While this film represented people rather than unpopulated places (at least in most shots), it strikes me that the way that these people are represented is used to manipulate the audience in a way similar to ecoporn, if with different goals in mind. Because the audience is invited to observe the family's life without seeming to intrude, they have a similar "fantasy of benign but total visual power" (Welling 57) as with ecoporn. However, in this situation the idea of "visual power" brings about pity and outrage, perhaps, instead of calmness or awe at the untainted beauty of nature. If viewers were aware of those filming the family in Up the Yangtze, they would not seem as destitute or alone in their poverty and fear about the future. The filmmakers have therefore made the choice to hide the entire picture from the viewer in some instances, which helps their cause of bringing awareness to the lives that will be changed by the destruction of the dam. It's a practice that succeeds because it hides some of the text, so to speak, of a particular situation, from the audience, therefore only presenting them with a view that favors the author or speaker. While it seems like this is not intended to have bad consequences, as does ecoporn often, it is still important for the viewer to be aware of all the factors that make up the images that he/she sees, even if they are not provided by the filmmaker.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Ecoporn and Up the Yangtze
I thought Up the Yangtze was a very well done and thought-provoking film, but it did strike me that there were some similarities between the film and the types of representation that Welling warns against in his article about ecoporn. For instance, during the scenes at the hut of the very poor family, it was perhaps the aim of the producers to let the audience forget that they were seeing something that was being filmed by people who were in this family's space. The family seemed to act naturally, but they were obviously aware of the cameramen, and were perhaps asked certain questions to focus on, even though it appeared to the audience as though they were just going about their daily lives.
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This idea of the people represented in Up the Yangtze as being some form of social ecoporn is an interesting thought, and I do agree that there is a great deal of manipulation that goes on in the making of documentaries. Documentaries have very "official" feels in their style and intent, but it's important to question whether or not the filmmakers are creating with a manipulative intent.
ReplyDeleteYou wrote, "If viewers were aware of those filming the family in Up the Yangtze, they would not seem as destitute or alone in their poverty and fear about the future," and I guess I'm a bit curious as to what the absence of visible cameras translates to in terms of clarity of intent. I would actually think that a shot of a camera man filming the family would be more effective in creating an distancing from them, making them seem more destitute perhaps? I think self-awareness in documentaries goes a long way and oddly perpetuates the ecopornography of it. Because everything is presented as a grim fact, audiences are less inclined to adopt their own unique interpretations. I completely agree that it is important for viewers to be more aware of what they are consuming.