate elections, Bill Nelson only failed to carry the county in his first bid in 2000, and Lawton Chiles and Bob Graham have carried the county in all three of their respective bids.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, currently signed with Impact Wrestling and is a former Impact World Champion. He also wrestled for Lucha Underground under the ring names Jeremiah Crane, and later, Jeremiah Snake, and on the independent circuit.


title: Sami Callihan

text: He has worked for several independent promotions throughout the United States. He found the most success in Combat Zone Wrestling (CZW) and Major League Wrestling (MLW), but has also wrestled for Dragon Gate USA, Evolve, Ring of Honor, Pro Wrestling Guerrilla, Full Impact Pro, and All American Wrestling. In CZW, he held the CZW Iron Man Championship, the CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship, and the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship, and won the 2012 Best of the Best tournament. He also worked for WWE from 2013 to 2015, appearing in NXT under the ring name Solomon Crowe. He also runs an independent wrestling promotion called The Wrestling Revolver.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Shortly after his debut, Callihan became a member of "The Crew" faction, which also consisted of Jon Moxley, Dick Rick and Pepper Parks. Callihan began regularly competing for the Heartland Wrestling Association, and faced wrestlers including Chad Collyer and Nigel McGuinness. He competed in Chikara's 2008 Young Lions Tournament but did not win the tournament. He advanced to the finals of the 2008 Ted Petty Invitational tournament with victories over Chris Hero, Eddie Kingston and 2 Cold Scorpio. On September 28, 2008, he competed for the HWA Heavyweight Championship in a three-way match, also involving Drake Younger, but lost to Jake Crist. On November 26, 2008, he was eliminated by HWA Heavyweight Champion Jake Crist in the Thanksgiving Eve eight-man tag team elimination match. In a rematch on October 1, 2008, he was again defeated by Jake Crist. In 2011, Callihan made it to the final of the first Heartland Cup tournament against Jake Crist.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Callihan began wrestling for IPW throughout 2006 as "Cannonball Sami" until late 2006 when he underwent a name change to Sami Callihan. In 2007 at "IPW Reign Of The Insane 6th Anniversary Show" Callihan gained entry into the "IPW 2007 Super Junior Heavyweight tournament" beating Dustin Rayz, xOMGx, and Louis Linaris to qualify, but lost in the first round to Diehard. In 2008 at "Uprising" Callihan began feuding with IPW Junior Heavyweight Champion Billy Roc after a controversial double pin in a four-way match for the title, also involving Ricochet and Shiima Xion. The next month at "Legally Insane" Callihan and Roc teamed up in a losing effort against "The Messiahs of a New Age" of Dustin Rayz and Lou Roberts. Callihan and Roc would have their first singles match for the Junior Heavyweight Championship at "Heatstroke" which ended in a time limit draw. The next month at "Crowning Point" Callihan and Roc wrestled in a Pure Rules match, which ended in a no contest, and the pair faced off at "IPW Reign of the Insane 7th Anniversary" in a ladder match in which Callihan beat Roc for the IPW Junior Heavyweight Championship. The next month at the "IPW Super Junior Heavyweight Tournament" Callihan defeated Q Skillz, CJ Otis, and Justin Andrews en route to the final, where he lost the Junior Heavyweight Championship to Aaron Williams. Callihan would not make another appearance for IPW until late 2009 at "Reign of the Insane Stage 2 8th Anniversary" losing to James Avery. On May 18, 2010, he defeated Toby Klein at the JC Bailey benefit show. Callihan returned to competing regularly for IPW in 2011. At "IPW Showdown In Naptown" Callihan defeated Kyle O'Reilly, and later that night formed an alliance with IPW World Heavyweight Champion Jimmy Jacobs by saving him from an attack by Dustin Rayz and Sweet Lou Roberts. On May 7, 2011, at "Keep the Faith" Callihan would wrestle in a four-way match also involving Jake Crist, A. R. Fox, and Zack Sabre Jr. with Fox winning the match. On June 18 at "Revelations" Callihan defeated Jake Crist for the vacant IPW World Heavyweight Championship. Callihan held the championship until November 7, 2011, at "Insane Intentions", when he lost it to Jake Crist in a triple threat match that also involved B. J. Whitmer.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On May 29, 2009, Callihan debuted for Pro Wrestling Syndicate at their "Brawl For Paul" event, where he lost a four-way match, also involving Xavier, Monsta Mack, and winner Trent Acid. On August 10, 2010, Callihan was part of The "PWS Majestic Twelve Title Tournament". In the opening round he teamed with Dan Maff to defeat Adam Cole and Bandido Jr, and went on to defeat Maff in the second. In the final Callihan pinned Danny Demanto, but was then pinned by Devon Moore. On May 27, 2011, Callihan defeated Dan Maff, and then defeated Devon Moore to win the PWS Heavyweight Championship in a match that included run-ins by Kevin Matthews, Maff, Danny Demanto, Velvet Sky, and Mick Foley. He went to defend the championship against Colt Cabana, Jay Lethal, and The Great Muta.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On November 11, 2008 Callihan made his Ring of Honor debut at "Escalation" in a losing effort in a four-corner survival match also involving Go Shiozaki, Rhett Titus, and Grizzly Redwood. Callihan appeared on the inaugural episode of "Ring of Honor Wrestling" on HDNet, which aired on March 21, losing to Kenny King.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Callihan made his CZW debut at "Summer School" on June 14, 2008. At the 2008 Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Show, he won the Chri$ Ca$h Memorial Battle Royal. He defeated LuFisto to earn a spot in the main event at "Cage Of Death X".


title: Sami Callihan

text: At the "Decade of Destruction – 10th Anniversary" show on February 14, 2009, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Callihan defeated Jon Dahmer; originally the match was supposed to be Dahmer versus E.M.O., but as E.M.O. was making his way to the ring, the Arena's video screens showed Callihan arguing with CZW management and demanding a title match. Management denied his request, and instead told him that if he defeated Dahmer he could have a title match whenever he wanted. This led to Callihan attacking E.M.O. and taking his spot in the match against Dahmer, which he then won after a distraction by the debuting Jon Moxley who was fleeing from security through the crowd. Later, it would be revealed that Callihan and Moxley were partners, and in that same night Callihan went to the ring after CZW Iron Man Champion Brain Damage and his Cult Fiction tag team partner Deranged had lost a match to The H8 Club. He brought a referee with him, and after Callihan threatened him, the referee sanctioned an immediate match, which Callihan won to become the new champion. At the "Eye for an Eye" event on April 13, Callihan declared that the championship would now be known as the "CZW New Horror Championship". On June 13, 2009, Callihan lost the championship to Egotistico Fantastico. On October 25, 2009, Callihan defeated Danny Havoc to win the CZW Ultraviolent Underground Championship, but the lost the title the same day to Thumbtack Jack. On April 10, 2010, at "Swingin For The Fences" Callihan received a match for the CZW World Heavyweight Championship in a losing effort against Switchblade Conspiracy partner Jon Moxley. In November 2011, Callihan defeated Adam Cole for the CZW World Junior Heavyweight Championship. The following April, Callihan won the Best of the Best XI tournament. He lost the title to Drake Younger at "5 de Mayo". Callihan won the title for a second time on July 14, 2012, in a 60-minute Ultraviolent Rules Iron Man match, but lost it the same day to A. R. Fox. In July 2017, in a behind-the-scenes promotion, Callihan was appointed the leader of CZW's creative team.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On May 1, 2010, Callihan debuted for Evolve at "Evolve 3: Rise or Fall" in a winning effort against Adam Cole. On July 23, at "Evolve 4: Danielson vs Fish", Callihan gained his second victory defeating Arik Cannon via submission. Matches against wrestlers including Zack Sabre Jr., Brodie Lee, A. R. Fox, Bobby Fish, and Dave "Fit" Finlay at "Evolve 9" followed. On April 5, 2013, Callihan took part in a tournament to determine the inaugural Evolve Champion, where he made it to the finals, before losing to A. R. Fox.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On July 24, 2010, Callihan made his debut for Dragon Gate USA, losing to Jimmy Jacobs in a dark match. After wrestling several matches for the promotion through the rest of the year, Callihan was placed in his first angle on April 3, 2011, at "Open the Ultimate Gate", when he and Arik Cannon walked out on a six-way match. Later in the event, Callihan and Cannon announced they would be forming a tag team named the D.U.F. (Dirty Ugly Fucks) and defeated The Dark City Fight Club (Jon Davis and Kory Chavis) in their first match together. On June 5 at "Enter The Dragon 2011", Callihan and Arik Cannon were joined by Pinkie Sanchez, and picked up a major win over the tag team of Open the Dream Gate Champion Masaaki Mochizuki and Susumu Yokosuka.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On October 23, 2012, Johnston wrestled a dark match for WWE, in which he was defeated by Johnny Curtis. In April 2013, it was reported that Johnston was undergoing medical tests for the promotion, and on May 27 Dragon Gate USA confirmed that Johnston had signed with WWE.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On August 29, 2013, under the new WWE ring name Solomon Crowe, he debuted for WWE's developmental system NXT, with a loss to Xavier Woods at a live event. He would fail to appear on televised episodes of "NXT" for more than a year, instead being restricted to live events or dark matches during television tapings. At a live event on December 6, 2013, Crowe assumed the character of a hacker, using a tablet computer to seize control of the arena lights, and attacked Kalisto. At the February 28, 2014 NXT television tapings, Crowe defeated Sylvester Lefort in what would have been his NXT television debut, but the match was removed from the episode; it was supposed to air for the March 6, 2014 "NXT". In August 2014, Johnston suffered a chipped tibia during a tag team match with Kalisto against The Ascension; the injury did not require surgery and he was able to return to the ring in November. In late 2014, Crowe wrestled a number of dark matches on NXT, including one against the returning Brian Kendrick.


