Introduction: Thinking Cinema—With Plants

Philosophies

article

Sarah Cooper¹ 

[1] Film Studies Department, King’s College London

DOI  :  10.3390/philosophies8020020

学科分类：内科医学

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

There is a moment in Peter Brosens and Jessica Woodworth’s Khadak (2006) whenthe image of a tree is rotated 180 degrees. The branches that are silhouetted against thecrisp blue sky gradually shift round to the bottom of the screen, pointing downwards asthe trunk rises into the air, the mesh of branches now resembling a mesh of roots eventhough they remain suspended rather than grounded. Plant life, or more particularly, thelife of this tree, is not the main focus of this eco-crisis film set in Mongolia, but from theoutset it is recognized as an important part of a network of relationships connecting soil tosky, human to nonhuman, and materiality to the spiritual vitality of Shamanism. Usuallyshown the right way up, the image of a single tree in an expansive frozen landscape appearsseveral times throughout the film. Bagi (Batzul Khayankhyarvaa), the main protagonist,has a special relationship with it, as he does with animals and the land, embracing thetrunk and placing his ear against it to listen to the life force that courses through it andconnects it to other things. It also features in the foreground of shots that mark a transitionfrom traditional to enforced newer ways of life, such as from travel by horse to motorvehicle. And in the final shot of the film, after Bagi’s departure, a close-up of the tree’sbark shows a steady flow of water running down its trunk, a possible sign of sentienceand of mourning for the multiple losses caused by rapid industrialization—the needlessmass slaughter of animals, the mining of the land, and the death of people. The rotationof this tree in the midst of a world that metaphorically has been turned upside down isa literal turning point: it marks a change in vision and the emergence of critical thinkingas momentum gathers for a revolution. In keeping with the image of this upside-downtree, this Special Issue explores relations between cinema and plant life to show how theconjunction of film and the vegetal can turn thinking about thinking on its head.

【 授权许可】

CC BY