Ideas espoused by Donna Haraway, UC Santa Cruz Feminist Studies professor, have had wide-ranging influence, but are impossible to categorize or pigeonhole easily. Although she has been described as an ecofeminist, her preference for calling the epoch we live in Chthulucene (as opposed to the alternatives Anthropocene and Capitalocene) points toward an overarching view of the interconnectivity among species and genders that radically alters our understanding of the natural world and creativity. While her writing is often dense and allusive, it is also frequently playful. Filmmaker Fabrizio Terranova’s documentary on Haraway is equally multifaceted, largely consisting of Haraway speaking directly to the camera about concepts she has enunciated in works that have been widely praised (and criticized), but she also talks about other things: her Catholic upbringing, unusual domestic history, and companionship with a beloved dog—while also suggesting relevant connections. Opening with a humorous anecdote on the history of orthodontics and closing with Haraway reading a sci-fi story that she interprets philosophically, Terranova’s film uses cinematic devices to italicize many of Haraway’s idiosyncratic emphases (a giant jellyfish superimposed behind Haraway moves languidly across the room at one point). Haraway proves an ebullient, engaging personality, and Terranova has fashioned a film that is remarkably successful in reflecting the uniquely supple views of this important postmodernist thinker. Extras include a Skype Q&A with Haraway and her filmed introduction to a London screening. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival
(2017) 81 min. DVD: $29.98 ($348 w/PPR from www.icarusfilms.com). Icarus Films Home Video (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Volume 34, Issue 3
Donna Haraway: Story Telling for Earthly Survival
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