title: Sami Callihan

text: From the January 28, 2015 episode of "NXT", WWE began airing teasers for Crowe's television debut. On the February 18 episode of "NXT", Crowe made his television debut as a face, attacking CJ Parker. In his first televised match on the March 4 episode of "NXT", he defeated Bull Dempsey.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Callihan made his debut for the Southern California-based company Pro Wrestling Guerrilla on April 21, 2012. At the sixth annual "Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament", he teamed with Roderick Strong to take on 2 Husky Black Guys (El Generico and Willie Mack) in a losing effort in the opening round. After the match, Callihan challenged PWG World Champion Kevin Steen to a title match, which took place later that day; Callihan lost the match. In his next appearance on July 21, he was beaten by Michael Elgin at PWG's nine-year anniversary event, "Threemendous III". In September, he got his first series of wins at the "2012 Battle of Los Angeles"; he defeated Willie Mack to advance to the quarterfinal round, where he beat T. J. Perkins. In the semi-final, he lost to eventual winner Adam Cole. At "Mystery Vortex" on December 1, he was victorious over Drake Younger. After the match, it was announced that Callihan and Younger would participate in a best of three match series to determine a number one contender for the PWG World Championship. At the "2013 Dynamite Duumvirate Tag Team Title Tournament", which took place on January 12, 2013, Callihan fought Younger in a non-tournament knockout or submission-only match. Callihan lost the bout when he tapped out, tying the score. On March 22, 2013, Callihan lost the series, when he was defeated by Younger in the third match, a Guerrilla Warfare match. On June 15, Callihan wrestled his PWG farewell match, a 60-minute Iron Man match, where he unsuccessfully challenged longtime rival Adam Cole for the PWG World Championship, losing the match six falls to five.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On January 2, 2016, at PWG Lemy, Callihan defeated Trevor Lee. He then started a losing streak being defeated by the likes of Jack Evans, Roderick Strong, Marty Scurll and Cody Rhodes at the first round of the Battle Of Los Angeles 2016.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On February 18, 2017, at Only Kings Understand Each Other, Callihan returned along with the debuting OI4K (Jake & Dave Crist), being defeated by The Superkliq (Adam Cole and The Young Bucks). On May 19, at PWG Head Like A Cole, Callihan would pick a victory over former rival Adam Cole. The next month at Man On the Silver Mountain, Callihan defeated Matt Sydal. At the 2017 Battle of Los Angeles, Callihan was eliminated by Jeff Cobb in the first round.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On November 6, 2017, Callihan was announced as a participant in New Japan Pro-Wrestling's 2017 World Tag League, where he would team with Juice Robinson. The team, dubbed "Death Juice", finished second in their block with a record of four wins and three losses, failing to advance to the finals.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On November 28, 2015, after being released from WWE, Johnston returned to the independent circuit, switching back to his Sami Callihan character where he appeared at All American Wrestling's "Windy City Classic XI" event. He attacked new AAW Heavyweight Champion, Eddie Kingston.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On December 4, 2015, he returned to Rockstar Pro Wrestling to face and defeat long time friend Jake Crist at the Killer XMas iPPV.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Callihan returned to Combat Zone Wrestling at Cage of Death XVII on December 12, 2015, defeating David Starr.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On December 11, 2015, Callihan returned to Pro Wrestling Guerrilla in the first night of "All-Star Weekend" event, where he defeated Drew Gulak.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Callihan debuted for PROGRESS Wrestling in May 2016 during the 2016 Super Strong Style 16 tournament, beating Matt Cross in the first round and losing to Tommy End in the quarter finals.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On May 21, 2016, Callihan defeated John Skyler to win the Premiere Wrestling Xperience World Heavyweight Championship.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On July 8, 2016, Callihan returned to Fight Club: PRO at the "Rage Against The Death Machine" event. After making it his intention to give the Fight Club: PRO Championship world title status, he later defeated Trent Seven to win the vacant championship.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On June 8, 2018, Callihan defeated Evander James for House of Glory's Crown Jewel Championship at their "Temperature Rising" show. He retained the title at their "High Intensity 7" show on August 17 against Low Ki after hitting him with a low blow to intentionally get himself disqualified. After the match, Bully Ray appeared and powerbombed Callihan.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On January 10, 2016, Callihan wrestled a dark match at a "Lucha Underground" taping against King Cuerno and Flamita. In March 2016, Callihan signed a deal to appear in the third season of "Lucha Underground". He made his debut in a segment on the October 5, 2016 episode of "Lucha Underground" as Ivelisse's boyfriend Jeremiah Crane. The following week, Crane attacked Marty Martinez and Mariposa following Ivelisse's match. Crane competed in Aztec Warfare III entering at number four, but was the first to be eliminated by Matanza Cueto. Crane would then compete in the Battle of the Bulls tournament, defeating A. R. Fox, Killshot and Mariposa in the first round. In the finals of the tournament, Crane competed in an elimination fatal-4-way match, being eliminated by the eventual winner, Willie Mack. Crane made his return at Aztec Warfare IV on the first episode of season 4 in the Aztec Warfare entering at number 14 but got eliminated by pinfall by Pentagon Dark. Later that season in Episode 3 he got put in a casket by Mil Muertes after Ivelisse bloodied him. He would return on Episode 9, now under the new name of Jeremiah Snake, as a member of the Reptile Tribe, teaming with Daga, Drago, and Kobra Moon in a losing effort against Aerostar and the Worldwide Underground (Johnny Mundo, PJ Black, and Taya). In the episode, The Reptile Tribe won the Lucha Underground Trios Championship from Killshot, The Mack, and Son of Havoc. The series was discontinued after season finale, Ultima Lucha Cuatro.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On October 5, 2017, Callihan wrestled his first match for Major League Wrestling (MLW) at MLW's first show since 2004. At the event, called One Shot he lost a match to Montel Vontavious Porter. He went on to a major focal point of their weekly show MLW Fusion throughout 2018 into 2019. At some point in 2018 Callihan begun working as a senior agent for Major League Wrestling. In June 2019, Callihan lost a Loser Leaves MLW against Mance Warner, leaving the promotion.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On November 5, 2017, at Bound for Glory, Callihan made his debut for Impact Wrestling as a villain by interfering in a 5150 Street Fight for the World Tag Team Championship, helping Ohio Versus Everything (Dave and Jake Crist) defeat Santana and Ortiz of The Latin American Xchange (LAX) to retain the title. Callihan and The Crist Brothers then formed a faction named Ohio Versus Everything (oVe), where they started a feud with LAX. On the December 14 episode of "Impact", Callihan would light a fire flame in the face of Konnan after a face to face summit. On the January 18, 2018 episode of "Impact", oVe would then challenge LAX in a Barbed Wire Massacre match, where they lost the match, thus ending the feud. Callihan shortly after became the leader of oVe. Callihan made his pay-per-view debut for Impact at the Redemption event on April 22, 2018 where oVe defeated Eddie Edwards, Moose and Tommy Dreamer in a House of Hardcore match. oVe began a lengthy feud against The Lucha Brothers (Pentagón Jr. and Fénix) in the summer of 2018, which led to a mask vs. hair match between Callihan and Pentagón at Slammiversary XVI, which Callihan lost, which led to Callihan's hair being shaved off by the Lucha Brothers. Callihan and Pentagón had a rematch on the August 23 episode of "Impact", a Mexican Death match, which Callihan won. The rivalry continued between the two teams with Brian Cage joining the Lucha Brothers in the feud. This led to an oVe Rules match pitting oVe against Cage and the Lucha Brothers at Bound for Glory, which oVe won when Callihan pinned Cage. This win earned Callihan, his first title shot in Impact Wrestling against Cage for the latter's X Division Championship on the November 15 episode of "Impact", which Callihan lost.


title: Sami Callihan

text: In early 2019, oVe entered a feud with the team of Rich Swann, Tommy Dreamer and Willie Mack, which led to Callihan defeating Mack at the Homecoming pay-per-view but lost a rematch on the January 11 episode of "Impact". Callihan would begin pursuing Swann's X Division Championship, unsuccessfully challenging him for the title on the March 22 episode of "Impact" and in an oVe Rules match at Rebellion. Callihan concluded his feud with Dreamer by defeating him in an oVe rules match at the Impact Plus event Code Red. Callihan began ascending up the ranks as he defeated Eddie Edwards in a Philly Street Fight at A Night You Can't Mist. Callihan would then lose to Rob Van Dam in an Extreme Rules match at Bash at the Brewery in July.


