{"id":16530,"date":"2018-10-10T09:33:01","date_gmt":"2018-10-10T16:33:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=16530"},"modified":"2018-10-15T09:57:18","modified_gmt":"2018-10-15T16:57:18","slug":"anthropocene-the-human-epoch-makes-viewers-think-about-big-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2018\/10\/10\/anthropocene-the-human-epoch-makes-viewers-think-about-big-issues\/","title":{"rendered":"Anthropocene: The Human Epoch<\/em> makes viewers think about big issues"},"content":{"rendered":"

About a third of the way into Anthropocene: The Human Epoch<\/i>, a man installing an electric car battery is wearing a T-shirt that states these words: \u201cDon\u2019t know, don\u2019t care.\u201d Director Jennifer Baichwal, who grew up in Victoria, has created a meditative film (the third in a series, following Manufactured Landscapes\u00a0<\/i>and Watermark<\/i>) that introduces us to the hidden landscapes of a world amidst vast environmental changes and asks its viewers, \u201cIf you knew, would you care?\u201d<\/p>\n

Scientists agree that the Earth has entered a new epoch called the Anthropocene, where mankind is the dominating force of change to the planet\u2019s systems. Humankind\u2019s need for dwindling resources puts strain on every aspect of natural process imaginable. Anthropocene\u00a0<\/i>examines the ecological impact humans have had on the planet, as well as on the lives and communities caught in the middle.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
An elephant tusk burn in Kenya, as shown in Anthropocene: The Human Epoch<\/em> (photo courtesy of Anthropocene Films Inc.).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The film\u2019s strength is its ability to lull us into uninhabitable territory, grounding the viewer by way of subtle humanity. Choosing to juxtapose sunbathing teens in Siberia amid debris-strewn beaches, or two men canoeing through the hazy pastels of lithium lakes against the backdrop of the world\u2019s driest desert, creates wonderfully effective moments.<\/p>\n

Stunning drone footage takes us on a bird\u2019s-eye journey across the globe, a journey that is at times deeply disorienting and surreal. In one scene we encroach upon a monstrous contraption in the dark of night as its claws eat away a mass of land; in another we float out of a massive marble pit, watching machinery struggle to rip slabs from the ground.<\/p>\n

Alicia Vikander\u2019s sparse narration calmly delivers hard-to-swallow facts, although the film does also provide hope, however bleak and ironic it may be. Vaguely aware of sea levels rising, a Chinese worker proudly describes doing his part to build an artificial sea wall only to protect nearby oil production in one tragically heartwarming scene.<\/p>\n

Baichwal\u2019s languid pacing allows us to ruminate on our own place within this new world. Will we consider the implications of our existence? Can we adapt to these rapid changes, and should we? Early in the film a woman refers to one of 10,000 confiscated ivory tusks, saying, \u201cI was not able to stop this elephant from dying, but I\u2019m certainly able to stop this elephant from being desecrated further.\u201d<\/p>\n

We cannot change what has been done, but we can choose to see it, and that\u2019s the first step. Anthropocene\u00a0<\/i>helps us to see.<\/p>\n

Anthropocene <\/i>(with Jennifer Baichwal Q&A)
\n5 pm and 7 pm, Sunday October 14
\n$7.75, Cinecenta
\ncinecenta.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About a third of the way into Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, a man installing an electric car battery is wearing a T-shirt that states these words: \u201cDon\u2019t know, don\u2019t care.\u201d Director Jennifer Baichwal, who grew up in Victoria, has created a meditative film (the third in a series, following Manufactured Landscapes\u00a0and Watermark) that introduces us […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16530","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-webexclusive"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}