Helen Simpson’s In-Flight Entertainment has the potential to be great, if not just for its gloriously ironic title. No, really, I think if you read this while jetting off on a plane to an expensive vacations, it would probably reduce you to an emotional mess of guilt rather than ‘entertain’ you in anyway. It’s bluntness fits the short story genre, and the modern, completely-to-the-point style of narrative that often crops up throughout the collection should really connect with a modern audience who are probably immune to emotional response thanks to all those government-sponsored ads about children who ‘MUST LIVE WITH THE TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF CO2’.
That’s right, little girl, climate change is YOUR responsibility. Sleep tight!
But that is EXACTLY where Simpson fails. The bluntness of the stories means that unfortunately, too many assumptions are made about the reader to the point where, just like the advert above, the reader could easily dismiss the text as overly emotive and down right forceful. There is absolutely nothing wrong with attempting to create an emotional connection between the theme/subject matter (especially when concerning environmental matters) and the audience that is intended to receive the text. It can be a very effective way of communicating a message while also engaging in a discourse that will leave a positive impact upon the reader.
For example, this:
No, I promise that this is not going to be ANOTHER post of me purely gushing about a film that influenced my opinions and attitudes to the natural world. But I HAVE to talk about Wall-E, because this film is (in my overly inflated opinion) perhaps one of the most important films EVER MADE. Whereas Simpson’s dystopia is annoying, preachy, and too inhumane, Wall-E presents to us the exact same humanity-driven dystopia, if not perhaps an even more alarming one, without having to resort to emotional bribery or downright guilt tripping.
In Wall-E, humanity has supposedly reached a point of no return. Life on Earth can no longer be sustained, the pollution and destruction to the natural world has forced humanity into an exodus. All that is left is the discards of civilisation and a few cockroaches. Sounds bleak right, especially when accompanied by a contrastingly jolly song from Hello Dolly? Not so different really from the turmoil that features in ‘Diary of an Interesting Year’. We are again led to believe that humanity has reached a ‘no turning back’ point, from whence society will dissolve into organised chaos where the basic humanity of everyday people will suddenly vanish into thin air as the last remaining people become savage and unrecognisable, just like the post-apocalyptic landscape in which they now reside.
I admire that Simpson uses a lot of VERY disturbing and serious themes to highlight the severity of the effects of climate change, but the bleakness does not inspire feelings of action or even of remorse. The various short stories instead constantly remind us that it’s too late for change, that no one else will even bother to listen to us ‘converted environmentalists’, and that we may as well lay in the bed we have made. Wall-E on the other hand, well…it’s a pretty long (and supremely amazing) movie, but let’s just say that the ending of this film is much more optimistic in its outlook. Here, humanity is capable of working together, to rebuild, to renew. We make mistakes, but we perhaps one day we will be able to correct those mistakes. Most importantly, nature is not some lost cause for white middle-class suburbanites to mourn.
You could argue that this ending is also anthropocentric, but then you could also argue that this film is not so much about nature alone as it is about the relationship/commitment between humanity AND nature. Also, that little plant is my hero. Hold in there, planty!
Perhaps my biggest complaint about In-Flight Entertainment is that it denies any kind of variation in nature or people. After all, the only people with any interest in discourse about nature are all white, middle-class, affluent, business types, right? Because that’s kind of what this text assumes right from the get go, and the only issues it ever really tackles are ones that only a very small percentage of people could ever relate to. Do you travel first-class nearly every week while zooming across the world on your very important business meetings? SHAME ON YOU, OF COURSE YOU DO.
I understand the need for people to be made aware of environmental issues, but lecturing them on extremely narrow-minded habits that only a fraction of the literate world probably experience just seems downright patronising. I have absolutely no doubt in the scientific findings surrounding climate change, and yet the short stories throughout this text feel the need to constantly berate me that I am a supposed NON-BELIEVER OF SCIENCE because…the text goes by the assumption that the readers are ignorant? I’m not entirely sure. Nature is barely even mentioned in this text, other than as either a conceptual idea in the dystopian section, or as background for the human interaction in the rest of the stories. ‘Geography Boy’ is perhaps the worst instance of this, where climate change is intertwined with an uncharismatic relationship between two young lovers. For all the talk of environmental awareness, neither character seems to be making an active effort to contribute towards any kind of positive actions against it. Well, other than natter on about it between dates.
In some respects I understand that this is a good reflection of realistic human thought and reaction, but the severity of the environmental points just does not seem to blend well with the casual tone of the stories themselves. Wall-E can be as sentimental, as human-orientated, and as conflicted in its message as any of the stories from In-Flight Entertainment, but its sincerity makes all the difference. Simpson is obviously capable of bringing humour into even the darkest of situations, but humour is only capable of so much when dealing with such a serious topic. The grim depictions that feature in ‘Diary of an Interesting Year’ are almost too devoid of humanity to create any kind of deep attachment to the story, and when placed among the lighthearted material that the other stories possess, it is difficult to read it at face value.
As an apology for having to read through this convoluted and rambling rant, please enjoy this gorgeous 2008 short film by Behn Zeitlin (director of Beasts of the Southern Wild), which concerns the aftermath of a natural disaster on a small community.
The Undying Lands 