According to Anil Narine (2014), eco-trauma cinema represents “the harm we, as humans, inflict upon our natural surroundings, or the injuries we sustain from nature in its unforgiving iterations.” The incorporation of trauma theory into film studies and the identification of the eco-trauma cinema have brought to light the complexity of the relationships between catastrophic events, filmic representation and testimony, and audience perception and participation. There are two main aspects that need to be considered: not only the question concerning the representability of trauma through film, but also the wider issue concerning memory and testimony, and how they are implicated in the filmgoer’s experience. 40 years after the terrible 1980 earthquake, journalists, photographers and filmmakers continue to reflect on the catastrophic event that devastated Irpinia and Basilicata and its heavy traumatic load. The essay takes into account narratives of places, communities and memories in the post-earthquake, highlighting the transformations that have changed the ways in which the earthquake has been and continues to be remembered through documentary cinema.
The 1980 Irpinia and Basilicata Earthquake on Documentary Film: An Ecocritical Perspective on Trauma
Alberto Baracco
2022-01-01
Abstract
According to Anil Narine (2014), eco-trauma cinema represents “the harm we, as humans, inflict upon our natural surroundings, or the injuries we sustain from nature in its unforgiving iterations.” The incorporation of trauma theory into film studies and the identification of the eco-trauma cinema have brought to light the complexity of the relationships between catastrophic events, filmic representation and testimony, and audience perception and participation. There are two main aspects that need to be considered: not only the question concerning the representability of trauma through film, but also the wider issue concerning memory and testimony, and how they are implicated in the filmgoer’s experience. 40 years after the terrible 1980 earthquake, journalists, photographers and filmmakers continue to reflect on the catastrophic event that devastated Irpinia and Basilicata and its heavy traumatic load. The essay takes into account narratives of places, communities and memories in the post-earthquake, highlighting the transformations that have changed the ways in which the earthquake has been and continues to be remembered through documentary cinema.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
