Ecocinema in the City

Robin L. Murray is Professor of English, Film Studies, and Women’s Studies at Eastern Illinois University, USAJoseph K. Heumann is Professor Emeritus of Communication Studies at Eastern Illinois University, USA

"In an era of increasing dispute about the effects of climate and science in our daily lives, Murray and Heumann offer a carefully nuanced addition to the field of ecocinema studies. The city, for them, is not just a dangerous space, but also a site of possible relationships between humans and nonhuman nature. Few scholars have the record of Murray and Heumann for serious engagement with the topic of ecology in cinema over such a broad range of critical works." – Charles J. Stivale, Wayne State University, USA"Our environmental imagination often frames cities as doomed spaces, removed from nonhuman nature. Instead of replicating this view, Ecocinema and the City reverses the perspective: highlighting the transformative power of nature in urban settings explored in film, it offers a timely and innovative take on urban environments. With engaging close readings and cultural examples off the beaten path, the book addresses a whole array of relevant themes, from urban biodiversity to urban farming to questions of sustainability, and is required reading for environmentalists across disciplines." – Christopher Schliephake, University of Augsburg, Germany

• Introduction: Urban Nature on Film Part I: Evolutionary Myths Under the City1. The City, The Sewers, The Underground: Reconstructing Urban Space in Film Noir2. Documenting Environmental Adaptation Under the City: Children UndergroundPart II: Urban Eco-Trauma3. Girls in the Hood: An Eco-Trauma of Childhood4. Dogs and Eco-Trauma: the Making of a Monster in White GodPart III: Urban Nature and Interdependence5. Hatari Means Danger: Filmic Representations of Animal Welfare and Environmentalism at the Zoo6. Eco-Therapy in Central Park: Documenting Urban Birdwatching7. Green Lungs: Partnering with Nature in the Urban Garden FilmPart IV: The Sustainable City8. Urban Farming on Film: Moving Toward Environmental Justice in the City9. Lives Worth Living and the Sustainable (and Accessible) CityConclusion: The "Absent City" of the Future