W perspektywie transformacji kulturowej. Ekonomie lokalnych krajobrazów w obiektywie reżyserek filmowych w Polsce i Kanadzie

Abstract

This article analyses two documentary films: Angry Inuk (2016, directed by A. Arnaquq-Baril) and Gruba (2017, directed M. Zmarz-Koczanowicz). The author points out that local landscapes nowadays often become the focus of researchers’ attention not only because they create a specific image of culture, but because they accumulate tensions related to the negative impact of traditional industrial structures on ecosystems. Traditional ways of sustenance, which for years have been the basis for the economic livelihood of local communities, are today fraught with irreconcilable contradictions and, as such, are highly controversial. While supporting small indigenous communities, the traditional lifestyles and social practices are at the same time entangled with ecological issues, animal rights and the concept of sustainable development. In the context of artistic expression, these issues are usually accompanied by ideas of social engagement and activism, which constitutes an essential point of reference for the author of this article. In film studies, the corresponding category is that of “participatory landscape”. The diverse cinematic geographies (Poland, Canada), whose background is on the one hand mining (Silesia), and on the other, the seal hunting industry (Nanavut), provide the basis for a comparative approach. This demonstrates how contemporary women from different latitudes create cinematic representations of local cultures, taking into account the tensions between the global and the local, the traditional and the modern, while proposing alternative images to those typical of mainstream global culture.