The last ice age
Retracing his grandparents’ journey to Iceland’s Vatnajökull glacier, a writer draws on storytelling to grasp climate change - by Aeon Video Watch on Aeon
Andri Snær Magnason, an Icelandic writer and environmental activist, finds his love for storytelling and deep concern for the natural world rooted in his grandparents’ experiences. As amateur explorers, they volunteered on scientific expeditions to the Vatnajökull ice cap in Iceland, even embarking on their journey the day after their wedding in 1956.
The tales they shared, along with the footage captured by Magnason’s grandfather, ignited his imagination and fueled his sense of urgency regarding climate change. This connection is explored in a film by Emergence Magazine, where filmmakers Adam Loften and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee follow Magnason to Vatnajökull with his son. By interweaving archival footage from the family’s past with contemporary images of Magnason and his son at the ice cap, the documentary vividly demonstrates the significant transformations that have occurred over the past seven decades.
The film emphasizes how stories possess the power to evoke emotions and make the abstract concepts and figures associated with climate change more relatable and urgent. By linking environmental degradation to the people we cherish – those from our past, present, and future – the film fosters a stronger sense of connection to our planet and underscores the grave consequences we risk facing.
Written by urgent.news from Aeon's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
