| Popis: |
Ecocinema has become a growing phenomenon worldwide in an age of mounting environmental challenges. A good recent example, in the Chinese context, is Zhao Liang’s Behemoth (2015), an experimental documentary about the ecological and human ravages of coal-mining and other industries in Inner Mongolia. Eschewing a clear narrative, the film conveys its meanings primarily through images, ones that are at once stunningly beautiful and deeply unnerving. Using Jennifer Peeples’ idea of the “toxic sublime” as a point of departure, I argue that the film’s aestheticized renditions of environmental devastation are permeated with tensions—between life and death, beauty and repulsiveness, magnitude and insignificance—that induce thought and contemplation. And this reflective propensity is further heightened by the film’s references to Dante’s Divine Comedy, notably the allegorical voyage through Hell, Purgatory, and Paradise and the guide with a mirror on his back, that impel viewers to reflect on their complicity in today’s eco-crisis. |
