<b>“This series will take you to the last wildernesses” – <i>Planet Earth</i> and the Question of the Animal</b> // "Esta serie os llevará a las últimas tierras salvajes" - <i>Planeta Tierra</i> y la cuestión del animal

Authors

  • Marie-Theres Wieme University of Mannheim, Germany

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.37536/ECOZONA.2013.4.2.536

Keywords:

Planet Earth (2006), non-human Othering, emotional involvement, maintenance and deconstruction of nature-culture divide, nature documentaries, otredad de no-humanos, implicación emocional

Abstract

Although generally marketed as disinterested and scientific sources of information, blue chip nature documentaries actively participate in both the maintenance and subversion of the nature-culture dichotomy. Using the award-winning BBC mega series Planet Earth (2006) as its example, the following article illustrates how non-human animals are presented as other to humans, but also argues that the degree and mechanisms used vary depending on the familiarity of both the species and habitat in question. In keeping with current ecofeminist theories, particular attention is also paid to scenes where the hierarchy reveals traces of its own production, which are revealed by a close reading of some sequences from three different episodes of the series. These traces allow a perceptive audience to question the othering of the non-human. One particularly potent problematisation of these narratives occurs whenever the series appeals to the audience’s emotional engagement, since such an emotional appeal also weakens the documentary’s overt claim to disinterested objectivity. Thus, on a metalevel, the article also furthers research into how documentaries can function as emotional machines.

 

Resumen

 

Aunque los documentales punteros sobre la naturaleza generalmente se anuncian como fuentes de información científica imparcial, también participan activamente en el mantenimiento y la subversión de la dicotomía entre la naturaleza y la cultura. Usando como ejemplo la premiada mega serie de la BBC Planet Earth (2006), este artículo ilustra como los animales no-humanos se presentan como el otro, pero también sostiene que el grado y los mecanismos que se usan varían dependiendo de la familiaridad de ambas especies y el hábitat correspondiente. Con arreglo a las teorías ecofeministas actuales, se presta especial atención a las escenas en que la jerarquía revela los signos de su propia producción, que se revelan con un análisis escrupuloso de algunas secuencias de tres episodios diferentes de la serie. Estos signos permiten a una audiencia atenta cuestionar la otredad  del no-humano. Una problematización especialmente potente de estas narrativas tiene lugar cuando la serie apela al compromiso emocional, ya que esto también debilita la pretensión de objetividad desinteresada. Por ello, en un metanivel, el artículo promueve la investigación sobre cómo los documentales pueden funcionar como máquinas emocionales.

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Author Biography

Marie-Theres Wieme, University of Mannheim, Germany

University of Mannheim, Germany

marie_theres_wieme@yahoo.de

Marie-Theres Wieme is currently enrolled in the University of Mannheim’s master programme “Culture in the Process of Modernity: Literature and Media”. She received her bachelor’s degree in English and American Studies from the University of Mannheim in 2011. Her primary research interests include the representation of identity formations in contemporary English and American literary and genre fiction and it intersection with art and issues of gender and race. Additionally, she is also interested in current ecofeminist and posthumanist theories, particularly the representation of non-humans in current nature documentaries and other factual media.

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Published

2013-10-08

Issue

Section

General Section 4.2 (Autumn 2013)