CCM: A2 / Prompt 4: Climate Media as Ecological Grief Work

The current political, economic and social climate we are living in is undeniably, quite unstable. Environmentally, we’ve been unstable for years, but in recent months, it feels as though everything has been amplified.

It’s impossible to ignore the current climate. Just after coming off a season of devastating and terrifying bushfires and floods, the entire planet is now experiencing a worldwide pandemic for the first time in many years. I feel a great sense of disconnect, both from reality, but from others and the environment. A large portion of my time is spent inside, cooped up and away from the world it feels like. The current world we’re in feels dreamlike, nothing feels real and I still find myself having moments of ‘oh, this is really happening’. I’m in a very fortunate position where I live in a first-world country, with my family, I’m still earning money and have access to food and necessities. However, the uncertainty and physical disconnection from everybody is certainly challenging.

Although this pandemic has been difficult to adjust to, it’s certainly allowed a lot of time for reflection, questioning and thinking. This can be both a good and bad thing. My mind constantly races, but now, there is so much more concern and confusion. What does this pandemic mean for society? What happens when we begin to overcome this? What are the impacts on the environment? Are people becoming more conscious of their actions and consequences? One thing I’ve noticed is how much the environment seems to be thriving with people staying indoors more. The air feels cleaner, I see more butterflies outside my window, the world seems greener and cleaner without humans littering the environment with their presence.

I’m someone who often seeks to find the best in others, I seek for their greatest aspects and try my hardest to focus on the good in them. I think something I try to do more and would like to intertwine with my media making, is looking for the good in the world. It’s really easy to focus on the negative aspects of the climate and to focus on what’s going wrong, rather than improvements (whether they be minor or major). I definitely struggle with focusing on the positives when it comes to life and the world, it’s a habit. This class has definitely had its moment where I find myself pausing during a reading or lecture slides because I realise the severity of our circumstances.

This pandemic has really given me the time to realise just how much I appreciate the freedom and ability to travel that I have. Prior to this pandemic we could go anywhere, do anything, and explore the extremely beautiful world we live in. I’m a nostalgic person, so I definitely reflect more than the average person, and often I find myself reverting back to videos such as these, pieces of film that reflect upon moments in time, encapsulating friends, precious moments and documenting the environment.

Adrian Bliss: Super 8 – 2015

A Super 8 Video encapsulating his memories from 2015. This video still remains one of my favourites, it really ignited my love for Super 8 and film cameras.

Will Darbyshire: Scenes from Summer

One of the best content creators. Will’s ability to capture the beauty in even the simplest of things has given me the ability to appreciate the most mundane things.

There’s no denying we’re living in a scary time, COVID-19 or not. The next 20-30 years of our lives our daunting, as young people, many of us are going to watch the mass deterioration of our planet. However, before we lose this beautiful planet we live on, I want to capture and document what we have. I want to motivate myself and others to try harder to care for our planet, to remind people of how lucky we are to have the world we have, and how losing it will be more than heartbreaking.

I think right now is the perfect time for us to all reflect on what we enjoy most about the world, and how much we take our planet for granted. It’s hard to understand and appreciate the value of what you have until it’s gone. Right now I think many of us are experiencing that feeling of guilt for not appreciating regular life enough until we had to stop and change. I want people to consider that what we’re feeling now will only be amplified in the years to come as we watch our environment deteriorate and decompose. We don’t want to lose those we love, and that should include the planet we live on.