title: Sami Callihan

text: In the summer of 2019, Callihan began a lengthy feud with Tessa Blanchard regarding intergender wrestling where he claimed that men were superior to women. The two had their first encounter in the main event of Slammiversary XVII, which Callihan won. The match was awarded the Match of the Year Award by Impact. Callihan and Blanchard were randomly paired in the Mashup Tournament on the July 19 episode of "Impact", where they defeated Dave Crist and Trey to qualify for a fatal four-way elimination match against Eddie Edwards and Moose, Jake Crist and Wentz and Michael Elgin and Willie Mack. Callihan and Blanchard won the match to qualify for a match at the Unbreakable event, which Callihan won, becoming the #1 contender for the Impact World Championship in the process.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Subsequently, Callihan began feuding with the World Champion Brian Cage, unsuccessfully challenging him for the title at Bound for Glory. However, Callihan goaded Cage into giving him a rematch by invading Cage's house. On the October 29 episode of "Impact", Callihan defeated Cage in a steel cage match to win the Impact World Championship. He successfully defended the title against Cage in a rematch at Turning Point and Rich Swann at No Surrender before losing the title to rival Tessa Blanchard at Hard to Kill pay-per-view on January 12, 2020.


title: Sami Callihan

text: During tapings of "Impact", a mysterious figure appeared on the titantron called ICU during wrestlers matches. On March 17, ICU interrupted Ken Shamrock's interview with Josh Mathews. The mysterious figure threw a fireball into Shamrock's eyes. He took off the mask and it was revealed to be Sami Callihan. Callihan would take his phone and the lights would go off and he would disappear. The feud would culminate at Rebellion 2020 Night 1 in an Unsanctioned match, where Shamrock submitted Callihan to an ankle lock. He returned on June 30, 2020, surprisingly helping Shamrock against The North before disappearing into the night, teasing a face turn in the process. Shamrock and Callihan unsuccessfully challenged The North for the Impact Tag Team Championships at Slammiversary.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On August 4, Callihan was about to face Eddie Edwards for the Impact World Championship, but was attacked by Rob Van Dam as he was making his way to the ring, and ultimately succumbing to Edwards. The following week, Callihan hacked into Katie Forbes' photos during her photo reveal, thus starting a feud with Van Dam and turning face for the first time in Impact Wrestling. Callihan and Van Dam would face off against each other on the September 1 episode of "Impact" in which Callihan was victorious, but ultimately suffered a post-match attack from Van Dam and Katie Forbes. On the September 22nd episode of Impact, Callihan faced Rob Van Dam in a rematch, this time RVD was victorious and due to Van Dam winning, Katie Forbes got 5 minutes alone in the ring with Sami. However, Callihan laid out RVD outside the ring and delivered a Piledriver to Katie Forbes. The following week, Callihan turned back into a heel and interrupted Eddie Edwards before Eddie got attacked by Ken Shamrock, who also turned heel in that segment.


title: Sami Callihan

text: Beginning in mid 2021, when "Impact" started a working relation with All Elite Wrestling, Callihan turned face when he started feuding with Kenny Omega, The Good Brothers, and Don Callis, after they had been costing him multiple opportunities at the Impact World Championship. The feud eventually culminated to Slammiversary where Callihan and Omega wrestled for the Impact World Championship in a No Disqualification match, a match where Omega would retain in the end. On September 20, it was reported that Callihan has suffered a broken ankle and he would be out of action until the spring of 2022.


title: Sami Callihan

text: On June 20, 2021, Johnston got engaged to fellow Impact wrestler Jessicka Havok (on the latter's 35th birthday).


title: Tom Steyer

text: Thomas Fahr Steyer (born June 27, 1957) is an American climate investor, businessman, hedge fund manager, philanthropist, environmentalist, and liberal activist. Steyer is the co-founder and co-chair of Galvanize Climate Solutions, founder and former co-senior-managing-partner of Farallon Capital and the co-founder of OneCalifornia Bank, which became (through merger) Beneficial State Bank, an Oakland-based community development bank. Farallon Capital manages $20 billion in capital for institutions and high-net-worth individuals. The firm's institutional investors include college endowments and foundations. Steyer served on the board of trustees at Stanford University from 2007 to 2017. Since 1986, he has been a partner and member of the executive committee at Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco–based private equity firm.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2010, Steyer and his wife signed The Giving Pledge to donate half of their fortune to charity during their lifetime. In 2012, he sold his stake in and retired from Farallon Capital. Switching his focus to politics and the environment, he launched NextGen America, a nonprofit organization that supports progressive positions on climate change, immigration, health care, and education.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer sought the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, but dropped out of the race after the first four state contests, having spent more than $191 million on campaign advertising but failing to obtain any pledged delegates.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2021, Steyer co-founded Galvanize Climate Solutions ("Galvanize") with Katie Hall, his longtime friend and business partner. Galvanize is a climate-focused, global investment firm.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer was born in Manhattan. His mother, Marnie (née Fahr) was a teacher of remedial reading at the Brooklyn House of Detention and his father, Roy Henry Steyer was a partner in the New York law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, and was a prosecutor at the Nuremberg Trials. His father was a non-practicing Jew, and his mother was Episcopalian.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, and attended the Buckley School and Phillips Exeter Academy. He graduated from Yale University "summa cum laude" in economics and political science, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. He was captain of the soccer team. At Yale, Steyer was a member of Wolf's Head Society Steyer received his MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he was an Arjay Miller Scholar. He has served on the Stanford University board of trustees.


title: Tom Steyer

text: After graduation from Yale, Steyer began his professional career at Morgan Stanley in 1979. After two years at Morgan Stanley, he attended Stanford Graduate School of Business. Steyer worked at Goldman Sachs from 1983 to 1985 as an associate in the risk arbitrage division, where he was involved in mergers and acquisitions. He later became a partner and member of the Executive Committee at Hellman & Friedman, a San Francisco–based private equity firm.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In January 1986, Steyer founded Farallon Capital, a hedge fund firm headquartered in San Francisco. Steyer made his fortune running Farallon, which was managing $20 billion by the time he left the company. Steyer was known for taking high risks on distressed assets within volatile markets.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In October 2012, Steyer stepped down from his position at Farallon in order to focus on advocating for alternative energy. Steyer decided to dispose of his carbon-polluting investments in 2012, although critics say he did not dispose of them quickly enough and noted that the lifespan of the facilities he funded would extend through 2030. A 2014 "New York Times" article said coal-mining companies that Farallon invested in or lent money to under Steyer had increased their coal production by 70 million tons annually since receiving money from Farallon, and that Steyer remained invested in the Maules Creek coal mine. Prior to Steyer leaving Farallon, a student activist group called UnFarallon criticized the company for investments in companies with anti-environmental policies. In 2016, some critics noted that Farallon had also invested in private prisons while Steyer was leading the hedge fund. According to SEC filings, Steyer was at the helm as the hedge fund purchased nearly $90 million of Corrections Corporation of America stock (5.5% of the company's outstanding shares). After leaving Farallon, Steyer hosted a two-day think-tank entitled the 'Big Think Climate Meeting' to discuss how to address climate change.


title: Tom Steyer

text: On April 17, 2020, it was announced that California Governor Gavin Newsom had selected Steyer to chair a task force focused on the state's economic recovery after the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic. The task force will also include former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, Disney Executive Chairman Bob Iger, and Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook. Steyer's co-chair will be political advisor Ann O'Leary.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In September 2021, Steyer co-founded Galvanize Climate Solutions ("Galvanize") with Katie Hall, his longtime friend and business partner. Galvanize is a climate-focused, global investment firm that integrates expertise across investment, climate science, technology and policy to unlock and scale vital climate solutions and create long-term value for investors.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2006, Steyer and his wife, Kat Taylor, founded OneRoof, Inc., a B Corp and social enterprise business designed to bring broadband connectivity, computer literacy, and employment skills via "OneRoof Internet Centers" to small rural towns in rural India and Mexico.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2007, Steyer and Taylor founded Beneficial State Bank, a community development bank, for the purpose of providing commercial banking services to underserved Bay Area businesses, nonprofits, and individuals, with operations now in California, Oregon, and Washington. Its stock ownership is entirely held by a foundation such that all profits are reinvested in local communities.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer and Taylor put up $22.5 million to start the bank and create the One PacificCoast Foundation to engage in charitable and educational activities, provide lending support, investments, and other services for disadvantaged communities and community service organizations in California.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In August 2010, Steyer and his wife signed onto The Giving Pledge, an initiative of Bill Gates and Warren Buffett.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer and Taylor created the TomKat Ranch in Pescadero, California, near Half Moon Bay. The ranch is meant to research and demonstrate a sustainable way of doing agriculture. The ranch's activities include underwriting healthy food programs and co-producing an independent film, "La Mission", starring Benjamin Bratt, about San Francisco's Mission neighborhood. Around 2011, Steyer joined the board of Next Generation, a nonprofit intending to tackle children's issues and the environment. In 2013, Steyer founded NextGen Climate, an environmental advocacy nonprofit and political action committee.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In August 2015, Steyer launched the Fair Shake Commission on Income Inequality and Middle Class Opportunity, which was intended to advocate policies for promoting income equality.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 1983, Steyer worked on Walter Mondale's presidential campaign. He raised money for Bill Bradley in 2000 and John Kerry in 2004.


