Ethical Implications
I didn’t choose the subject matter of this project, the story, setting and visuals are all the work of my collaborator. I was brought on as a composer and sound designer after the story had been written, that being said it is still important to analyse the ethical implications of this work.
The story is a retelling of the garden of Eden set on a mountainside. The choice of the mountainside was inspired by the real location of He Sapa in South Dakota, as was the name of the project. ‘Hesapia’ is a merger between He Sapa and Utopia. This choice of inspiration makes sense, the site is regarded as the centre of the universe and the birthplace for all of the Lakotan Sioux. My collaborator was drawn to this location and culture as they are renowned for their ability to live in harmony with nature, a thing that has been completely lost in modern western culture.
The ethical problem with this project stems from the subject matter and the medium. Firstly it could easily be argued that as we are not part of this culture we do not have a right to use their mythology or symbology, it can be seen as appropriation. If we were to make money from this project that would especially be an ethical issue. Secondly the mediums we are using to make this project are in direct contrast with the entire philosophy of the culture. There are minerals used in my laptop that have been mined from land, this process no doubt destroying the natural landscape. I would argue that almost nothing used in this project has been completely ethically sourced. We are in a way contributing to the very problem being criticised.
This is not intended as a solution to this ethical dilemma, but a description of the wider context surrounding this. It could be argued that we as a society are too far gone in the way of the destruction of our environment, and that any act will somehow contribute to this destruction. Therefore, hypocrisy is inevitable. Even the most devout environmentalist will have unwittingly contributed to this, and to print a banner informing people of environmental destruction using material that contributed to the problem can be seen as a necessary evil in the pursuit of change.
‘Ultimately, those who decry hypocrisy are guilty of a form of ad hominem, attacking the opponent rather than his claims. By calling the protesters hypocrites in the hope of impugning the validity of the protesters’ stance, detractors avoid having to justify the expansion of fossil fuel projects in the face of the climate crisis.’
(Chang, 2020)
Bibliography-
Chang, D. (2020) “The sticky side of hypocrisy: Environmental activism in an oil-drenched world,” Dialogue and Debate, 23(2), pp. 200–202. Available at: https://doi.org/10.7202/1070465ar.