In recent decades, strands of philosophical and cultural thought have emphasised the need to understand and critically interrogate the systems of extraction and exploitation of which we are part. Reflecting on how we have arrived at the current condition of environmental emergency and degradation enables us to recognise and further examine the existence of ecosocial relations.
One of the key issues that emerges from these relations is the need to conceive of ourselves as part of more-than-human networks and assemblages, in line with ecofeminist thinkers such as Donna Haraway and new materialist theorists such as Jane Bennett. Their theories, when applied to cultural and film studies, allow us to reformulate the question of how to regard non-human animals (as previously addressed by John Berger) and the relationships we maintain with them.
Building on these contributions, this seminar will explore the potential of other specific theoretical frameworks, such as ecocinema, in order to propose the foundations of an ecological perspective in film. To this end, we will examine a range of national and international film case studies to discuss exploratory pathways through which cinema may contribute to the construction of futures that place coexistence and relational care at their core.
In doing so, we aim to ensure that nature is not relegated to a secondary position, but rather understood as an environment of which we are an integral part; as the philosopher Bruno Latour observed, “we will no longer be able to remain at ease before the spectacle of grand landscapes”, since “it is now impossible to remain indifferent. From now on, everything concerns us.”
