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Pola Bea in 'Fo i ude' : A ec i e Aes he ics and Poli ics o Clima e Change
© 2021 Ecozon
Published e sion
Män ymäki, Helen
Män ymäki, H. (2021). Pola Bea in 'Fo i ude' : A ec i e Aes he ics and Poli ics o Clima e
Change. Ecozon@, 12(2), 150-165. h ps://doi.o g/10.37536/ecozona.2021.12.2.4391
2021
Au ho : Män ymäki, Helen Ti le: The Pola Bea in Fo i ude. A ec i e Aes he ics and Poli ics o Clima e
Change
©Ecozon@ 2021 ISSN 2171-9594 150
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The Pola Bea in Fo i ude.
A ec i e Aes he ics and Poli ics o Clima e Change
Helen Män ymäki
Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Finland
.helen.man ymaki@jyu. i
DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.37536/ecozona.2021.12.2.4391
Abs ac
In he i s season o he ele ision Eco Noi c ime se ies Fo i ude (2015) he pola bea appea s
as a s icky objec ha embodies an ambiguous a ec i e cha ge as an icon o global wa ming. This a icle
discusses he ways in which he pola bea e okes iewe a ec in he se ies h ough wo discou ses. The
i s one ela es o iolence, essen ially p esen in c ime na a i es, and how he human and nonhuman
animal a e posi ioned in ela ion o global wa ming, iolence and each o he . I aises ques ions o place
and belonging in a local and global con ex and examines how he pola bea is cons uc ed in e ms o
s ange dange and ic imiza ion in ela ion o human animals and he h ea o global wa ming. The
second one a ge s he ways in which he pola bea is ende ed s icky as he objec o he human gaze and
how his p ocess o human animals looking a pho og aphs o bea s bo h cons uc s and decons uc s he
subjec -objec ela ion, hie a chy and agency. Me hodologically, he a icle d aws on “close looking” and he
main heo e ical s a ing poin s a e ecoc i icism and a ec heo y. The a icle a gues ha he
ep esen a ion o he pola bea con ibu es in essen ial ways o he socially and en i onmen ally c i ical
emphasis essen ial in con empo a y c ime na a i es including Fo i ude: he dis ac ing and emo ionally
cha ged ep esen a ion o he pola bea e okes ambiguous a ec i e esponses in iewe s. Thus, as he
a icle u he a gues, a ep esen a ion o his kind is capable o —and liable o— inducing a heigh ened
awa eness o he p esen en i onmen al c isis han a mo e s aigh o wa d, less a ec i ely cha ged
ep esen a ion.
Keywo ds: Pola bea , global wa ming, a ec , c ime ic ion, Fo i ude.
Resumen
En la p ime a empo ada de Fo i ude (2015), la se ie policial de ele isión Eco Noi , el oso pola
apa ece como una igu a ecu en e que ep esen a una ca ga a ec i a ambigua como símbolo del
calen amien o global. Es e a ículo analiza las o mas en las que el oso pola p o oca el a ec o del espec ado
en la se ie, a a és de dos discu sos. El p ime o se iden i ica con la iolencia, undamen almen e p esen e
en las na a i as del c imen, y en cómo se posicionan los se es humanos y no humanos en elación con el
calen amien o global, la iolencia y en e sí. Susci a cues iones de luga y pe enencia en un con ex o local
y global e iden i ica cómo se cons uye la igu a del oso pola en é minos del pelig o del ex año y la
ic imización en elación con la humanidad y con la amenaza del calen amien o global. El segundo se cen a
en las o mas en las que el oso pola se uel e complicado como obje o de la mi ada humana y cómo es e
p oceso de pe sonas que mi an o os a ís icas de osos cons uye y decons uye la elación suje o-obje o,
la je a quía y la agecialidad. Me odológicamen e, el a ículo se basa en un “análisis de allado” y los
p incipales pun os de pa ida eó icos son la ecoc í ica y la eo ía del a ec o. El a ículo sos iene que la
ep esen ación del oso pola con ibuye de mane a esencial al én asis social y medioambien almen e
c í ico, esencial en las na a i as c iminales con empo áneas, incluida Fo i ude: la ep esen ación del oso
pola que dis ae y con ca ga emocional e oca espues as a ec i as ambiguas en los espec ado es. Po lo
an o, como se a gumen a además en el a ículo, una ep esen ación de es e ipo es capaz —y p opensa a—
induci una mayo conciencia de la ac ual c isis ambien al que una ep esen ación más di ec a y con menos
ca ga a ec i a.
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Palab as cla e: Oso pola , calen amien o global, a ec o, no ela neg a, Fo i ude.
In oduc ion
The opening scene o he UK-p oduced Noi ele ision c ime se ies Fo i ude
(2015) shows a pola bea ea ing a man o pieces on he seasho e among blocks o ice.