title: Tom Steyer

text: An early supporter of Hillary Clinton in 2008, Steyer became one of Barack Obama's most prolific fundraisers. Steyer served as a delegate to the Democratic National Conventions in 2004 and 2008. Steyer has been a member of the Hamilton Project and has been involved with the Democracy Alliance, a network of progressive donors whose membership in the group requires them to donate at least $200,000 a year to recommended organizations.


title: Tom Steyer

text: After the Obama victory in 2008, Steyer was considered for appointment as Secretary of Treasury. Jim Steyer, Tom's brother, told "Men's Journal" that Obama and his advisors would regret having chosen someone else, due to his expertise. In January 2013, rumors briefly arose that Steyer might be named as a replacement for Energy Secretary Steven Chu. Asked whether he would accept such an appointment, Steyer said he would.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2010, Steyer joined former Secretary of State, San Francisco-based George Shultz, to co-chair the No on Prop. 23 campaign, the measure on the November 2010 ballot concerning California's environmental legislation, AB32. He donated $5 million to the campaign, which defeated Proposition 23.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2012, Steyer was the leading sponsor of Proposition 39 on the ballot in California. Its purpose was to close a loophole that allowed multi-state corporations to pay taxes out of state, mandating that they pay in California. Steyer contributed $29.6 million, saying that he could wait no longer for the change.


title: Tom Steyer

text: While supporters of Steyer's effort said it would "help break the partisan gridlock in Sacramento", critics objected that "the increasing involvement of rich individuals perverts the original intent of the initiatives". Kim Alexander, president of the California Voter Foundation, said that the level of giving was unprecedented for an individual donor. Some critics called the initiative an ineffective jobs stimulus, while Steyer labeled it a success for closing a corporate loophole.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2012, Steyer hosted a fundraiser at his home for President Obama. At a private meeting, Steyer, along with fifteen other top donors, reportedly pressed the president regarding the Keystone pipeline, which Steyer opposed. Obama was said to be supportive of Steyer's views, but reluctant to put his full weight behind any initiatives without better proof. Steyer was critical of Obama's decision to keep an energy initiative as a low priority.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer gave a speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, saying that the election was "a choice about whether to go backward or forward. And that choice is especially stark when it comes to energy". Steyer said that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney would take no action to reduce U.S. dependence on fossil fuels; rather, he said, Romney would increase it. Steyer went on to support Obama's policies, which he described as investments to "make us energy independent and create thousands of jobs."


title: Tom Steyer

text: In February 2013, Steyer spoke at an anti-Keystone XL Pipeline rally on the Washington Mall organized by Bill McKibben and attended by tens of thousands. McKibben asked Steyer to join the protest by tying himself to the White House gate and getting arrested, but Steyer was dissuaded by his brother Jim.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2013, Steyer founded NextGen Climate (now NextGen America), an environmental advocacy nonprofit and political action committee. NextGen Climate provided the environmentalist movement with significant capital and political influence. Steyer spent almost $74 million on the 2014 elections.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In October 2017, NextGen America donated grants totaling $2.3-million to eight national immigration law service organizations, including the University of California Immigrant Legal Services Center, the Immigration Law Clinic at U C Davis School of Law, U C Hastings Center for Gender and Refugee Studies, Asian Americans Advancing Justice — Asian Law Caucus, California Rural Legal Assistance Foundation, Center for Community Change, American Immigration Lawyers Association, and the Council on American-Islamic Relations.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2014, Steyer funded political campaigns to advocate for the election of at least nine candidates and to influence climate change policy through NextGen Climate. Those races included helping elect Ed Markey of Massachusetts over Stephen Lynch to the Senate in a special election in 2013. Reportedly, Steyer spent $1.8 million attacking Lynch, including money for a plane Steyer paid to fly over a Boston Red Sox game with a banner that read, "Steve Lynch for Oil Evil Empire".


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer supported Democrat Terry McAuliffe's successful 2013 campaign for governor of Virginia through his NextGen Climate Action, contributing funds for paid media (such as television advertisements) and get-out-the-vote efforts. Steyer also supported Democrats in Senate races in Iowa, Colorado, New Hampshire, and Michigan and in Gubernatorial races in Pennsylvania, Maine, and Florida. Steyer cited Florida's pivotal role in the 2016 presidential election and its geographic position, which makes it highly vulnerable to climate change, as reasons for his focus on the state.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In June 2014, Steyer said he planned to get involved in California legislative races, targeting three to four races in each house of the Legislature in a bid to affect climate change policy. The Guardian reported in 2014 that Steyer had become the single largest donor in American politics and is the leading advocate of environmental issues.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer spent about $67 million of his personal fortune in the 2014 midterm elections and had a 40% success rate. Of the seven Senate and gubernatorial candidates NextGen Climate supported, three won their races.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In April 2015, Steyer testified before the California Legislature in favor of a greenhouse-gas reduction bill. In August 2015, Steyer was the guest of honor at the California Democratic Party headquarters to discuss bills to cut gasoline use in half by 2030, although Steyer did not commit to spending large sums of money to support the bills.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In July 2015, Steyer called on 2016 candidates to develop strategic plans to provide the United States with at least 50% of its energy from clean sources by 2030. Reportedly, the message was targeted at Hillary Clinton, who had yet to outline an environmental policy. It was suggested that this was a strategic move to secure a political alliance with Clinton.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer raised money for Hillary Clinton, and he hosted a fundraiser on her behalf at his Burlingame home. Steyer contributed $87,057,853 in funds exclusively to Democratic Party candidates during the 2016 election cycle.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Beginning in October 2017, Steyer spent approximately $10 million for a television ad campaign advocating the impeachment of Donald Trump, and more on a digital ad campaign to call for Trump's impeachment. In the ad, Steyer identifies himself only as an "American citizen" and alleges that Trump "brought us to the brink of nuclear war, obstructed justice at the FBI, and in direct violation of the Constitution has taken money from foreign governments and threatened to shut down news organizations that report the truth." Trump responded by calling Steyer "wacky and totally unhinged."


title: Tom Steyer

text: The Need to Impeach campaign led to speculation that Steyer was planning a run for California governor or California senator in 2018, although he did not do so. In March 2018, Steyer launched a 30-city town hall tour and, going into the fall election season, the campaign had amassed close to 6 million petition signatures.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer stepped down from his role as President at Need to Impeach in July 2019 when he announced his presidential campaign. As of 2019, he has reportedly spent over $70 million in the effort. Steyer said Need to Impeach will continue under new leadership and named Nathaly Arriola, as the new Executive Director.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer considered running for governor of California in 2018 but in January 2018 announced that he would not run in the election.


title: Tom Steyer

text: After initially indicating that he would not seek the presidency, Steyer launched a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination on July 9, 2019, in an online campaign video posted to Twitter. As a self-funded candidate, Steyer committed himself to spending millions of dollars in campaign advertising.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer qualified for, and participated in, six televised Democratic primary debates and failed to qualify for one debate.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer came in seventh place in the Iowa caucuses and sixth place in the New Hampshire primaries out of the 11 active candidates, receiving no delegates. He earned no national pledged delegates from Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada. Steyer spent a great deal of time and money in South Carolina, far outspending other candidates. However, on February 29, 2020, he finished third (behind Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders). Following that result, he suspended his campaign.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer spent over $253 million, with all but a little over $3.5 million coming from his personal funds. This amount worked out to be $3,373 for every vote he received in the three primaries where he was on the ballot before dropping out of the race. During Steyer's time as a candidate, his campaign spending surpassed that of every other Democratic candidate except for fellow billionaire Michael Bloomberg.


title: Tom Steyer

text: After holding several conversations during the summer of 2012 with environmental writer Bill McKibben, Steyer decided to focus much of his attention on the Keystone Pipeline. Steyer officially left Farallon in 2012. He was criticized by some Republicans for attacking the pipeline even though he held some investments in the fossil-fuel industry. The investments included stock in Kinder Morgan, which had its own pipeline connecting the Canadian bitumen sands to a port on the Pacific, which could be seen as a rival to the Keystone pipeline. Steyer promised to fully unload his holdings there within a year. In September 2013, Steyer appeared in a series of commercials in opposition to the proposed pipeline.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In a November 2015 interview, Steyer described the Obama administration's decision to reject the Keystone pipeline as "fantastic."


