Space has long been the domain of sci-fi movies and blue chip nature documentaries that paralyse us over our planet and specie's survival. The idea goes that someone up there (in space, or Government) will save us.
The view of earth from above depicts the ecosystems that sustain life as fragile, beautiful and vulnerable. But do these top-down visions give us agency or take it away, in a time when civic action is urgently needed?
Overused as it has been, this perspective has dislocated filmmakers and audiences from engaging with human driven stories that provoke us to think, feel or do something positive about the crises on our doorsteps.
During Ahmir Thompson's must see feature debut Summer of Soul (2021), we learn how festival goers boycotted the 1969 moon landing in style… Celebrating a powerful fusion of music, dance and culture in Harlem, Apollo 11 was seen as a lavish misuse of public funds.
A race may be on now to harness space for good, exposing environmental and human rights abuses obscured from the public eye. But if we want to change how we relate with the world and each other, maybe we should plant our feet and cameras on the ground more often?