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Identifying with Antarctica in the Ecocultural Imaginary

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posted on 2023-05-24, 06:46 authored by Hanne NielsenHanne Nielsen
Antarctica is physically inaccessible for most, but it lives in the imaginations of many. In this chapter, I argue imagined versions of place play an important role in why and how even distant locations such as Antarctica are valued. Given the impact of highly extractive and polluting ecocultural identities and histories, Antarctica cannot be seen as a place apart from the rest of the world. Rather, the continent needs to be understood as a place of global importance, and one that can be incorporated into the ecocultural identities of those all over planet Earth. I examine the case studies of two Antarctic documentaries that focus on humans who live and work on the continent: Werner Herzog’s Encounters at the End of the World (2007) and Antony Powell’s Antarctica: A Year on Ice (2014). The chapter asks how such documentaries can bring Antarctica into everyday consciousness of people around the world, challenge preconceptions about the far south, and help audiences reimagine their own human connections and interactions with the ice.

History

Publication title

Routledge Handbook of Ecocultural Identity

Editors

T Milstein and J Castro-Sotomayor

Pagination

1-33

ISBN

9781138478411

Department/School

School of Humanities

Publisher

Routledge

Place of publication

Abingdon

Extent

28

Rights statement

Copyright 2020 The Author

Repository Status

  • Restricted

Socio-economic Objectives

Expanding knowledge in language, communication and culture

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