ENVIRONMENTAL CINEMA: THEORY AND PRACTICE

The course is part of the interdisciplinary activities of the Master’s Degree Program in Environmental Humanities. It is open to students enrolled in the MA program and to visiting international students.

At the end of the course students will be able to think, read and write critically about a range of films and literature (narrative cinema, documentary, experimental media works, and fiction) and their relationship with theories about storytelling and the environment. They will also have acquired a good knowledge of the salient features of environmental cinema between the 1950s and the 2020s.

Good knowledge of English language

ENVIRONMENTAL CINEMA—THEORY AND PRACTICE,
Visiting professor, Ted Hardin, Columbia College Chicago
There is now an overwhelming scientific and political consensus that threats to our environment from climate change, unsustainable development, and pollution are occurring as a result of human activity. Equally compelling is an urgent need for action to address the causes and effects of our activities. This course will consider the place of various media forms--film, television, video art and selected literary works in this global crisis and ask what we, as cinema studies students and scholars, can contribute to ongoing debates and initiatives.
Modern theories of cinema invoke notions of world building and urge us to think about and re-think our relationships with the environment. In particular, ‘Cli-Fi’ or the sub-genre of science fiction films and literature about climate change has entered the mainstream discourse and led to ongoing inquiries. What kind of damaged world are we currently living in? How did we arrive at this escalating crisis, and what is the role and responsibilities of human actors? Works of ‘Cli-Fi’ often imagine futures that comment on the problems of the present. The course includes several historical works that are newly understood to be important precursors for the subgenre within this framework. The linkages between cinematic storytelling, the drive for technological progress and greater energy access are firm, often resulting in dystopic results and warnings about unsustainable outcomes. Paradoxically, in examples of ‘Cli-Fi’ the cinema and television industries render clear both the ‘mirror’ and the ‘hammer’ for their viewers. We are invited to consume stories experientially, yet often our world view is shattered.
This course will provide an opportunity to examine the various relationships and impacts between cinematic media, literature, and the environment. Additionally, small teams of students will produce their own small-scale media projects on an environmental issue of their choice, deepening their understanding of the ethics and responsibility of making environmental media. As examples we will review nature programs and documentaries, advertising and experimental media, as well as familiar feature films and literary works to explore interdisciplinary understandings of media and their role in the world.

FILMOGRAPHY

EXTRAPOLATIONS, dir.
PLASTIC BAG, dir. Ramin Bahrani, 2009
LESSONS OF DARKNESS, dir. Werner Herzog
THE LAST OF US,
AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, dir.
NEPTUNE FROST, dir. Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman, 2021
SNOWPIERCER, dir. Bong Joon-Ho, 2013
THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE WATER, dir. Ian Daniel, Elliot Page, 2020
MUMBAI DIARIES 2
COWSPIRACY (2014)/SEASPIRACY (2021), dir.
VESPER, dir. Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper, 2022
WORLD WITHOUT HUMANS,
EVERYTHING WILL CHANGE, dir. Marten Persiel, 2021
HOW TO BLOW UP A PIPELINE, 2022
PARABLE OF THE SOWER, 2024


BIBLIOGRAPHY

George R. Stewart, EARTH ABIDES, 1947
Timothy Morton, DARK ECOLOGY, selections
Other critical essays available on the Moodle page

A final, 2-hour-long written exam with questions about all the assigned films and the critical texts.

written

The lecturer has a duty to ensure that the rules regarding the authenticity and originality of exam tests and papers are respected. Therefore, if there is suspicion of irregular conduct, an additional assessment may be conducted, which could differ from the original exam description.

The assessment is expressed in 30ths
18-21: The student has acquired the basic concepts of the discipline;
22-25: The student has acquired the basic concepts of the discipline and the ability to connect the different institutes, with appropriate and correct language;
26-29: The student demonstrates a complete and well-structured knowledge of the subject; he/she demonstrates the ability to independently rework the acquired knowledge and also shows the ability to analyse with appropriate and punctual language.
30 - 30 cum laude: The student demonstrates a comprehensive and thorough body of knowledge; excellent ability to analyse applied problems, accompanied by the use of exemplary legal language.

Lectures, screenings, and class discussion. It will be mandatory for students to watch the assigned films and read the assigned texts before class.