Pietari Kääpä – författare

In recent years the widely held misconception of the media as an ‘ephemeral’ industry has been challenged by research on the industry’s significant material footprint. Despite this material turn, no systematic study of this sector has been conducted in ways that considers the role of the media industries as consumers and users of a range of natural resources. Filling this gap, Environmental Management of the Media discusses the environmental management of the media industries in the UK and the Nordic countries. These Nordic countries, both as a set of small nations and as a regional constellation, are frequently perceived as some of the ‘greenest’ in the world, yet, not only is the footprint of the media industries practically ignored in academic research, but the very real stakes of the industries’ global impact are not comprehensively understood. Here, the author focuses on four key areas for investigating the material impact of Nordic media: (1) resources used for production and dissemination; (2) regulation of the media; (3) organizational management; and (4) labour practices. By adopting an interdisciplinary perspective that combines ecocritical analysis with interrogation of the political economy of the creative industries, Kääpä argues that taking the industries to task on their environmental footprint is a multilevel resource and organizational management issue that must be addressed more effectively in contemporary media studies.This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of media, communication and environmental studies.

Nordic Genre Film offers a transnational approach to studying contemporary genre production in Nordic cinema. It discusses a range of internationally renowned examples, from Nordic noir such as the television show The Bridge and films like Insomnia to high concept ‘video generation’ productions such as Iron Sky. Other contributions focus on road movies, the horror film, autobiographical films, historical epics and pornography. These are contextualized by discussion of their position in their respective national film and media histories as well as their influence on other Nordic countries and beyond. By highlighting similarities and differences between the countries, the book combines industrial perspectives and in depth discussion of specific films, while also offering historical perspectives on each genre as comes to production, distribution and reception of popular contemporary genre film.

In recent years the widely held misconception of the media as an ‘ephemeral’ industry has been challenged by research on the industry’s significant material footprint. Despite this material turn, no systematic study of this sector has been conducted in ways that considers the role of the media industries as consumers and users of a range of natural resources. Filling this gap, Environmental Management of the Media discusses the environmental management of the media industries in the UK and the Nordic countries. These Nordic countries, both as a set of small nations and as a regional constellation, are frequently perceived as some of the ‘greenest’ in the world, yet, not only is the footprint of the media industries practically ignored in academic research, but the very real stakes of the industries’ global impact are not comprehensively understood. Here, the author focuses on four key areas for investigating the material impact of Nordic media: (1) resources used for production and dissemination; (2) regulation of the media; (3) organizational management; and (4) labour practices. By adopting an interdisciplinary perspective that combines ecocritical analysis with interrogation of the political economy of the creative industries, Kääpä argues that taking the industries to task on their environmental footprint is a multilevel resource and organizational management issue that must be addressed more effectively in contemporary media studies.This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of media, communication and environmental studies.

Ecology and Contemporary Nordic Cinemas uses a range of analytical approaches to interrogate how the traditional socio-political rhetoric of national cinema can be rethought through ecosystemic concerns, by exploring a range of Nordic films as national and transnational, regional and local texts--all with significant global implications. By synergizing transnational theories with ecological approaches, the study considers the planetary implications of nation-based cultural production.

A comparative approach to contemporary popular Nordic genre film'Nordic Genre Film' offers a transnational approach to studying contemporary genre production in Nordic cinema. It discusses a range of internationally renowned examples, from Nordic noir such as the television show 'The Bridge' and films like 'Insomnia' (1997) to high concept 'video generation' productions such as 'Iron Sky' (2012). Yet, genre, at least in this context, indicates both a complex strategy for domestic and international competition as well as an analytical means to identify the Nordic film cultures' relationships to international trends. Conceptualizing Nordic genre film as an industrial and cultural phenomenon, other contributions focus on road movies, the horror film, autobiographical films, the quirky comedy, musicals, historical epics and pornography. These are contextualized by discussion of their place in their respective national film and media histories as well as their influence on other Nordic countries and beyond.By highlighting similarities and differences between the countries, as well as the often diverse production modes of each country, as well as the connections that have historically existed, the book works at the intersections of film and cultural studies and combines industrial perspectives and in depth discussion of specific films, while also offering historical perspectives on each genre as it comes to production, distribution and reception of popular contemporary genre film.

Ecology and Contemporary Nordic Cinemas uses a range of analytical approaches to interrogate how the traditional socio-political rhetoric of national cinema can be rethought through ecosystemic concerns, by exploring a range of Nordic films as national and transnational, regional and local texts--all with significant global implications. By synergizing transnational theories with ecological approaches, the study considers the planetary implications of nation-based cultural production.