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2008, Steyer and Taylor gave $41 million to create the TomKat Center for Sustainable Energy at Stanford University. Part of the Precourt Institute of Energy, it is focused on the development of affordable renewable energy technologies, and promotion of public policies to make renewable energy more accessible. Projects included the creation of lighter, less toxic, and more durable batteries, and an analysis of the then-current power grids capacities to support future renewable energy technologies.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In October 2013, Steyer launched a bipartisan initiative to combat climate change along with then-New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson. The initiative, called the Risky Business Project, focuses on quantifying and publicizing the economic risks of climate change in the United States. Bloomberg, Paulson, and Steyer serve as co-chairs. The Project has published three reports—a National Report in June 2014, a Midwest Report in January 2015, and a California Report in April 2015.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In 2015, Steyer signed on to the Bill Gates Breakthrough Energy Coalition. The goal of the coalition is to jumpstart the demand and availability of green energy sources.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Asked in a November 2014 interview why he invests his money into elections rather than philanthropic organizations, Steyer stated that the price of inaction is too high not to take a direct role. He has said that he opposes "Citizens United v. FEC", the 2010 Supreme Court decision allowing unlimited corporate donations to super PACs, but since climate change is urgent he will take necessary actions to provide funding nonetheless.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In an interview in October 2017, Steyer said that he was in favor of raising personal taxes. He said that upper-income people in the United States had done "disproportionately well" at the expense of working families. Steyer called one version of a 2017 Republican tax reform proposal a "thinly veiled reverse Robin Hood". Steyer supports a wealth tax for anyone worth at least $32 million.


title: Tom Steyer

text: In November 2018, in a full-page "USA Today" ad, Steyer outlined five non-partisan issue areas on which he said the Democrats should campaign, and which "represent essential freedoms that should be guaranteed for all Americans": voting rights protections, a clean environment, a complete education, a living wage, and good health.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer has received a number of awards and honors for his environmental work, including the Phillip Burton Public Service Award of Consumer Watchdog (2011), the Environmental Leadership Award of the California League of Conservation Voters (2012), the Environmental Achievement Award of the Environmental Law Institute (2013), and the Land Conservation Award of the Open Space Institute (2015).


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer received Equality California's 2015 Humanitarian Award "for his work advancing progressive causes that benefit the LGBT community."


title: Tom Steyer

text: In August 1986, Steyer married Kathryn Ann Taylor, a graduate of Harvard College who earned a Master of Business Administration and a Juris Doctor from Stanford University. The Reverend Richard Thayer, a Presbyterian minister, and Rabbi Charles Familant performed the ceremony. They have four children, Samuel Taylor ("Sam"), Charles Augustus ("Gus"), Evelyn Hoover ("Evi"), and Henry Hume ("Henry"). Kathryn was on the President's Council for the United Religions Initiative, an interfaith group.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer has two brothers: Hume Steyer, an attorney in New York City and Jim Steyer, an attorney, author, and a Stanford University professor.


title: Tom Steyer

text: Steyer has a net worth of $1.6 billion. "Men's Journal" mentioned the modest aspects of his lifestyle noting that he owns an "outdated hybrid Honda Accord" and eschews luxury items such as expensive watches. Steyer wears tartan neckties every day, because in his words “You gotta dress up for a fight.”


title: Tom Steyer

text: In his late 30s, Steyer had "a revelation" and began an involvement in the Episcopal Church, the religion of his mother (his father was a non-practicing Jew). He has stated that during this time he became much more interested in religion and theology. The new interest reportedly galvanized his political advocacy.


title: Allbirds

text: Allbirds, Inc. is an American company that sells footwear and apparel. The company claims to keep its products as eco-friendly as possible and is a certified B Corporation. Allbirds uses a direct-to-consumer model in conjunction with distribution via select additional stores, selling its products through its website and retail stores in addition to select Nordstrom and Dick's Sporting Goods locations.


title: Allbirds

text: Allbirds co-founder Tim Brown got the idea for the company while he was vice captain of the New Zealand football team. He had previously attended business school and used to make leather shoes for friends but was aware of how uncomfortable they were. In 2014, he received a research grant from the New Zealand wool industry to engineer a sneaker. He then launched his idea on Kickstarter, raising US$119,000 in five days. After launching on Kickstarter, Brown teamed up with Joey Zwillinger, a biotech engineer and renewable materials expert. They began developing their process and officially launched Allbirds in March 2016. The name Allbirds is a reference to New Zealand having almost no native land mammals. It is a land of "all birds".


title: Allbirds

text: During their first year in business, the company raised US$7.25 million from investors including Maveron, Lerer Hippeau Ventures and other firms. In December 2017, Allbirds sued Steve Madden, alleging that the company's Traveler shoes look nearly identical to its Wool Runners.


title: Allbirds

text: As of 2017, the company had 50 employees in their headquarters in San Francisco, US; 40 employees at its warehouse in Nashville, US; and 350 contractors in a factory in South Korea. In the end of 2017 the company launched in Australia. In October 2018, the company raised US$50 million in Series C funding, bringing its total valuation to . The company went public on the Nasdaq on 3 November 2021 under the ticker symbol BIRD.


title: Allbirds

text: The company launched with one product, the Wool Runners casual sneakers. The company has since expanded to offer other footwear, including running shoes and flip flops as well as apparel.


title: Allbirds

text: Allbirds has collaborated with other brands to produce limited edition products, including Outdoor Voices and Nordstrom. In May 2020, Allbirds announced a partnership with Adidas.


title: Captivity (film)

text: Captivity is a 2007 horror film of the "torture porn" subgenre, directed by Roland Joffé, written by Larry Cohen and Joseph Tura, and starring Elisha Cuthbert and Daniel Gillies. Considered an entry into a subgenre popularized by such film series as "Hostel" and "Saw", the film centres on a young fashion model (Cuthbert) who is abducted and is psychologically tortured by unknown assailants.


title: Captivity (film)

text: Jennifer Tree is a rising fashion model. On an evening out alone, Jennifer is stalked and drugged. She wakes up in a cell containing personal items taken from her apartment. Jennifer is shown recordings of victims who were tortured in the same cell, as well as records of her interviews. She screams and pleads to be let go, but no one replies.


title: Captivity (film)

text: Jennifer is subjected to various forms of psychological torture. She then discovers that a young man, Gary Dexter, is being held captive in an adjoining cell. The two make contact and attempt to find an escape. They both make it to a garage containing a vehicle, but are knocked out by sleeping gas. Jennifer wakes up in her cell, and sees a recording of Gary being threatened in his cell. Afterwards, he is thrown into her cell. She rushes over to help him, and they proceed to have sex.


title: Captivity (film)

text: After Jennifer drinks a bottle of drugged water and falls asleep, Gary wakes up and leaves the cell. It is revealed Gary and his older brother, Ben, have Jennifer captive in their home; she is the latest of several women they have abducted to re-enact the tortures inflicted upon them as children by their mother. Gary joins Ben and tells him that he is falling in love with Jennifer, then stabs his brother. He watches recordings of him murdering their mother.


title: Captivity (film)

text: Gary is interrupted by two detectives looking for Ben. Despite Gary telling them his brother is not home, the two enter the house. After they accidentally see the surveillance video of Jennifer in her room, Gary shoots them both.


title: Captivity (film)

text: Gary goes back to Jennifer's cell and tells her that he has killed the perpetrators and they can leave. He places Jennifer in a room and tells her to stay there. One of the detectives, having survived the gunshot wound, jumps out at her. Mistaking him for her captor, she kills him with a baseball bat. She then discovers the incriminating photos with Gary in them. Ben, who survived the stabbing, attacks her, and she kills him as well.


title: Captivity (film)

text: Jennifer searches through one of the detectives' pockets. Gary finds her and she says she will help him clean up the mess. When he lets down his guard, she sprays him with pepper spray and runs away, sabotaging the house's electrical system. Eventually, Jennifer successfully kills Gary. She uncovers a window leading outside and leaves.


title: Captivity (film)

text: The film's original ending, shown in its entirety on the DVD, depicted a man being captured and tortured with acid before being murdered with a hammer. Through press clippings, the man is shown to be a serial killer of women, and his assailant is revealed to be Jennifer, who has adapted her former captors' methods to become a vigilante who tortures and kills criminals. This ending was re-edited and used as a cold open in the final cut.


title: Captivity (film)

text: After Dark Films founder and present head Courtney Solomon went back to edit the original concept of "Captivity" to add more gore and violence to please the American audience. In a statement, Solomon is believed to state that he felt the film was not gruesome enough for a mainstream "torture porn". He felt the change would bring in more money for the film, after noticing the success of "Hostel"; however, the film performed poorly at the box office. Solomon later released a statement saying, "It's overkill. I think audiences have said, 'I've had enough.' It's as simple as that."


title: Captivity (film)

text: Several controversial images depicting promotional scenes from the film were released by After Dark Films in Los Angeles and New York, where they were shown on billboards and taxicabs. The advertisement consisted of pictures involving the kidnapping, torture, and presumable murder of a female character. Offended witnesses soon filed complaints to After Dark, who claimed it had been an error and explained that the concept was only one of several working ideas that were being considered for marketing to the general public. According to executive producer Courtney Solomon, who spoke on behalf of After Dark, it was not supposed to have been approved; he followed by saying, "To be honest with you, I don't know where the confusion happened or who's responsible."


title: Captivity (film)

text: "This film was done in association with After Dark Films. The nature of the association allows After Dark autonomy over their marketing materials, and therefore we neither saw nor approved this billboard before it was posted," said Peter Wilkes, head of Lionsgate investor relations. "Once aware of the materials and the reaction to them, we immediately asked After Dark to remove the billboards, to which they immediately and cooperatively responded."


