At first glance, Netflix’s sci-fi/ thriller series Dark (2017- ) does not appear to be a text that changes thinking about environmental humanities, sustainability, and nuclear pasts/presents/futures. It is just a small budget, German produced, fictional series after all. However, Dark can be viewed as the ‘glue’ of this course, since the text represents virtually every major theme/concept of the seminar ranging from Rob Nixon’s concept of “slow violence,” with one of many examples being Regina Tiedemann’s cancer diagnosis, to protest music and culture, which can be seen in the 1986 Ulrich Nielson figure. As a result of the texts ability to represent many concepts, it has enabled me to change my thoughts about environmental humanities, sustainability and nuclear pasts/presents and futures. Most notably, this text helped me visualize Donna Haraway’s concept of “string figures” while at the same time raising my awareness of environmental humanities and the challenges that the field faces.
String figures are a subset of Haraway’s overarching ubiquitous figure, ‘SF,’ in her work Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Although she offers multiple definitions of what string figures are, since it is indeed multiple things, the simplest, yet most comprehensive definition is following “the threads where they lead in order to track them and find their tangles and patters crucial for saying with the trouble in real and particular places and times” (3). Haraway, also offers the concept of a ‘cat’s cradle’ to add a visual representation of string figures and how every aspect of the entire system is somehow related in one way or another. It is important to note that this is only the tip of the iceberg of Haraway’s string figure, which of course gives credence to the ubiquitous nature of string figures and SF in general. Of course, there are many literal string figures throughout the first season. ‘The strangers’ own string figure (detective wall) created in his hotel room at Waldhotel Winden
and the bunker string figure (photo wall) in the first and last episode of the season.
These are two examples among many, that often stick out to viewers, since they are often repeated and have lasting camera shots on them. It is also interesting to note that string played a vital role in enticing young Jonas to further pursue the mystery of the tunnels, with the string left on his bike in episode four, for example and eventually helped him find his way through the tunnels in episode six.
However, the string figures in Dark go beyond, the literal figures formed in the series. Besides highlighting aspects of small towns, where everything appears to be interconnected, like old feuds carrying on to present day, for example, the series also portrays string figures with the seemingly unrelated relationship between police investigations and investigators and the nuclear power plant. Torben Wöller, the police officer who wears an eye patch, is an inside man for the power plant, who plays a vital role in hindering the obtaining of a warrant to search the power plant and plays a role in removing the barrels of nuclear waste in preparation of the police search through plant property. The viewers learn some of this and can infer the rest in episode nine during a short telephone conversation between the director of the plant, Aleksander Tiedemann (Boris Niewald), and Wöller. It is important to note that this is just one specific string of many, that are both known and unknown, that are related to these topics. As a result, there is not a direct cause-effect relationship, but rather a multiple causes, multiple effects relationship in which many things are interconnected.
This specific Wöller-Tiedemann string figure and the other factors of it are important for considering sustainability, nuclear pasts/presents/futures and especially environmental humanities as a whole. While considering addressing questions of sustainability, nuclear pasts/presents/futures and environmental humanities as a whole, it is important to keep in mind that string figures will be involved in all areas. Therefore, all aspects of string figures must be taken into consideration while addressing these concerns. Since environmental humanities is an overarching category that includes topics like sustainability and nuclear pasts/presents/futures, it can be viewed as the all encompassing string figure. Therefore, in order to truly address the mission of environmental humanities, one must first take a step back and assess every single aspect of the entire figure and the various things affecting it and be aware of potential repercussions of implementing a specific plan(s). This includes adjustments to the plan prior to its implementation in order to limit potential unintended and often negative repercussions. Lastly, one must be ready to address all consequences of implemented changes.
Besides serving as a text that many theories discussed in the course could be applied to, this text will shape my future by serving as a model of string figures beyond the scope of environmental humanities. Viewing this series made it extremely clear that string figures exist well beyond the Chthulucene and its trouble, especially since there are more than enough similarities between Winden and Conway, New Hampshire. They exist everywhere and must be understood from as many angles as possible in order to effectively make progress/change in all areas, from promoting German and improving program retention to implementing a 2-1-2 fore-check or other systems and virtually every other aspect of personal and professional life.
Works cited:
Haraway, Donna Jeanne. Staying with the Trouble: Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Duke University Press, 2016.
Odar, Baran bo, and Jantje Friese. Dark, Season 1, episode 1-10, Netflix, 2017.