The man is sc eaming in pain, a sho is i ed, and a ed spo appea s on his o ehead. The
bea disappea s om he scene, lea ing behind he emains o he hal -ea en man. A e
his iolen i s encoun e , pola bea s appea explici ly in he images o spoken
discou se mo e han se en y imes du ing he i s season: a mo ionless s u ed bea
g ee s passenge s in he a i als hall o he ai po ; a dead bea lies on a dissec ion able
wai ing o be cu open by scalpels o scien i ic pu poses; a iendly pola bea alks wi h
o he animals in a TV ca oon; a child’s d awing o a cu e pola bea is pinned o he wall
in a house; a is ic pho os o wild bea s a e displayed and discussed as well as used as
p ops; mo eo e , he dange o bea a acks is cons an ly alked abou . The pola bea is
omnip esen in Fo i ude. Dead o ali e, i occupies—and haun s— he minds o he
inhabi an s on he island and en e s he minds o he iewe s, a he same ime calling o
a ec i e esponses.
In his a icle, I in es iga e he ways in which he pola bea becomes a ec i ely
cha ged in he i s season o Fo i ude as an indica o o he human-na u e ela ionship
and o clima e change. Images o pola bea s ci cula e in di e en media as icons o global
wa ming whose habi a is g adually mel ing away as empe a u es in he pola egions
a e ising (see Manzo). The mo e he news o declining popula ions and shocking images
o s a ing bea s ci cula e, he mo e di ec ly hey a e associa ed wi h en i onmen al
c ises and he s onge hei a ec i e cha ge becomes. Fu he , beau i ul images o
heal hy mo he bea s nu sing hei play ul cubs su ounded by icebe gs in sunshine also
p o ide dis u bing eminde s ha he pola bea is no longe sa e in i s na u al habi a .
The a ec i e cha ge o he bea is ambiguous since all hese images e oke a ec mixed
wi h bo h anxie y and pleasu e. This ambigui y is also isible a a symbolic le el: in he
wo ld o mel ing icebe gs, he p e ious symbol o cold has u ned in o a symbol o wa m h
(Ga ield) ha s ill ca ies wi h i he eminde o he wo ld as i should be and as i was
be o e mel ing glacie s.
Emphasizing he social and cul u al signi icance o a ec i e engagemen , Mike
Hulme poin s ou ha he “powe o he pola bea icon o ep esen clima e change in he
minds o he public es s on i s emo ional appeal” (242). O he schola s ha e also ecen ly
paid a en ion o he ways in which clima e change is communica ed in he media and
a gue ha a ec i ely o emo ionally engaging na a i es, including he ones ci cula ing
in he media and popula cul u e, may ac ually gene a e ac ion o comba ing clima e
change (Weik on Mossne ; Kois inen and Män ymäki). I i mly belie e ha speaking
h ough a ec may indeed be a mo e e icien way o aising awa eness as opposed o he
a ionally mo i a ed knowledge o ables and s a is ics. Fo example Debo ah Gould has
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a gued ha emo ions a e an impo an o ce in ac i ism. E en hough Donna Ha away
cau ions ha he so ow e oked by dys opian isions o he u u e migh no necessa ily
mo e people o ac ion (3), psychologis Panu Pihkala has claimed ha he complex
emo ions, including anxie y, aised by he h ea o changing clima e can se e as ca alys s
o clima e ac ion. Hy ä inen, Kois inen and Koi unen ha e indeed a gued ha ackling
he p essing ques ions o clima e and he en i onmen equi es accep ing he di icul
a ec s o emo ions ha in luence he capabili y o gene a e he knowledge equi ed o
answe hose ques ions. A o he media a e clea ly pla o ms o dealing wi h hese
emo ions.
In wha ollows, I discuss wo examples om Fo i ude ha highligh he ways in
which he ep esen a ion o he pola bea e okes a ec i e engagemen in ela ion o
global wa ming in he i s season o Fo i ude. In bo h o hese examples, he ela ionship
be ween he human and nonhuman animal and hei ulne abili y in he ace o he
h ea ening ecological ca as ophe is isible h ough a nego ia ion o hei ela ionship as
inhabi an s o he isola ed eponymous island up no h. In he examples below I i s
elabo a e he ela ionship be ween he human and nonhuman animal in he con ex o
iolence in which he ulne abili y o bo h is highligh ed in he ace o global wa ming. I
show how he bea is cons uc ed as a s ange espassing on he human domain while
ali e, bu occupies he same space wi h human animals when lying dead on a dissec ion
able. Second, I a ge he ep esen a ion o he pola bea by ocusing on how he bea ’s
a ec i e “s ickiness” (Ahmed Cul u al) is gene a ed h ough he gazes o bo h he human
animal looking a he nonhuman animal and he nonhuman animal looking a he human
animal in a scene whe e bea images by pho og aphe Hen y Tyson (Michael Gambon)
a e displayed. While he i s discussion hema izes issues such as space, place and
belonging and no belonging, he second one challenges ques ions o hie a chy, subjec -
objec ela ion and, u he , agency. I a gue ha he ep esen a ion o he pola bea
emains highly ambiguous h oughou he i s season o he se ies, and his ola ili y is
p ecisely he sou ce o he a ec i e cha ge expe ienced by iewe s.