title: Captivity (film)

text: Joss Whedon has become the public face of a movement directed at the MPAA to remove the film's rating, in accordance with MPAA guidelines that state that any film that uses advertising that has not been approved by the MPAA (in this case, the advertising was specifically disapproved) will possibly forfeit their right to be rated. According to writer Joey Soloway, who runs the website Remove the Rating, Solomon himself was responsible for the ads in question, going over the design in extreme detail, and is thus being disingenuous in the above-cited quote. The MPAA issued a ruling dated 28 March 2007, which said that, as punishment, it would not consider rating the film until at least 30 April, making the release date of 18 May less likely (because releasing the film "unrated" would greatly impact its potential to sell tickets). The MPAA is also, in an unprecedented move, requiring that they approve the placement of all forthcoming advertisements for the film.


title: Captivity (film)

text: "Captivity" opened on Friday, 13 July 2007. The film holds a 9% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 78 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Lacking scares or psychological insight, "Captivity" is a distasteful entry in the 'torture porn' subgenre." Online critic James Berardinelli gave it a zero star rating, stating that there is "nothing redeemable here. It's not tense or scary; it's just demented". Bloody-Disgusting.com named the film as the "worst horror film of 2007". Joe Leydon of "Variety" wrote that it will likely be remembered more for the billboard controversy than its plot, but it still generates "modest suspense after a predictable but effective plot twist".


title: Captivity (film)

text: Elisha Cuthbert's performance was nominated for both a Teen Choice Award and a Razzie Award for Worst Actress. It also earned Razzie nominations for Worst Director and Worst Excuse for a Horror Movie but lost both to "I Know Who Killed Me".


title: Captivity (film)

text: The film grossed $1,429,100 in its opening weekend, placing it at No. 12 at the US box office. By the end of its run, the film had grossed $10,921,200.


title: Captivity (film)

text: The DVD was released on 30 October 2007 with a widescreen unrated version and the original R-rated version. It includes a making-of featurette and an on-the-set look of the film. There was also a special two-disc edition, which had a metal keep case with fine sand on the front cover beneath a plastic layer depicting Cuthbert in relief print beneath it, just as in a scene from the film.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: In the social sciences, framing comprises a set of concepts and theoretical perspectives on how individuals, groups, and societies organize, perceive, and communicate about reality.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Framing can manifest in thought or interpersonal communication. "Frames in thought" consist of the mental representations, interpretations, and simplifications of reality. "Frames in communication" consist of the communication of frames between different actors. Framing is a key component of sociology, the study of social interaction among humans. Framing is an integral part of conveying and processing data on a daily basis. Successful framing techniques can be used to reduce the ambiguity of intangible topics by contextualizing the information in such a way that recipients can connect to what they already know.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: In social theory, framing is a schema of interpretation, a collection of anecdotes and stereotypes, that individuals rely on to understand and respond to events. In other words, people build a series of mental "filters" through biological and cultural influences. They then use these filters to make sense of the world. The choices they then make are influenced by their creation of a frame.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Framing involves social construction of a social phenomenon – by mass media sources, political or social movements, political leaders, or other actors and organizations. Participation in a language community necessarily influences an individual's "perception" of the meanings attributed to words or phrases. Politically, the language communities of advertising, religion, and mass media are highly contested, whereas framing in less-sharply defended language communities might evolve imperceptibly and organically over cultural time frames, with fewer overt modes of disputation.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: One can view framing in communication as positive or negative – depending on the audience and what kind of information is being presented. The framing may be in the form of "equivalence frames", where two or more logically equivalent alternatives are portrayed in different ways (see framing effect) or "emphasis frames", which simplify reality by focusing on a subset of relevant aspects of a situation or issue. In the case of "equivalence frames", the information being presented is based on the same facts, but the "frame" in which it is presented changes, thus creating a reference-dependent perception.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: The effects of framing can be seen in journalism: the "frame" surrounding the issue can change the reader's perception without having to alter the actual facts as the same information is used as a base. This is done through the media's choice of certain words and images to cover a story (i.e. using the word "fetus" vs. the word "baby"). In the context of politics or mass-media communication, a frame defines the packaging of an element of rhetoric in such a way as to encourage certain interpretations and to discourage others. For political purposes, framing often presents facts in such a way that implicates a problem that is in need of a solution. Members of political parties attempt to frame issues in a way that makes a solution favoring their own political leaning appear as the most appropriate course of action for the situation at hand.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: As an example: When we want to explain an event, our understanding is often based on our interpretation (frame). If someone rapidly closes and opens an eye, we react differently based on if we interpret this as a "physical frame" (they blinked) or a "social frame" (they winked). Them blinking may be due to a speck of dust (resulting in an involuntary and not particularly meaningful reaction). Them winking may imply a voluntary and meaningful action (to convey humor to an accomplice, for example).


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Observers will read events seen as purely physical or within a frame of "nature" differently from those seen as occurring with social frames. But we do not look at an event and then "apply" a frame to it. Rather, individuals constantly project into the world around them the interpretive frames that allow them to make sense of it; we only shift frames (or realize that we have habitually applied a frame) when incongruity calls for a frame-shift. In other words, we only become aware of the frames that we always already use when something forces us to replace one frame with another.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Though some consider framing to be synonymous with agenda setting, other scholars state that there is a distinction. According to an article written by Donald H. Weaver, framing selects certain aspects of an issue and makes them more prominent in order to elicit certain interpretations and evaluations of the issue, whereas agenda setting introduces the issue topic to increase its salience and accessibility.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Richard E. Vatz's discourse on creation of rhetorical meaning relates directly to framing, although he references it little. To be specific, framing effects refer to behavioral or attitudinal strategies and/or outcomes that are due to how a given piece of information is being framed in public discourse. Today, many volumes of the major communication journals contain papers on media frames and framing effects. Approaches used in such papers can be broadly classified into two groups: studies of framing as the dependent variable and studies of framing as the independent variable. The former usually deals with "frame building" (i.e. how frames create societal discourse about an issue and how different frames are adopted by journalists) and latter concerns "frame setting" (i.e. how media framing influences an audience).


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Frame-building research has typically recognized at least three main sets of influences that may impact the way journalists frame a certain issue:


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Erving Goffman emphasized the role of cultural context as a shaper of frames when he posited that the meaning of a frame has implicit cultural roots. This context dependency of media frames has been described as 'cultural resonance' or 'narrative fidelity'. As an example, most people might not notice the frame in stories about the separation of church and state, because the media generally does not frame their stories from a religious point of view.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: When people are exposed to a novel news frame, they will accept the constructs made applicable to an issue, but they are significantly more likely to do so when they have existing mindset for those settings. This is called the applicability effect. That is, when new frames invite people to apply their existing schema to an issue, the implication of that application depends, in part, on what is in that schema. Therefore, generally, the more the audiences know about issues, the more effective are frames.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: There are a number of levels and types of framing effects that have been examined. For example, scholars have focused on attitudinal and behavioral changes, the degrees of perceived importance of the issue, voting decisions, and opinion formations. Others are interested in psychological processes other than applicability. For instance, Iyengar suggested that news about social problems can influence attributions of causal and treatment responsibility, an effect observed in both cognitive responses and evaluations of political leaders, or other scholars looked at the framing effects on receivers' evaluative processing style and the complexity of audience members' thoughts about issues. Frame setting studies also address how frames can affect how someone thinks about an issue (cognitive) or feels about an issue (affective).


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: News media frame all news items by emphasizing specific values, facts, and other considerations, and endowing them with greater apparent applicability for making related judgments. News media promotes particular definitions, interpretations, evaluations and recommendations.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Anthropologist Gregory Bateson first defined the concept of framing as "a spatial and temporal bounding of a set of interactive messages" (A Theory of Play and Fantasy, 1954, reproduced in his 1972 book "Steps to an Ecology of Mind").


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Media framing research has both sociological and psychological roots. Sociological framing focuses on "the words, images, phrases, and presentation styles" that communicators use when relaying information to recipients. Research on frames in sociologically driven media research generally examines the influence of "social norms and values, organizational pressures and constraints, pressures of interest groups, journalistic routines, and ideological or political orientations of journalists" on the existence of frames in media content.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Todd Gitlin, in his analysis of how the news media trivialized the student New Left movement during the 1960s, was among the first to examine media frames from a sociological perspective. Frames, Gitlin wrote, are "persistent patterns of cognition, interpretations, and presentation, of selection [and] emphasis ... [that are] largely unspoken and unacknowledged ... [and] organize the world for both journalists [and] for those of us who read their reports".


