Framing the World: Explorations in Ecocriticism and Film

Shifting Paradigms: From Environmentalist Films to Ecocinema

43 shifting paradigms from environmentalist films to ecocinema . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . paula willoquet-maricondi An idea, a relationship, can go extinct, just like an animal or a plant.—Bill McKibben, The End of Nature The proliferation of international and domestic film festivals dedicated to environmentally oriented films attests to the crucial function of the emerging genre of ecocinema to ‘‘challenge and broaden audiences’ perception and understanding of the complex world that surrounds us.’’∞ The annual Environmental Film Festival in Washington , DC, one of the largest, showcases a wide selection of fiction, documentary, and experimental films, with themes ranging from the vital connections between healthy food, fresh water, and the environment , to the patenting of genetically modified seeds, fresh water shortages and privatization, climate change, world hunger, and the impacts of globalization on indigenous peoples and environments. While environmental film festivals educate viewers about a range of environmental issues, they also help bridge the gap between activist filmmakers, the general public, and educators. The Eckert College Environmental Films Festival, for example, integrates film screenings with discussion sessions lead by academic scholars. The Wild and Scenic Environmental Film Festival not only makes its films available for rental to the local community but also packages the best films of the festival for nationwide tours. The tours aim to ‘‘expose people to forwardthinking ideas and global awareness’’ through films that not only ‘‘highlight the concerns but [also] provide solutions.’’≤ As the variety of subjects and approaches featured in the films showcased in these festivals grows, so does the understanding of what constitutes an ‘‘environment.’’ For example, the Finger Lakes Environmental Film Festival markets itself more comprehensively than other festivals, as a ‘‘multimedia interarts extravaganza’’ that engages in larger global conversations about diverse issues such as ‘‘labor, war, health, disease, music, intellectual property, fine art, software, remix culture, economics, 44 Paula Willoquet-Maricondi archives, AIDS, women’s rights and human rights.’’≥ This shifting and expanding conception of ‘‘environment’’ to include virtual and humanmade environments—such as software and archives—can pose a challenge to narrowing the definition of ecocinema as a genre whose identifying characteristic is its focus on matters of environmental health and justice. Another challenge in defining this genre is the ease with which the prefix ‘‘eco’’ tends to get attached to words and concepts so as to ‘‘greenwash’’ them, casting over them an appealing aura of environmentalism and potentially making the notion of an ‘‘eco’’ cinema sometimes suspect. Should all films touching on issues relating to the environment be given this label? Should all ‘‘environments,’’ including virtual ones, be given the same value and consideration as living ecosystems in regards to preservation and survival? As Lewis Ulman has noted, virtual and material landscapes often inform and affect one another. As these two ‘‘worlds’’ become increasingly bound, we are compelled to define parameters for ethical and healthy relations between them. ‘‘If our virtual models of whatever sort are leading us into unhealthy relationships with our environment,’’ writes Ulman, ‘‘then we need to change those models, not fantasize about abandoning virtuality’’ (355). By virtue of being re-presentations of the ‘‘real’’ world, films are a type of virtual environment that at the same time model for us ways of perceiving and engaging with material and organic environments. From this standpoint, as a specific type of environmentally oriented cinema, ecocinema can offer us alternative models for how to represent and engage with the natural world; these models have the potential to foster a healthier and more sustainable relationship to that world. Thus, films whose overt intent is to educate and provoke personal and political action in response to environmental challenges must be distinguished from those films David Ingram calls ‘‘environmentalist.’’ The prefix ‘‘eco’’ in ecocinema serves the specific function of reminding us of the Greek oikos, meaning ‘‘house’’ or ‘‘home.’’ As the geo-ecologist and environmental ethicist Stan Rowe points out, the prefix ‘‘eco’’ has the double advantage of reminding humanity where it is domiciled , while expressing no prejudice in favour of organisms, hence no denigration of earth, water and air as less than organisms, as merely their environment. It implies equal importance among all components , while also implying that everything existing within the Ecosphere , including the human race, is a product of it, a subdivision of it, a part of it, and therefore less important than it. The Whole Home Shifting Paradigms 45 is the prime...