What Arctic Cinema Can Tell Us About a Changing World

Posted September 18, 2019

Early documentaries such as 1922’s Nanook of the North and even the 1951 alien invasion potboiler The Thing From Another World offer an image of the Artic as an ever-frozen, never-changing place of mystery that glosses over or distorts the cultures of those who live there.

However, indigenous filmmakers—particularly women, but all spurred by climate change—are starting to change that. Anna Westerstahl Stenport, professor and chair in the School of Modern Languages, is among the world’s leading academics working to help better understand their contributions.

Stenport is one of the pioneers of the burgeoning field of Arctic cinema studies. Learn more about her research in our feature, "Climate, Culture & Ice: What Arctic Cinema Can Tell Us About a Changing World."