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Research on frames in psychologically driven media research generally examines the effects of media frames on those who receive them. For example, Iyengar explored the impact of episodic and thematic news frames on viewers' attributions of responsibility for political issues including crime, terrorism, poverty, unemployment, and racial inequality. According to Iyengar, an episodic news frame "takes the form of a case study or event-oriented report and depicts public issues in terms of concrete instances", in other words focusing on specific place in a specific time Thematic news frame "places public issues in some more general abstract context ... directed at general outcomes or conditions", for example exploring commonality that happens in several place and time. Iyengar found that the majority of television news coverage of poverty, for example, was episodic. In fact, in a content analysis of six years of television news, Iyengar found that the typical news viewer would have been twice as likely to encounter episodic rather than thematic television news about poverty.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Further, experimental results indicate participants who watched episodic news coverage of poverty were more than twice as likely as those who watched thematic news coverage of poverty to attribute responsibility of poverty to the poor themselves rather than society. Given the predominance of episodic framing of poverty, Iyengar argues that television news shifts responsibility of poverty from government and society to the poor themselves. After examining content analysis and experimental data on poverty and other political issues, Iyengar concludes that episodic news frames divert citizens' attributions of political responsibility away from society and political elites, making them less likely to support government efforts to address those issue and obscuring the connections between those issues and their elected officials' actions or lack thereof.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Visuals can be used to manifest meaning alongside textual framing. Text and visuals function best simultaneously. Advancement in print and screen-based technologies has resulted in merging of the two modes in information dissemination. Since each mode has its limitations, they are best used together and are interlinked in forming meaning.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Images are more preferable than text since they are less intrusive than words and require less cognitive load. From a psychological perspective, images activate nerve cells in the eyes in order to send information to the brain. Images can also generate a stronger emotional appeal and have high attraction value. Within the framing context, images can obscure issues and facts in effort to frame information. Visuals consist of rhetorical tools such as metaphors, depiction and symbols to portray the context of an event or scene graphically in an attempt to help us better understand the world around us. Images can have a one-to-one correspondence between what is captured on camera and its representation in the real world.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Along with increasing understanding, visuals can also elevate retention rates, making information easier to remember and recall. Due to the comparable nature of images, grammar rules do not apply.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: According to researchers, framing is reflected within a four-tiered model, which identifies and analyzes visual frames as follows: visuals as denotative systems, visuals as stylistic-semiotic systems, visuals as connotative systems and visuals as ideological representations.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Researchers caution against relying only on images to understand information. Since they hold more power than text and are more relatable to reality, we may overlook potential manipulations and staging and mistake this as evidence.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Images can be representative of ideologies by ascertaining underlying principles that constitute our basic attributes by combining symbols and stylistic features of an image into a process of coherent interpretation.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: One study indicates visual framing is prominent in news coverage, especially in relation to politics. Emotionally charged images are seen as a prominent tool for framing political messages. Visual framing can be effective by putting emphasis on a specific aspect of an issue, a tactic commonly used in portrayal of war and conflict news known as empathy framing. Visual framing that has emotional appeal can be considered more salient.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: This type of framing can be applied to other contexts, including athletics in relation to athletic disability. Visual framing in this context can reinterpret the perspective on athletic and physical incompetence, a formerly established media stereotype.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Perhaps because of their use across the social sciences, frames have been defined and used in many disparate ways. Entman called framing "a scattered conceptualization" and "a fractured paradigm" that "is often defined casually, with much left to an assumed tacit understanding of the reader". In an effort to provide more conceptual clarity, Entman suggested that frames "select some aspects of a perceived reality and make them more salient in a communicating text, in such a way as to promote a particular problem definition, causal interpretation, moral evaluation, and/or treatment recommendation for the item described". Entman's conceptualization of framing, which suggests frames work by elevating particular pieces of information in salience, is in line with much early research on the psychological underpinnings of framing effects (see also Iyengar, who argues that accessibility is the primary psychological explanation for the existence of framing effects). Wyer and Srull explain the construct of accessibility thus:


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: The argument supporting accessibility as the psychological process underlying framing can therefore be summarized thus: Because people rely heavily on news media for public affairs information, the most accessible information about public affairs often comes from the public affairs news they consume. This argument has also been cited as support in the debate over whether framing should be subsumed by agenda-setting theory as part of the second level of agenda setting. McCombs and other agenda-setting scholars generally agree that framing should be incorporated, along with priming, under the umbrella of agenda setting as a complex model of media effects that links media production, content, and audience effects. Indeed, McCombs, Llamas, Lopez-Escobar, and Rey justified their attempt to combine framing and agenda-setting research on the assumption of parsimony.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Scheufele, however, argues that, unlike agenda setting and priming, framing does not rely primarily on accessibility, making it inappropriate to combine framing with agenda setting and priming for the sake of parsimony. Empirical evidence seems to vindicate Scheufele's claim. For example, Nelson, Clawson, and Oxley empirically demonstrated that applicability, rather than their salience, is key. Measuring accessibility in terms of response latency of respondent answers, where more accessible information results in faster response times, Nelson, Clawson, and Oxley demonstrated that accessibility accounted for only a minor proportion of the variance in framing effects while applicability accounted for the major proportion of variance. Therefore, according to Nelson and colleagues, "frames influence opinions by stressing specific values, facts, and other considerations, endowing them with greater apparent relevance to the issue than they might appear to have under an alternative frame."


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: In other words, while early research suggested that by highlighting particular aspects of issues, frames make certain considerations more accessible and therefore more likely to be used in the judgment process, more recent research suggests that frames work by making particular considerations more applicable and therefore more relevant to the judgment process.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Chong and Druckman suggest framing research has mainly focused on two types of frames: equivalency and emphasis frames. Equivalency frames offer "different, but logically equivalent phrases", which cause individuals to alter their preferences. Equivalency frames are often worded in terms of "gains" versus "losses". For example, Kahneman and Tversky asked participants to choose between two "gain-framed" policy responses to a hypothetical disease outbreak expected to kill 600 people. Response A would save 200 people while Response B had a one-third probability of saving everyone, but a two-thirds probability of saving no one. Participants overwhelmingly chose Response A, which they perceived as the less risky option. Kahneman and Tversky asked other participants to choose between two equivalent "loss-framed" policy responses to the same disease outbreak. In this condition, Response A would kill 400 people while Response B had a one-third probability of killing no one but a two-thirds probability of killing everyone. Although these options are mathematically identical to those given in the "gain-framed" condition, participants overwhelmingly chose Response B, the risky option. Kahneman and Tversky, then, demonstrated that when phrased in terms of potential gains, people tend to choose what they perceive as the less risky option (i.e., the sure gain). Conversely, when faced with a potential loss, people tend to choose the riskier option.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Unlike equivalency frames, emphasis frames offer "qualitatively different yet potentially relevant considerations" which individuals use to make judgments. It is important to note that emphasis framing is distinct from agenda-setting. Emphasis framing represents the changes in the structure of communication to evoke a particular cognitive schema. Agenda setting relies upon the frequency or prominence of a message's issues to tell people what to think about. Emphasis framing refers to the influence of the structure of the message and agenda setting refers to the influence of the prominence of the content. For example, Nelson, Clawson, and Oxley exposed participants to a news story that presented the Ku Klux Klan's plan to hold a rally. Participants in one condition read a news story that framed the issue in terms of public safety concerns while participants in the other condition read a news story that framed the issue in terms of free speech considerations. Participants exposed to the public safety condition considered public safety applicable for deciding whether the Klan should be allowed to hold a rally and, as expected, expressed lower tolerance of the Klan's right to hold a rally. Participants exposed to the free speech condition, however, considered free speech applicable for deciding whether the Klan should be allowed to hold a rally and, as expected, expressed greater tolerance of the Klan's right to hold a rally.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Preference reversals and other associated phenomena are of wider relevance within behavioural economics, as they contradict the predictions of rational choice, the basis of traditional economics. Framing biases affecting investing, lending, borrowing decisions make one of the themes of behavioral finance.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Amos Tversky and Daniel Kahneman have shown that framing can affect the outcome of choice problems (i.e. the choices one makes), so much so that some of the classic axioms of rational choice are not true. This led to the development of prospect theory.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: The context or framing of problems adopted by decision-makers results in part from extrinsic manipulation of the decision-options offered, as well as from forces intrinsic to decision-makers, e.g., their norms, habits, and unique temperament.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Tversky and Kahneman (1981) demonstrated systematic when the same problem is presented in different ways, for example in the Asian disease problem. Participants were asked to "imagine that the U.S. is preparing for the outbreak of an unusual Asian disease, which is expected to kill 600 people. Two alternative programs to combat the disease have been proposed. Assume the exact scientific estimate of the consequences of the programs are as follows."


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Programs A and C are identical, as are programs B and D. The change in the decision frame between the two groups of participants produced a preference reversal: when the programs were presented in terms of lives saved, the participants preferred the secure program, A (= C). When the programs were presented in terms of expected deaths, participants chose the gamble D (= B).


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Framing effects arise because one can often frame a decision using multiple scenarios, in which one may express benefits either as a relative risk reduction (RRR), or as absolute risk reduction (ARR). Extrinsic control over the cognitive distinctions (between risk tolerance and reward anticipation) adopted by decision makers can occur through altering the presentation of relative risks and absolute benefits.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: People generally prefer the absolute certainty inherent in a positive framing-effect, which offers an assurance of gains. When decision-options appear framed as a "likely gain", risk-averse choices predominate.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: A shift toward risk-seeking behavior occurs when a decision-maker frames decisions in negative terms, or adopts a negative framing effect.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Researchers have found that framing decision-problems in a positive light generally results in less-risky choices; with negative framing of problems, riskier choices tend to result.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: In a study by researchers at Dartmouth Medical School, 57% of the subjects chose a medication when presented with benefits in relative terms, whereas only 14.7% chose a medication whose benefit appeared in absolute terms. Further questioning of the patients suggested that, because the subjects ignored the underlying risk of disease, they perceived benefits as greater when expressed in relative terms.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Cognitive neuroscientists have linked the framing effect to neural activity in the amygdala, and have identified another brain-region, the orbital and medial prefrontal cortex (OMPFC), that appears to moderate the role of emotion on decisions. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to monitor brain-activity during a financial decision-making task, they observed greater activity in the OMPFC of those research subjects less susceptible to the framing effect.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Framing theory and frame analysis provide a broad theoretical approach that analysts have used in communication studies, news (Johnson-Cartee, 1995), politics, and social movements (among other applications).


