Transnational Perspectives on Land Ethics: Elemental and Not My Land

Abstract

Aldo Leopold’s land ethic outlines an ecological take on interconnectivity between humans and their ecosystemic presence—one that is characterised by reciprocal but unbalanced flow. Cinema has attempted to capture some of this flow. A cinematic version of the land ethic touches on a plethora of power games, from identity politics to governance of nations, where the land supports the sociopolitical arguments the films conduct. The majority of cinematic depictions of the land are utilitarian versions of the land ethic due to the limitations of their world views. In exploring these issues, I focus on two documentaries, Elemental (2013) and Not My Land (2011), to address the ways cinematic depictions aspire to work environmentally, but often fail to do so because of their inherent limitations. I will investigate the films in a transnational framework to situate land politics as a question of both local and global relevance, especially in terms of how they appropriate land for national narratives.