English homework help. Link to movie: https://vimeo.com/210037490 (press cc for english subtitle)
Please comment on as many of these prompts as you like.
I. What social-economic changes did the Pinochet dictatorship (1973-1989) bring to the island of Chiloé and how did it affect the values people held? How does this chapter help explain the participation of Chilotes in the “island of men” that is the topic of Iñaki Moulian’s documentary?
II. This is another slow documentary. What does it invite you to feel with respect to this community of men? There are many close-ups, what do they focus on, what do they draw our attention to and what do they encourage us to value? How does this film represent the tight relationship between the sea and men, how do the men feel their relationship to the ocean? What and who becomes an “agent” in this film?
The filmmaker chose not to address the way Luga algae are commodified and integrated into the global capitalist economy. In fact, the algae are a key binding agent in processed meats like Turkey ham and also used in cosmetics. They are commodified by a handful of powerful companies in Chile and the majority of the profits go to the owners of these companies. How does his decision not to include this information in the film affect our relation or sense of affinity with the protagonists of the documentary?
III. What glimpses might this film offer into the way these men and their islands might be keeping alive or remaking alternatives to what Haraway calls the Chthulucene, even as they labor to survive within yet another round of extractivism threatening species extinction in neoliberal capitalism?
IV. Other things you find noteworthy or would like to comment on
Learning Objective: Practice your critical audiovisual literacy, watching ‘slow’ films, reading complex texts and making connections among these forms of intervention. Practice expressing your ideas and opinions in an informed and clear manner.
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