The Politics of Nordsploitation takes a transnational approach to exploring Nordic ‘exploitation’ films in their industrial contexts, viewing them as not only political manifestations of domestic considerations but also to position Nordic film cultures in a global context. Incorporating a wide range of films, from international cult classics like They Call Her One Eye (1974), homegrown martial arts films like The Ninja Mission (1984) to contemporary crowd-sourced fan productions like Iron Sky (2012), this volume examines the remarkable diversity of genre-based, commercially and culturally exploitative film production throughout the Nordic countries – emphasized here through the term ‘Nordsploitation’.This volume provides a historical exposition of largely ignored marginal films and film cultural patterns. It also outlines how influential these films have been in shaping the development of Nordic cinema. The effects are visible in the films of the new millennium as previously marginalized practices now enter the mainstream. With sharp insights and new research, The Politics of Nordsploitation redefines the concept of ‘exploitation’ and its role in small nation cinemas.

The Politics of Nordsploitation takes a transnational approach to exploring Nordic ‘exploitation’ films in their industrial contexts, viewing them as not only political manifestations of domestic considerations but also to position Nordic film cultures in a global context. Incorporating a wide range of films, from international cult classics like They Call Her One Eye (1974), homegrown martial arts films like The Ninja Mission (1984) to contemporary crowd-sourced fan productions like Iron Sky (2012), this volume examines the remarkable diversity of genre-based, commercially and culturally exploitative film production throughout the Nordic countries – emphasized here through the term ‘Nordsploitation’.This volume provides a historical exposition of largely ignored marginal films and film cultural patterns. It also outlines how influential these films have been in shaping the development of Nordic cinema. The effects are visible in the films of the new millennium as previously marginalized practices now enter the mainstream. With sharp insights and new research, The Politics of Nordsploitation redefines the concept of ‘exploitation’ and its role in small nation cinemas.

«Documentary in the Age of COVID is a timely and astute volume that affirms and challenges our thinking about how the cultural and technological disruption brought by the pandemic response has upended documentary culture. It is a guiding light for documentary practitioners and scholars as they navigate the new terrain of a post-COVID world.»(Professor Belinda Smaill, Monash University)This collection responds to the unusual and disturbing challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. The volume surveys the immediate effects of the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in documentary film cultures as well as providing a space for unpacking the recent past and future of documentary in the context of the pandemic’s possible effects. It is published as part of Peter Lang’s Documentary Film Cultures series and reflects the value of documentary as an enduring and influential channel of media discourse and community of practice. Media producers have been forced to both interrogate their chosen professions and innovate with limited resources. Already, we are seeing new distribution and production methods emerge to highlight the importance of media-makers as essential workers, as they are uniquely equipped with the ability to represent the various dialogues undertaken to respond to the cultural, social, economic and political challenges the pandemic has foisted on global society.

‘Documentary in the Age of AI is a distinguished contribution that moves beyond uncontentious debates on AI-generated creativity. It incisively examines the impact of generative AI across the entire documentary workflow as a creative act of ‘representing’ factuality. The book asks us to consider the extent to which documentary makers can – and should – permit AI systems to reframe events and stories originally intended for human telling..’– Sun Park, Ad Astra Fellow/Assistant Professor in AI and Digital Cultural Heritage, University College Dublin‘A timely volume that critically reviews the algorithmically mediated landscape in which documentary practitioners are working, Documentary in the Age of AI offers readers both theoretical and empirical insights into the myriad ways AI technologies are reshaping the documentary form and practice today. The book brings together work by a diverse slate of media theorists, filmmakers, and technologists, addressing urgent questions about documentary and truth, ethics, practitioners’ agency, creative labour, and data colonialism.’ – Pei-Sze Chow, Assistant Professor of Digital Culture and New Media, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore The integration of AI into documentary filmmaking has not only revolutionized production techniques but also raised critical questions about ethics, authenticity and the nature of truth in storytelling. As AI tools become more sophisticated, they offer filmmakers unprecedented capabilities to enhance creativity, automate tasks and manipulate and generate content.This edited collection seeks to delve into the multifaceted relationship between AI technology and the art and practice of documentary, exploring how AI is reshaping the creation, distribution and reception of non-fiction storytelling. Contributions from scholars, filmmakers and technologists critically examine the implications of this intersection, inviting readers to explore the nuances and complexities of this evolving landscape. In doing so, they rethink the possibilities of documentary as a creative treatment of actuality and raise important questions about documentary’s role in the power structures of a new data colonialist world order.

