Photogenic qualities of aquatic landscapes in the works of Roman Polański

In his debut feature film, Knife in the Water (1961), and then in the subsequent films Cul-de-sac (1966), Pirates (1986), Frantic (1988), Bitter Moon (1992), Death and the Maiden (1994), and The Ghost Writer (2010), Roman Polański uses the element of water in a significant way. It is particularly interesting when water is visible and constitutes a crucial element of the films’ narrative—woven from water images and aquatic landscapes. So, how do aquatic landscapes function in Polański’s films? I believe that he develops his individual film style in which the element of water—its being filmed—both emphasizes the protagonists’ motivation, often conditions it, and is also a very important detail which shapes images and, therefore, affects the aesthetics of those images. Does a specific kind of aesthetics created by aquatic landscapes—which are characterized by a particular form of photogeneity—exist? Polański certainly does not use common visual clichés. The beauty of his aquatic landscapes is of a different type. They are interesting, original, non-intrusive, yet noticeable—even if they do not dominate the whole image. The text follows the director’s visual strategies which prove the photogenic potential of his films. I argue that this photogeneity—stemming from, inter alia, aquatic landscapes—determines the attractiveness of Polański’s films.

Archaeological history of Middle Holocene environmental change from fish proxies at the Monte Castelo archaeological shell mound, Southwestern Amazonia

Monte Castelo, an archeological shell mound located on the southwestern periphery of the Amazon basin, is an artificial forest island occupied from the Middle to late-Holocene, and it contains one of the longest, continuous sequences of human occupation anywhere in the basin. Analysis of fish remains investigates fluctuations in the fish communities that are markers of changes in the paleoenvironment. The 8112 taxonomically identified remains document diagnostic taxa that are drought-tolerant (armoured catfishes, swamp-eels and tiger fishes) and from swampy environments, indicating probable occupation during low-waters periods. The results from Monte Castelo contrasts with the use of shell mounds as refuges from high-water season floods, a dominant hypothesis. A considerable shift in the nature of the fish spectrum occurred around 4000 BP with increased diversity; the number of taxa jumps from 18 to 48. The Middle Holocene occupations, from 6000 to 4000 BP, reflect long-term stability in drought-tolerant taxa collaborating with paleoecological evidence of dryer conditions. The post 4000 BP introduction of small-sized cichlids and characins suggests an initial exploitation of flooded forests. Archeological fish remains corroborate paleoenvironmental records of increased precipitation between the Middle and Late-Holocene. The probable replacement of some savanna areas by forest vegetation, and the accompanying alteration of aquatic landscapes, is documented through the presence/absence of certain taxa in Monte Castelo’s occupations. This suggests new economic strategies and the exploitation of new ecological niches, as the fish remains correspond to approximately 80% of the vertebrate fauna throughout the archeological sequence.

THE “LAND OF FISH”: RECONSTRUCTING THE ANCIENT AQUATIC LIFEWAY IN MICHOACÁN, WESTERN MEXICO

This article deals with the cultural activities linked to subsistence in aquatic environments (fishing, hunting, gathering, and manufacture) in Michoacán from ca. a.d. 1540 to the present. First, I present an ethnohistorical account of aquatic landscapes and resources based on the major written sources from the sixteenth to the nineteenth centuries. Second, I discuss the extant ethnographic information about subsistence activities in the Lake Pátzcuaro Basin (Michoacán) during the twentieth century. Finally, I discuss the archaeological implications of all the information presented here, through an ethnoarchaeological analysis of the subsistence strategies and the material culture associated with the aquatic lifeway in the study area. The main goal of this study is to provide bridging arguments for the reconstruction and interpretation (through analogy) of the archaeological assemblages associated with production and consumption activities in aquatic landscapes within the Tarascan region and elsewhere in Mesoamerica.

Geochemical Impact of Kholodninsk Lead-zinc Deposit on Aquatic Landscapes of Northern Part of the Baikal Region

The features of pollution of aquatic environments (river and lake) in the area of impact of Grodnenskoe polymetallic mine, located in the water basin of the lake Baikal (Republic of Buryatiya) is considered. The main existing sources of pollution, the degree of toxicity and the scale of the impact on the drainage watercourses, as well as the peculiarities of transportation of pollutants were determined. Existing spatial zones of ecological risk for aquatic landscapes associated with modern geochemical impact of Kholodninskoe mine were revealed. Today, it is a part of the Kholodnaya River basin, which flows near the mine and receives water streams from abandoned tunnels. In the waters of these streams very high concentrations of pollutants (a number of heavy metals) have been revealed. They are hundreds and thousands times higher than the maximum permissible concentration. After the confluence of streams with the Chpolodnaya River pollution zone have been formed, within which the concentration of zinc in the waters of the river exceeds the normative values. For the TyyaRiver, which drains the ore body, but does not receive streams from the tunnels, significant excess of standards for the heavy metals content have not been found. Directly in the water area of the Lake Baikal, including the Gulf of Angarskiy Sor, where the Kholodnaya River flows, significant excess of permissible values was not identified, either. Based on the analysis of the selected samples, Conclusions based on the selected samples analysishave been made on specific featuresof current chemical elements migration in the «Kholodnaya River – Lake Baikal» system at the present level of economic activity, as well as the prospects for the future.

Paysages aquatiques de Vera Feyder

<p>The novels of Vera Feyder are concerned with identity, memory, space and travel. In her writing her characters inhabit past and present, dream and reality. In particular, dreams and aquatic landscapes intersect in various creative ways in her oeuvre. This article analyses the contours of such landscape, understood in terms both internal and external, in two of her novels: Caldeiras (1982) and La Belle voyageuse endormie dans la brousse (2002).</p>

A narrative interpretation of the cultural impressions on water of the communities along the Vaal River, Parys, Free State

This article is about the significance of the Vaal River for the communities inhabiting the area. Using the interpretation of narratives and rituals, the extent of the connection or disconnection between the communities and the aquatic environment is described. Traditional rituals, religious practices and beliefs associated with the river form an important part of the lives of people living in the area. Results show that industrial development and urbanisation have direct implications not only on the environment but also on the cultural lives and practices of the communities in the areas where these occur. Because of its impact on the environment, development has a direct impact on the people who depend on the environment for both their physical and spiritual well-being. Any form of sustainable development needs to put these factors into consideration for development to truly be sustainable. In addition to forming a part of Environmental Impact Assessment prior to any development, the infringement of the cultural significance and the meanings that local communities have attached to aquatic landscapes should come with stringent legal consequences.Significance of work: Over the past years, the cultural connection between communities in Parys and the Vaal River area has been influenced by the effects of industrialisation, urbanisation and other anthropogenic factors that stem from these. This study found that there is a range of cultural rituals and beliefs that form part of the everyday lives of many residents of the communities in Parys. The significance of this study lies in recognising the importance of aquatic environments for the cultural health of communities and that, prior to development, developers who aim for sustainable development need to adhere to the National Heritage Resources Act, Act No. 25 of 1999. The Act includes the protection of sites of cultural significance to a community, and this involves the Vaal River. In addition to forming a part of the Environmental Impact Assessment prior to any development, infringement of the cultural significance and the meanings that local communities attach to aquatic landscapes should come with stringent legal consequences. The study also emphasises that it is important to realise that one cannot continue to isolate natural science from social science in debating what is sustainable.