Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong 1 Fiction films and the environment Media, Politics and the Environment (CCGL 9012) March 9, 2011

Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong 2 Fiction films: an art form vs. mass media (objectivity and advocacy based on facts) Narrative and characters are fictional vs. documentaries (also an art form, but based on facts) Artistic freedom, complex artistic presentation (including story/screen-play, directing, camera, actors, cuts, lighting) Genres include fantasy, drama, tragedy, tragicomedy, crime story Emotions (love against odds, betrayal, friendship, growing up, getting old/sick) adventures) Gender roles reflected and shaped by cinematic representation Durable cultural expression of identities (ethnic minority, sexual, linguistic, religious) Topics to discuss

Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong 3 Fiction films: art form vs. commercial product (“high” vs. “mass” or popular culture) European vs. American traditions of filmmaking Art form: de-familiarization, novel techniques (e.g., cuts), symbolism, allegory (water or a “backward” village) Expressing (and overcoming) trauma Popular culture: entertainment, expressing mainstream value preferences and perpetuate values changes Popular archetypes and myths (beast from King Kong, blonde from Marilyn Monroe, etc.) Film occupies a central part in cultural production in modernity Contemporary “cultural studies” are to a large degree films studies and studies of popular culture

Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong 4 Representation of nature in film Critical aspects of modernization: human and ecological price Fiction: nature as utopia of just and sustainable society Harmonious cohabitation of humans and animals from Tarzan to Avatar (including dangerous animals) Documentary: focus on powerless (animals or human communities) Ecological consciousness in films? Intended vs. non-intended environmental content? Environmental themes central vs. not central in the plot/visuals

Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong 5 Eco-cinema Ecocriticism in literature: “ecocriticism is the study of the relationship between literature and the physical environment” (Cherill Glotfelty, The Ecocriticism Reader, 1996, xviii) In the age of environmental crisis, theory of art cannot be blind to ecological matters “Films criticism ought to be a major constituent of ecocriticism. In the simplest terms, ecocinema is cinema with an ecological consciousness.” (Sheldon H. Lu: Chinese Ecocinema in the Age of Environmental Challenge, 2009, 2) Ecocinema: filmmaking and interpretation/criticism Ecocinema: both fiction and documentaries

Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong 6 Ecocinema in China Social-economic context: voluntarism “victory over nature” under Mao, forced industrialization and economism since 1980s Example: pollution of rivers (water in general), drought, dams vs symbolism of water as renewal, balanced society tradition (bath), opening to the world (ocean)

Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong Major themes and subjects in Chinese ecocinema: “How the lives of ordinary people are affected by the destruction of nature and environmental degradation in the rentless processes of revolution, modernization and industrialization.” “The effects of urban planning, demolition, and relocation on the lives of ordinary residents. The fate of migrants in the city. “The lives and struggles of people with physical or mental disabilities.” [?] “The relationship between humans and animals”, including anti- poaching in Tibet, story of panda and trainer over many years. “Projection and description of an organic communal mode of life distinct from the daily routines of civilized daily folks.” Focus on ethnic minorities, remote localities, like Inner Mongolia. “A return to religious, holistic thinking and practice and the difficulty of doing so in a commercialized society” Buddhism, Daoism. (Hu, 7-8) 7

Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong Further discussions Major themes and subjects in American ecocinema? How can movie stars (celebrities) spread environmental messages on and off the screen? Environmental education via ecocinema AND the commercial mass media? 8