Thursday, May 12, 2022

Event 2 | This Mortal Plastik | Juan Larson


For my second event this quarter, I attended Jess Irish's viewing and discussion of her documentary "This Mortal Plastik." The presentation included a viewing of the documentary followed by a questions and answers section in which Irish explained a lot of her inspiration and reasoning behind her documentary. 


The documentary was focused on the use of plastic and its damage to the environment. One of the main types of plastics discussed was single-use plastics, whose use has dramatically and drastically increased over the past few decades. The documentary emphasized the lack of disposal of plastics which has resulted in an accumulation of plastic waste and the negative consequences this has had on the environment and ecology.

The documentary and supplemental discussion of it provided me with a lot of insight into how we have exploited the earth's resources and have created one of our own biggest problems. In exchange for greater convenience, we have sacrificed the environment and caused major damage to ecosystems, wildlife, and even other humans. 


One of the things that I found the most interesting was how Irish's main inspiration for investigating more about plastics and making her documentary was her daughter's interest in whales. It really demonstrated to me how just about anyone can get involved in issues like these as long as they are willing to put in the necessary work and effort. 


Works Cited

Jung, Carl. “The Spiritual Problem of Modern Man.” Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 10: Civilization in Transition, 2014, pp. 74–94., https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400850976.74. 

Albu, Christina. “Planetary Re-Enchantment: Human-Animal Entanglements in Victoria Vesna’s Octopus Brainstorming.” Cristina Albu - CMA Journal - Simon Fraser University, Simon Fraser University, https://www.sfu.ca/cmajournal/issues/issue-ten--enchantment--disenchantment--reenchantment/cristina-albu.html?fbclid=IwAR1twyrqbeKqNrJSUXSihLVGvX_D9ARndxDv3USnw2pTENE_iXHJtIo8v54. 

Varela, Francisco J., et al. The Embodied Mind: Cognitive Science and Human Experience. MIT Press, 2017. 

Frazzetto, Giovanni, and Suzanne Anker. “Neuroculture.” Nature Reviews Neuroscience, vol. 10, no. 11, 2009, pp. 815–821., https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2736. 

Bateson, Gregory. Mind and Nature: A Necessary Unity. Bantam, 1988. 



 

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