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. ---- For past messages, visit the Screen-L Archives: http://bama.ua.edu/archives/screen-l.html