Coping mechanisms for being alive in the anthropocene. Brit Maling’s intersectional spiritual ecofeminism: texts, contexts, and activism

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.54103/2035-7680/23072

Keywords:

ecofeminism; intersectionality; Popular Culture; TV seriality

Abstract

Focusing on the analysis of the movies and the TV series created by Brit Marling with some recurring collaborators (Sound of my Voice [2011], Another Earth [2011], The East [2013], The OA [2016-2019]), the article proposes an interpretation of the author’s work within the context of an intersectional spiritual ecofeminism recognizable in in her poetics, highlighting its connection to some of the most relevant movements of the 2010s – feminists, environmentalists, and against systemic violence. While Marling’s narratives always revolve around imminent catastrophes, different forms of violence, and humanity’s role in the fate of the Earth, the message that emerges from these texts is always oriented towards the search for alternative ways to create interconnections and new possible futures. It is not only accurate to refer to Marling’s work as an engaged poetics, but the reception of her work too has involved an activist dimension: the sequence of movements that in The OA embodies the strength of the intersubjective bond between the characters has been integrated into various flashmobs, one of the most participated took place in August 2017 at the Trump Tower in New York to protest against the administration in power.

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Author Biography

Ilaria W. Biano, independent scholar

Ilaria W. Biano, PhD, si occupa di Religious e Cultural Studies e Storia Intellettuale. È stata ricercatrice presso l’Istituto Italiano per gli Studi Storici di Napoli e la Fondazione Einaudi di Torino e ha conseguito il Dottorato in Studi Politici: Storia e Teoria presso l’Università degli Studi di Torino. I suoi interessi di ricerca ruotano intorno ai rapporti tra storia, fenomeni politico-religiosi e narrazioni. In particolare, si è occupata di rappresentazioni del trauma in serie TV come The Leftovers, Lost e Treme e graphic novels come Watchmen e Maus; le narrazioni postsecolari di Damon Lindelof e la postsecular TV; le rappresentazioni della non/religione nella serialità televisiva contemporanea. Le sue pubblicazioni sono apparse su riviste come Feminist Media Studies, South Central Review, The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture, Journal of Religion, Media and Digital Culture, SigMa Rivista di letterature comparate, teatro e arti dello spettacolo, nonché in numerosi volumi collettanei. Collabora con il Museo delle Religioni “Raffaele Pettazzoni” ed è editor della collana editoriale Religioni Fantastiche preso l’editore romano Quasar. Cura la newsletter di divulgazione politico-culturale The God Gap.

References

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Published

2024-06-01

How to Cite

Biano, Ilaria W. 2024. “Coping Mechanisms for Being Alive in the Anthropocene. Brit Maling’s Intersectional Spiritual Ecofeminism: Texts, Contexts, and Activism”. Altre Modernità, no. 31 (June):89-102. https://doi.org/10.54103/2035-7680/23072.