Cultural Geography Blog

This book looks excellent! Out now from Hanne Nielsen.  Happy #AntarcticaDay ! The anniversary of the signing of the #AntarcticTreaty was the perfect date to launch my new book #Brand #Antarctica - published in the @UnivNebPress #Polar series https://t.co/PU1SLAXx9h pic.twitter.com/5CEa0wb6Ke — Dr Hanne Nielsen (@WideWhiteStage) December 1, 2023 Cover image is here: Description of the book from Hanne: Antarctica is, and has always been, very much “for sale.” Whales, seals, and ice have all been marketed as valuable commodities, but so have the stories of explorers. The modern media industry developed in parallel with land-based Antarctic exploration, and early expedition leaders needed publicity to generate support for their endeavors. Their lectures, narratives, photographs, and films were essentially advertisements for their adventures. At the same time, popular media began to use the newly encountered continent to draw attention to commercial products. These advertisements bot

  Storyville: Songs of Earth was a highlight of Christmas Day and a great example of what might be called Slow TV. Here's a description of the film. The dizzyingly beautiful mountainous landscapes of Norway provide the backdrop for this immersive story of a family whose lives are linked intrinsically to their environment.  Set in the valley of the Jostedalsbreen Glacier, in the north of Norway, it is a portrait of the director Margreth Olin’s parents, in particular her father and his life-long and intimate relationship to the land he lives in. Filmed across the seasons, she takes the viewer on an existential journey, from family folklore to the best place to plant a Christmas tree. Produced by Wim Wenders and Liv Ullmann. I travelled to Norway some years ago, and managed to make my way close to where this film was made, and some similar glaciers, but not the particular one featured here. The soundtrack by Rebekka Karijord is on Spotify.

Fantasy: Realms of Imagination  I need to see this in the New Year at the British Library. There's also a free exhibition of work from Mervyn Peake, which will be great to see. 'She wants to be flowers, but you make her owls. You must not complain, then, if she goes hunting.' The plate that triggered the plot of The Owl Service, at the Fantasy exhibition at the British Library. I stared at it for a long, long time... pic.twitter.com/wSPKsAqZP9 — Lissa Evans (@LissaKEvans) December 22, 2023

  This is not another post about David Rogers' current Pier2Peer fundraising through December 2023, See his Fund raising page here for that. Last night I went over to Cromer Pier for a special screening of Jens Meurer's film 'Seaside Special'. This is a documentary which was shot on crisp 16mm Kodak film, which gives it a special 'glow'. 'Seaside Special' follows Norfolk’s Cromer Pier Show over the course of a year, from the perspective of the performers, and the seaside town’s locals. It is 'narrated' by Olly Day - a local legend. The film has had excellent reviews. Here's the synopsis of the film on a German film site: SEASIDE SPECIAL is a love letter to Brexit Britain: a consciously warm-hearted look at Britain's only remaining “End-of-the-Pier” variety show – far away from London – as the town of Cromer and the cast prepare for the 2019 summer season. The film portrays a town from a different time, full of quintessentially British

  One of my (many and varied) guilty musical pleasures is the music of John Denver: the stage name of Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. He was a fascinating person with a great many interests, including the development of aircraft, which ultimately led to his early death. When I was younger I had a certain look of John Denver with my long blonde hair and round glasses.  You will have seen my picture in Year 7 if you came to any of my lectures in the last three years as part of my Everyday Geographies series of lectures. John was a superb live performer who my dad got to see play live, but I never had the chance. He has written some classic tunes which have hundreds of millions of Spotify streams, and many of them will be familiar to people.  Many of them link to his interests in environmental conservation. Calypso was inspired by the work of French adventurer Jacques Cousteau, who invented the 'aqualung' and travelled the world making films. His work was the inspiration for  Wes