Finnish director Mika Kaurismäki’s films challenge the boundaries of nations, genre formations, art and popular culture, and fiction and documentary. Synthesizing concepts from a range of thematic frameworks, including transnationalism, eco-philosophy, architectural theory, and cartography, this book provides an interdisciplinary reading of Kaurismäki’s body of work. The notion of “transvergence”—thinking in heterogeneous and polyphonal terms—emerges as an analytical method for exploring the power of these films. Through this method, the book encourages a rethinking of transnational cinema studies in relation to many oft-debated notions such as Finnish culture, European identity, cosmopolitanism and globalization.A PDF version of this book is available for free in open access via the OAPEN Library platform, www.oapen.org It has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License and is part of Knowledge Unlatched.

An important addition to Intellect’s popular series, Directory of World Cinema: Finland provides historical and cultural overviews of the country’s cinema. Over the course of their contributions to this volume, scholars from a variety of disciplines construct a collective argument that complicates the dominant international view of Finnish cinema as small-scale industry dominated by realist art-house films.The contributors approach the topic from a variety of angles, covering genre, art and commercial films; independent productions; blockbuster cinema; and Finnish cinema’s industrial and historical contexts. While paying heed to Finland’s cultural specificity, the contributors also explore Finnish cultural industries within the broader context of international political, economic, artistic and industrial developments. Together, they skilfully depict an ever-changing national film culture that plays a dynamic role in the global cinematic landscape. Directory of World Cinema: Finland will therefore expand not only global interest in Finnish cinema but also the parameters within which it is discussed.

Part of Intellect’s World Film Locations series, World Film Locations: Helsinki explores the relationship between the city, cinema and Finnish cultural history. Cinematic representations of Helsinki range from depictions of a northern periphery to a space of cosmopolitanism, from a touristic destination to a substitute for Moscow and St. Petersburg during the Cold War. The city also looks different depending on one’s perspective, and World Film Locations: Helsinki illustrates this complexity by providing a visual collection of cinematic views of Helsinki. This cinematic city is a collective work where individual pieces construct a whole, and one which we, as viewers, then shape according to our perspectives. The contributors emphasize the role of the city in identity and cultural politics throughout Finnish film history and its central role as the locus for negotiating Finland’s globalization.

Until recently, discussion of Hollywood film has dominated much of the contemporary dialogue on ecocriticism and the cinema. Transnational Ecocinema, open up the critical debate to look at a larger variety of films from many different countries and cultures. By foregrounding these films with their economic and political contexts, the contributors offer a more comprehensive and nuanced look at the role of place in ecocinema. The essays also interrogate proposed global solutions to environmental issues by presenting an ecocritical perspective on different film and cultural considerations from around the globe.

This volume brings together a range of voices from across the global environmental media community to build a comparative international set of perspectives on ‘green’ film and television production. Through this, it provides a necessary intervention in environmental media studies that actively foregrounds media infrastructure, production, policy, and labour – that is, the management and practice of media production cultures.Due to its immense sociocultural influence and economic resources, the global screen media industry is at the forefront of raising awareness for the political and social issues resulting from accelerated environmental instability. However, the 21st century relationship between screen media and the environment has another face that demands urgent scrutiny. The advent of the digital age and the vast electrical and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructures required to support digital production, distribution, and archiving has resulted in the rapid expansion and diversification of the industry’s resource use, infrastructure construction, energy dependency, and consequent waste and emissions production. Addressing these structures is essential to alleviating their environmental and social impact and ensuring that the industry’s rhetoric on environmental responsibility is reflected in its practice.As a mitigating counterbalance to the above trends, there has been a heightenedpush for sustainability measures along various lines of industry management, policy, and practice. These initiatives—including the cultural values they reflect, the political economies that form their logic, the managerial and marketing tactics that orchestrate them, and the environmental realities of their implementation—form the central object of inquiry for this collection.

This volume brings together a range of voices from across the global environmental media community to build a comparative international set of perspectives on ‘green’ film and television production. Through this, it provides a necessary intervention in environmental media studies that actively foregrounds media infrastructure, production, policy, and labour – that is, the management and practice of media production cultures.Due to its immense sociocultural influence and economic resources, the global screen media industry is at the forefront of raising awareness for the political and social issues resulting from accelerated environmental instability. However, the 21st century relationship between screen media and the environment has another face that demands urgent scrutiny. The advent of the digital age and the vast electrical and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) infrastructures required to support digital production, distribution, and archiving has resulted in the rapid expansion and diversification of the industry’s resource use, infrastructure construction, energy dependency, and consequent waste and emissions production. Addressing these structures is essential to alleviating their environmental and social impact and ensuring that the industry’s rhetoric on environmental responsibility is reflected in its practice.As a mitigating counterbalance to the above trends, there has been a heightenedpush for sustainability measures along various lines of industry management, policy, and practice. These initiatives—including the cultural values they reflect, the political economies that form their logic, the managerial and marketing tactics that orchestrate them, and the environmental realities of their implementation—form the central object of inquiry for this collection.