“Communication is nothing more than the exchange of information. Hence, at its broadest sense, environmental communication is necessary for the survival of every living system, be it an organism, an ecosystem, or a social system.”
-Alexander G. Flo (Environmental Communication, 2004)
The interdisciplinary field of environmental humanities weaves together research from the natural, applied, and social sciences with storytelling, art, creativity, and community building. It values indigenous ways of knowing as well as non-human perspectives.
Kiwi: A Day in the Life
After reading numerous literary texts written from the perspective of non-human animals, Sandra Tzoc decided to create a V-log that spotlighted a very special non-human animal narrator: her orange-and-white tabby, Kiwi!
Sandra admits getting inside the mind of her favorite feline was harder that she expected.
“Finding a way to show ‘Kiwi’s’ perspective on camera was actually an obstacle on its own
which is why there are a variety of angles in the video,” she says.
But the real challenge came when it was time to put words in Kiwi’s mouth:
“First off, I had no clue what might be going on inside his head. I tried to read his body language, and as is very clear in some parts of the video, sometimes it’s not that hard to guess. . . . There were so many times where I asked myself, ‘Would Kiwi really say this?’”
Despite the challenges, Sandra enjoyed the project and felt that imagining life from Kiwi’s perspective brought them closer.
“Honestly,” Sandra says, “I didn’t feel the hours go by whilst editing the video. I had a great time asking my sisters for feedback and showing them the progress of the video from beginning to end. All in all, this was a very exciting journey. I definitely learned new things, and I feel as if I bonded with my cat in a new way? If that is possible.”