Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the <i>Bergfilm</i>
The German mountain film (<i>Bergfilm</i>) has received extensive critical attention for its political, social, and aesthetic implications, but has received remarkably little attention for its role in the environmental history of the Alps. This article considers the <i>Bergfilm<...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2021-02-01
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| Series: | Humanities |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/38 |
| _version_ | 1797395113394044928 |
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| author | Seth Peabody |
| author_facet | Seth Peabody |
| author_sort | Seth Peabody |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The German mountain film (<i>Bergfilm</i>) has received extensive critical attention for its political, social, and aesthetic implications, but has received remarkably little attention for its role in the environmental history of the Alps. This article considers the <i>Bergfilm</i> within the long history of depictions of the Alps and the growth of Alpine tourism in order to ask how the role of media in environmental change shifts with the advent of film. The argument builds on Verena Winiwarter and Martin Knoll’s model of social-ecological interaction, Adrian Ivakhiv’s theoretical framework for the environmental implications of film, and Laura Frahm’s theories of filmic space. Through an analysis of Arnold Fanck’s films <i>Der heilige Berg</i> [The Holy Mountain, Fanck 1926] and <i>Der große Sprung</i> [The Great Leap, Fanck 1927], which are compared with Gustav Renker’s novel <i>Heilige Berge</i> [Holy Mountains, Renker 1921] and set into the context of the environmental history of the Alpine regions where the films were shot, the author argues that film aesthetics serve as a creative catalyst for environmental change and infrastructure development. While some ecocinema scholars have argued that environmental films teach viewers new ideas or change modes of behavior, this analysis suggests that film aesthetics are most effective at accelerating processes of environmental change that are already underway. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:29:41Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a7b96eb2f9eb41169ac6475edecb2efd |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0787 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T00:29:41Z |
| publishDate | 2021-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Humanities |
| spelling | doaj.art-a7b96eb2f9eb41169ac6475edecb2efd2023-12-11T18:38:56ZengMDPI AGHumanities2076-07872021-02-011013810.3390/h10010038Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the <i>Bergfilm</i>Seth Peabody0Seth Peabody, Carleton College, One North College Street, Northfield, MN 55057, USAThe German mountain film (<i>Bergfilm</i>) has received extensive critical attention for its political, social, and aesthetic implications, but has received remarkably little attention for its role in the environmental history of the Alps. This article considers the <i>Bergfilm</i> within the long history of depictions of the Alps and the growth of Alpine tourism in order to ask how the role of media in environmental change shifts with the advent of film. The argument builds on Verena Winiwarter and Martin Knoll’s model of social-ecological interaction, Adrian Ivakhiv’s theoretical framework for the environmental implications of film, and Laura Frahm’s theories of filmic space. Through an analysis of Arnold Fanck’s films <i>Der heilige Berg</i> [The Holy Mountain, Fanck 1926] and <i>Der große Sprung</i> [The Great Leap, Fanck 1927], which are compared with Gustav Renker’s novel <i>Heilige Berge</i> [Holy Mountains, Renker 1921] and set into the context of the environmental history of the Alpine regions where the films were shot, the author argues that film aesthetics serve as a creative catalyst for environmental change and infrastructure development. While some ecocinema scholars have argued that environmental films teach viewers new ideas or change modes of behavior, this analysis suggests that film aesthetics are most effective at accelerating processes of environmental change that are already underway.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/38<i>Bergfilm</i>ecocinemaecocriticismGerman filmWeimar filmAlpine history |
| spellingShingle | Seth Peabody Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the <i>Bergfilm</i> Humanities <i>Bergfilm</i> ecocinema ecocriticism German film Weimar film Alpine history |
| title | Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the <i>Bergfilm</i> |
| title_full | Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the <i>Bergfilm</i> |
| title_fullStr | Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the <i>Bergfilm</i> |
| title_full_unstemmed | Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the <i>Bergfilm</i> |
| title_short | Image, Environment, Infrastructure: The Social Ecologies of the <i>Bergfilm</i> |
| title_sort | image environment infrastructure the social ecologies of the i bergfilm i |
| topic | <i>Bergfilm</i> ecocinema ecocriticism German film Weimar film Alpine history |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0787/10/1/38 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sethpeabody imageenvironmentinfrastructurethesocialecologiesoftheibergfilmi |