Memories of the Land: the construction of the perception of environmental risk in two Patagonian documentaries

Abstract

This work is part of a research project that investigates the ways of perception and appropriation of the environment from the part of different social groups that inhabit the Andean zone of Northern Patagonia. In this context, we consider that stories about past volcanic events constitute fundamental elements for the configuration of the perception of environmental risk and the definition of the degree of vulnerability of the different social groups. In this paper, we will analyze the way in which two recently produced Patagonian documentaries have narrated volcanic events that occurred in the region. This paper examines the recognition of the different modalities of audiovisual representation of volcanic phenomena, and the characterization that is made of the institutions with responsibilities towards them in the stories. The conclusions we reached allow us to indicate that in both stories, events are presented as surprising and unexpected, despite the region being crossed by a volcanic belt. This feature characterizes the population with a high degree of vulnerability, and excuses institutions -such as science and the State- for the responsibilities of developing preventive and mitigation policies in the event of crisis.