Transnational ecocinemas: film culture in an era of ecological transformation

A critical collection edited by Pietari Kääpä

Critical analysis of Hollywood cinema dominates much of the contemporary
work on ecocriticism and the cinema. While discussion of Hollywood and other
place-centric films is important (ie. Lu and Mi’s work on Chinese
ecocinema), it is vital to contextualize such ideas within the transnational
economic and geopolitical system, especially concerning the proposed
‘global’ solutions to environmental concerns. There is a clear need for more
sustained critical interrogation of the ways concerns central to
transnational cinema studies (eg. hybridity, post-colonialism, diaspora, the
geopolitics and economics of global inequality) feature in cinematic
analysis of the global ecoscape. The adoption of theoretical and
methodological tools from transnational studies allows us to address the
very real economic and political factors that are being negotiated and
challenged in much of global cinema.

Instead of validating, advertently or inadvertently, the centrality of
US-based ecocinema, shifting the focus to transnational considerations
allows us to build a more complex picture of the ways ecological
considerations work (g)locally, ultimately expanding our framework to
explore the global impact they have. This does not merely involve focusing
on the types of films usually considered as part of the canon of
transnational cinema (ie. marginal, liminal, postcolonial, hybrid or any
number of other adjectives designating their somewhat ‘lesser’ position on a
global scale). Rather, the aim is to shed light on a range of films and
cinematic practices from different cultural contexts that may be
overshadowed by the critical attention paid to mainstream ecocinema (ranging
from Gore to Emmerich). Yet, we do not neglect the important contributions
US-centric films have made to global eco-awareness. Indeed, the interaction
and increasing blurring between different ecocinemas, especially in
distribution and exhibition, is one of the key areas the book seeks to
interrogate. 

This volume has four methodological orientations in mind: 1) a
materialist-industrial study of the potential of cinema to envision and
provide more sustainable practices for cultural production and
dissemination; 2) ecocritical readings of specific films from different
cultural contexts; 3) reception studies of (trans)local audiences and their
engagement with ecological texts; 4) the potential of media convergence to
advance cinematic ecologicalism.

Topics to be discussed:
The politics of development: ecosocialist rhetoric in transnational cinemas
Ecodocumentaries: planetarism and local realities
Anthropomorphism in different cultural contexts
Human ecology and cross-border/domestic migration 
Mobile media and new directions in producing/distributing ecocinema
Anti- or neo-hegemonic transnational /regional ecopolitics
The city and urban / human ecology
Post-humanism and post-colonialist theory
Industrial developments, especially in markets rarely addressed in
ecocinematic literature (Bollywood, Nollywood etc.)
Haptic spectatorship and affectivity, especially in translocal reception
contexts

The collection is under contract with Intellect publishing and due out in
early 2012.

Please send short proposals for articles (150-200 words) and brief author
information to Dr. Pietari Kääpä ([log in to unmask]) by March
14 2011. Manuscript submission deadline will be in late 2011.

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