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: According to Bert Klandermans, the "social construction of collective action frames" involves "public discourse, that is, the interface of media discourse and interpersonal interaction; persuasive communication during mobilization campaigns by movement organizations, their opponents and countermovement organizations; and consciousness raising during episodes of collective action".


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Most commentators attribute the concept of framing to the work of Erving Goffman on frame analysis and point to his 1974 book, "Frame analysis: An essay on the organization of experience". Goffman used the idea of frames to label "schemata of interpretation" that allow individuals or groups "to locate, perceive, identify, and label" events and occurrences, thus rendering meaning, organizing experiences, and guiding actions.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Goffman's framing concept evolved out of his 1959 work, "The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life", a commentary on the management of impressions. These works arguably depend on Kenneth Boulding's concept of image.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Movements act as carriers of beliefs and ideologies (compare memes). In addition, they operate as part of the process of constructing meaning for participants and opposers (Snow & Benford, 1988). Sociologists deem the mobilization of mass-movements "successful" when the frames projected align with the frames of participants to produce resonance between the two parties. Researchers of framing speak of this process as "frame re-alignment".


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Snow and Benford (1988) regard frame-alignment as an important element in social mobilization or movement. They argue that when individual frames become linked in congruency and complementariness, "frame alignment" occurs,


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: producing "frame resonance", a catalyst in the process of a group making the transition from one frame to another (although not all framing efforts prove successful). The conditions that affect or constrain framing efforts include the following:


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Snow and Benford (1988) propose that once someone has constructed proper frames as described above, large-scale changes in society such as those necessary for social movement can be achieved through frame-alignment.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Frame-alignment comes in four forms: frame bridging, frame amplification, frame extension and frame transformation.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: When this happens, the securing of participants and support requires new values, new meanings and understandings. Goffman (1974, pp. 43–44) calls this "keying", where "activities, events, and biographies that are already meaningful from the standpoint of some primary framework, in terms of another framework" (Snow et al., 1986, p. 474) such that they are seen differently. Two types of frame transformation exist:


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Although the idea of language-framing had been explored earlier by Kenneth Burke (terministic screens), political communication researcher Jim A. Kuypers first published work advancing frame analysis (framing analysis) as a rhetorical perspective in 1997. His approach begins inductively by looking for themes that persist across time in a text (for Kuypers, primarily news narratives on an issue or event) and then determining how those themes are framed. Kuypers's work begins with the assumption that frames are powerful rhetorical entities that "induce us to filter our perceptions of the world in particular ways, essentially making some aspects of our multi-dimensional reality more noticeable than other aspects. They operate by making some information more salient than other information."


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: In his 2009 essay "Framing Analysis" in "Rhetorical Criticism: Perspectives in Action" and his 2010 essay "Framing Analysis as a Rhetorical Process", Kuypers offers a detailed conception for doing framing analysis from a rhetorical perspective. According to Kuypers, "Framing is a process whereby communicators, consciously or unconsciously, act to construct a point of view that encourages the facts of a given situation to be interpreted by others in a particular manner. Frames operate in four key ways: they define problems, diagnose causes, make moral judgments, and suggest remedies. Frames are often found within a narrative account of an issue or event, and are generally the central organizing idea." Kuypers's work is based on the premise that framing is a rhetorical process and as such it is best examined from a rhetorical point of view. Curing the problem is not rhetorical and best left to the observer.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Climate activism is constantly shaped and reshaped by dialogue at the local, national, and international level pertaining to climate change as well as by evolving societal norms and values.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Beginning with the 19th century transcendental movement in which Henry David Thoreau penned his novel "On Walden Pond" detailing his experiences with the natural environment and augmented by the work of other transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, climate activism has taken many forms. John Muir, also from the late 19th century, advocated for the preservation of Earth for its own sake, establishing the Sierra Club. Aldo Leopold's 1949 collection of essays, "A Sand County Almanac", established a "land ethic" and has set the stage for modern environmental ethics, calling for conservation and preservation of nature and wilderness. Rachel Carson's "Silent Spring", published in 1962, revealed the environmental and human health harms of pesticides and successfully advocated for the cessation of DDT usage.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: The concept of global climate change and subsequently the activism space pertaining to the climate took off in the 1970s. The first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970. The decades following witnessed the establishment of Greenpeace, Earth First!, the United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP), and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Landmark climate documents in the last 30 years include the Rio Declaration, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Climate Agreement, Global Youth Climate Action Declaration, among others.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Most recently, the Peoples' Climate March and Global Climate Strike have evolved into events attended by millions of activists and citizens around the world annually. Climate activism has been reinvigorated by an insurgence of young people on the frontlines of dialogue and advocacy. Greta Thunberg, a young Swedish woman, founded the initiative Fridays for Future which now has active chapters in scores of countries around the world. Other active youth-led climate groups include Extinction Rebellion, the Sunrise Movement, SustainUS, the Global Youth Climate Action Declaration (GYCAD), ZeroHour, among others working at both the transnational and local levels.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Individual motivation to address climate change is the bedrock on which collective action is built. Decision-making processes are informed by a myriad of factors including values, beliefs, and normative behaviors. In the United States, individuals have been most effectively motivated to support climate change policies when a public health frame has been employed. This frame reduces the sense of ambiguity and dissociation often elicited by talk of melting ice sheets and carbon emissions by placing climate issues in a local context for the individual, whether in their country, state, or city.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Climate change, as an issue that has yet to be established as a normative belief, is often subject to dissent in the face of activism and advocacy. Activists engaging in interpersonal, grassroots advocacy in order to elicit more pro-environmental conduct within their social groups, even those engaged in polite confrontation, are subject to negative reactions and social consequences in the face of opposition. Moreover, climate change has the capacity to be defined as a moral issue due to anthropogenic effects on the planet and on other human life, however there are psychological barriers to the acceptance of climate change and subsequent motivation to act in response to the need for intervention. An article in the journal "Nature Climate Change" by Ezra Markowitz and Azim Shariff emphasizes six psychological challenges, listed below, posed by climate change to the human moral judgement system:


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Climate activism manifests itself through a range of expressions. One aspect of climate change framing that is commonly observed is the frame of dire messaging that has been criticized as alarmist and pessimistic, resulting in a dismissal of evidence-based messages.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: The just-world theory supports the notion that some individuals must rely on their presupposition of a just-world in order to substantiate beliefs. "Research on just-world theory has demonstrated that when individuals' need to believe in a just world is threatened, they commonly employ defensive responses, such as dismissal or rationalization of the information that threatened their just-world beliefs". In the case of climate change, the notion of dire messaging is critical to understanding what motivates activism. For example, having a fear of climate change "attributed to the self's incapacity to prevent it may result in withdrawal, while considering someone else responsible may result in anger".


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: In 2017 study, it was found that activist interviewees from the Global North embrace fear as a motivation, but "emphasize hope, reject guilt, and treat anger with caution". Interviewees from the Global South indicated that they are "instead more acutely frightened, less hopeful, and more angered, ascribing guilt – responsibility – to northern countries. These differences may indicate a relatively depoliticized activist approach to climate change in the north, as opposed to a more politicized approach in the south."


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: A 2017 study shows that fear motivates action through raising awareness of the threat of climate catastrophe. Fear's paralyzing potential is mediated by hope: Hope propels action, while collective action generates hope while also managing fear. The danger-alerting capacity of fear is embraced "internally", but is rejected as an effective emotion in motivating people to mobilize.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Research has shown that dire messaging reduces the efficacy of advocacy initiatives through demotivation of individuals, lower levels of concern, and decreased engagement.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Research contends that "prognostic framing"—which offers tangible solutions, strategies, targets, and tactics—coupled with "motivational framing" is most efficacious in moving people to act. Especially as it relates to climate change, the power of positive psychology is made evident when applied by activists and others generating interventions.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: The four main tenets of motivation as elucidated by Positive Psychology are agency, compassion, resilience, and purpose. When applied to climate action, the 4th edition textbook Psychology for Sustainability, further expands upon these tenets as they relate to sustainability and as catalysts of action:


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Hope augments a sense of purpose and agency, while enhancing resilience. For climate activists, it is infeasible to decouple hope from fear. However, when deconstructing the hope that others will take necessary actions, hope is generated through faith in one's own capacity, indicating that "trust in 'one's own' collective action seems to be the essence of the hope that activists talk about". Additionally, creating a link between climate action and positive emotions such as gratitude and pride, improvements in subjective well-being, and potential for impact permits individuals to perceive their own actions to better the climate as a sustainable, rewarding manner rather than as demotivating.


title: Framing (social sciences)

text: Another approach that has proven to be efficacious is the projection of a future utopian society in which all pressing issues have been resolved, offering creative narratives that walk individuals from current problems to future solutions and allow them to choose to serve as a bridge between the two. This intergenerational, positive approach generates a sense of excitement about climate action in individuals and offers creative solutions that they may choose to take part in. For example, a public service announcement pertaining to climate change could be framed as follows: