On Time and Water – A Conversation with Andri Snær Magnason
Aug 20, 2024
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In this insightful conversation, Andri Snær Magnason, an acclaimed Icelandic writer and filmmaker, delves into the environmental crisis through the lens of mythology and storytelling. He discusses how rapid climate changes are reshaping our world, transforming geological timescales. Andri introduces the concept of 'pancake sci-fi,' bridging generations while emphasizing the significance of human relationships over technology. He argues for a cultural shift towards sustainability and the essential role of myths in guiding us through these challenging times.
Emphasizing the role of mythology, the conversation suggests that storytelling can help us understand profound environmental changes and our place in them.
The discussion highlights the urgency of addressing climate issues by connecting personal narratives to scientific concepts, fostering a deeper emotional engagement with the crisis.
Deep dives
The Power of Mythology and Connection to Time
The importance of mythology is emphasized as a means to comprehend the profound environmental changes we face today. Storytelling, particularly personal narratives, is explored in relation to significant themes like climate change and human connection to the earth. This connection is crucial for understanding our place in the rapidly changing world, where geological time is increasingly aligned with human timescales. The existential reflections on time raise awareness that our responses to environmental crises must evolve alongside our perception of time itself.
Human Experience Against Geological Time
The discussion highlights how vast transformations that used to take thousands of years are now occurring within a single human lifetime. The speaker reflects on personal family history to illustrate the shifting timelines, revealing the intimacy and immediacy of these changes. The urgency of climate issues like ocean acidification is articulated, stressing the necessity for individuals to emotionally connect with scientific concepts. By framing these climate concerns within personal narratives, it fosters a greater understanding of their significance to our lives.
Rethinking Our Relationship with Nature
The conversation addresses humanity's disconnection from the natural world, exacerbated by the advancements of technology and consumerism. This disconnection raises significant ethical questions about our consumption patterns and the exploitation of natural resources. Emphasis is placed on the need for a paradigm shift in how society approaches environmental issues, favoring a more integrative and respectful relationship with nature. The dialogue encourages a reevaluation of how technological progress is weighed against the moral duty to preserve the planet.
Vision for a Renewed Future
A hopeful outlook is presented regarding the potential for societal change led by the younger generation actively seeking to address climate challenges. This generation's desire for a future free from the burdens of past mistakes underscores their refusal to continue building an unsustainable future. The speaker believes that youth movements will catalyze significant shifts in social norms and expectations surrounding environmental stewardship. The power of collective action is highlighted as essential in confronting and mitigating the environmental crisis we face.
The warming of the planet is ushering in changes on a mythological scale. Oceans heat up, ice shelves melt, great floods swallow landscapes, ancient forests are reduced to ash. In this interview from our archive, Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason speaks about how such incomprehensible changes are accelerating geological timescales. Instead of playing out over millennia, vast transformations of the Earth are now happening in the span of a lifetime, and in rapid succession. An accompaniment to The Last Ice Age—the third film in our Shifting Landscapes film series—this conversation with Andri explores how we can shift our sense of time to comprehend an uncertain future with greater clarity. Drawing on poetry, memories, stories from his grandparents, and language that infuses meaning into the data-led narrative of the climate crisis, Andri turns to the power of mythology to help us comprehend both the loss and possibility of our moment.