When the Wind Is Gently Rustling: Film and the Aesthetics of Natural Beauty
While experiencing natural beauty is a key appeal of the cinema and other moving-image media, academic film scholarship has rarely paid attention to it. In this article I will use the widespread motif of the gently rustling wind as a pars pro toto to make some general remarks about the experience of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Edinburgh University Press
2024-06-01
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| Series: | Film-Philosophy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2024.0264 |
| _version_ | 1827258813306109952 |
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| author | Julian Hanich |
| author_facet | Julian Hanich |
| author_sort | Julian Hanich |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | While experiencing natural beauty is a key appeal of the cinema and other moving-image media, academic film scholarship has rarely paid attention to it. In this article I will use the widespread motif of the gently rustling wind as a pars pro toto to make some general remarks about the experience of natural beauty in film. I will first note the firm place of the motif of the rustling wind in film theoretical debates from the late 19th century until today. Then, I will propose three modes of how viewers can experience this beautiful motif in film. In the following section I will discuss how film's mediation modifies the experience of natural beauty. And in a final step I will explore the reciprocal relation between nature and film, and how one can enhance the appreciation of the other. Ultimately, I follow two – mutually imbricated – goals. On the one hand, I aim to (re)connect the film theoretical discourse about the wind in the trees to natural beauty. On the other hand, I use the motif of the gently rustling wind to say something more general about the aesthetic experience of natural beauty in film. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T06:47:34Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-45e732598706485ebb68ef2fa0e2bae4 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1466-4615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2025-03-22T02:16:39Z |
| publishDate | 2024-06-01 |
| publisher | Edinburgh University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Film-Philosophy |
| spelling | doaj.art-45e732598706485ebb68ef2fa0e2bae42024-05-06T13:11:42ZengEdinburgh University PressFilm-Philosophy1466-46152024-06-0128215318010.3366/film.2024.0264When the Wind Is Gently Rustling: Film and the Aesthetics of Natural BeautyJulian Hanich0University of GroningenWhile experiencing natural beauty is a key appeal of the cinema and other moving-image media, academic film scholarship has rarely paid attention to it. In this article I will use the widespread motif of the gently rustling wind as a pars pro toto to make some general remarks about the experience of natural beauty in film. I will first note the firm place of the motif of the rustling wind in film theoretical debates from the late 19th century until today. Then, I will propose three modes of how viewers can experience this beautiful motif in film. In the following section I will discuss how film's mediation modifies the experience of natural beauty. And in a final step I will explore the reciprocal relation between nature and film, and how one can enhance the appreciation of the other. Ultimately, I follow two – mutually imbricated – goals. On the one hand, I aim to (re)connect the film theoretical discourse about the wind in the trees to natural beauty. On the other hand, I use the motif of the gently rustling wind to say something more general about the aesthetic experience of natural beauty in film.https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2024.0264Beautynaturefilm aestheticsaesthetic experiencecontemplation |
| spellingShingle | Julian Hanich When the Wind Is Gently Rustling: Film and the Aesthetics of Natural Beauty Film-Philosophy Beauty nature film aesthetics aesthetic experience contemplation |
| title | When the Wind Is Gently Rustling: Film and the Aesthetics of Natural Beauty |
| title_full | When the Wind Is Gently Rustling: Film and the Aesthetics of Natural Beauty |
| title_fullStr | When the Wind Is Gently Rustling: Film and the Aesthetics of Natural Beauty |
| title_full_unstemmed | When the Wind Is Gently Rustling: Film and the Aesthetics of Natural Beauty |
| title_short | When the Wind Is Gently Rustling: Film and the Aesthetics of Natural Beauty |
| title_sort | when the wind is gently rustling film and the aesthetics of natural beauty |
| topic | Beauty nature film aesthetics aesthetic experience contemplation |
| url | https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/10.3366/film.2024.0264 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT julianhanich whenthewindisgentlyrustlingfilmandtheaestheticsofnaturalbeauty |