American nature film: representations of dominion and imperialism by Ronald B Tobias

American nature film: representations of dominion and imperialism

Cathy Fitzgerald reviews ecocinema book Film and the American Moral Vision of Nature: : Theodore Roosevelt to Walt Disney (2011) by Ronald B. Tobias. This book discusses nature dioramas of the early 20th century and 'how such animal exhibits conveyed a suspended visual statement of the newly understood superior natural order of nature, a new moral vision that became a powerful analogy to the rising and powerful modern America'. And later the repercussions: 'Throughout American nature cinema, from early films of the American West, to Africa and the South Pacific, to Disney’s animations and TrueLife nature documentaries...reveals that much of American nature film is 'couched nature within a uniquely American moral code' and imperialistic perspectives'

How far is heaven: a new film on relations between a New Zealand river and its communities

http://vimeo.com/deerheartfilms/hfih-trailer I've been lucky enough to catch some new documentaries at the 2012 NZ film festival... And this one, How Far is Heaven (2012) in particular relates to my previous post (the Aotearoa-New Zealand Whanganui river has recently been granted world-leading innovative legal status as an entity in its own right). Beautifully shot, this film…Read more How far is heaven: a new film on relations between a New Zealand river and its communities

New book: Ecocinema Theory and Practice

Above: Two instances of wind from Tarkovsky's "Zerkalo" (Mirror), spliced together * New book due Aug 2012: Ecocinema Theory and Practice   'Most academic film studies professionals don't take nature film seriously, either historically or theoretically. Indeed, there are few better indications of the educationally counterproductive gap between the humanities and the sciences', Scott Macdonald,…Read more New book: Ecocinema Theory and Practice