In hei edi o ial o a special issue o G een Le e s on c ime ic ion and ecology, Jo
Lindsay Wal on and Saman ha Wal on poin ou he ole o c ime ic ion as a o m o
specialis knowledge “wi h i s own dis inc con ibu ions o make o cul u al
unde s andings o human-na u e ela ions and en i onmen al c isis” (2). While
con empo a y c ime ic ion—and pa icula ly con empo a y No dic Noi —has become
known o i s socioc i ical conce ns ha ha e also a ac ed in ense schola ly in e es (e.g.
A as and Nes ingen; Fo shaw; Be gman), i is no su p ise ha in a ime when he clima e
is wa ming a an ala ming a e, his mobile gen e is inc easingly ackling ques ions
ela ed o ecology wi h he same c i ical g asp. Ma a Puxan-Oli a poin s ou “c ime
ic ion’s endency o add ess con lic s om a global pe spec i e” (363) and, e e ing o
ecoc i ic U sula Heise, pays a en ion o he capabili y o c ime ic ion o add ess global
conce ns h ough na a i es o local phenomena. Ecological ca as ophes do no con ine
hemsel es o na ional bo de s, and his end is de ec able o example in ecen
ele ision c ime se ies ha add ess he c oss-na ional connec ions and impac s o
ecology- ela ed c imes om a local an age poin . A numbe o ele ision se ies such as
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he Swedish-Danish B on/B oen (The B idge, 2011–2018), he Finnish Tellus (2014), he
Swedish Jo dsko (2015–2017), he Finnish Ka ppi (2018), he Danish Bed aeg (Follow
he Money, 2016) and he Swedish Thin Ice (2020) a ge ecological c imes wi h c oss-
na ional impac s and add ess e hical ques ions in he con ex s o eco e o ism, no ma i e
humani y and u hless p o i -seeking in he ene gy business.
Me hodological Conce ns
Me hodologically, I ely on con ex ualising close eading—o close looking
(Paasonen “Dis u bing”; Salo aa a)—which en ails ca e ul and de ailed wa ching o he
ele ision se ies and awa eness o how ou wa ching expe ience combines wi h he ex
in he cul u al con ex and ames o in e p e a ion. Al hough he a ec s e oked by ic ion
a e always unce ain (Tomkins 74), I assume ha he ci cula ion o images and
discou ses, whe he in ecological c ime ic ion (Eco Noi ) such as Fo i ude o o he
ic ion, mobilizes and calls in o ques ion concep ions o collec i e alues. Because
ep esen a ions no only e lec cul u e bu also ac i ely ake pa in p ocesses o meaning
p oduc ion and he cons uc ion o emo ions (e.g. Ahmed S ange; Cul u al; Bu le ; Helle;
Pi kämäki; Kois inen), in e p e ing hem is equally cul u ally embedded.
Mo eo e , C is ophe B eu a gues ha ce ain gen es do “ ake shape as a speci ic
a ec i e mood o a mosphe e” (244) h ough which hei e ec is c ea ed (see also
Isomaa 71; Lyy ikäinen 55). De ec ing he pa icula a ec o Noi c ime ic ion, B eu pays
a en ion o how he Noi a ec is go e ned by o e all nega i i y and he discom o o
p oximi y as a cause o anxie y (247-248; see also Oli e and T igo). Noi , acco ding o
B eu, ep esen s “ he a is ic engagemen wi h o ms o a ec and hei na a i isa ion
[ ha ] pushes i s audience o con on uncom o able u hs abou hemsel es and he
wo ld hey li e in” (249). Global wa ming undoub edly is an uncom o able u h and a
sou ce o cons an ly sp eading clima e anxie y (o eco-anxie y), a opic egula ly aken up
in he media (e.g. Taylo and Mu ay). Mo eo e , in his discussion o wo B i ish noi
se ies, Hin e land and Sou hcli e, Les Robe s pays a en ion o how “ he s o ies can be
said o ha e g own ou o he landscape” (375). Human geog aphe Tim C esswell de ines
landscape in e ms o dependence o place (12); in Fo i ude place, cha ac e ized by
human p esence in he ha sh clima e, becomes inhe en ly in e wined wi h he cold,
snowy landscape ha pa icipa es in he men al-emo ional p ocesses o meaning
cons uc ion ha o m he pa icula a ec i e mood o he se ies. Ch is iana G ego iu
u he desc ibes he c ime gen e as a ca ni alesque gen e because o he pleasu e i
assumes in he a ec i e: iolence, he ma ginal and he i a ional (100, 101). The iolence
ypically con ained in c ime ic ion, including Fo i ude, based on disgus and pleasu e
adds o he ola ili y o a ec p oduced by he na a i e (Bacon 7-11; Kois inen and
Män ymäki).

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Change
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A ec and he Pola Bea
The image o he pola bea is wha in a ec schola Sa a Ahmed’s e ms can be
desc ibed as a “s icky objec ”. Acco ding o Ahmed, s icky objec s a e “p oduced as e ec s
o ci cula ion” wi hin sociocul u al and ideological con ex s ha allow and call o
sa u a ion wi h a ec (Cul u al 8). The mo e hese images ci cula e in cul u e, he s ickie
hey g ow and he s onge hei a ec i e cha ge becomes. The pola bea is sa u a ed
wi h a ec as pe haps he s ickies icon o global wa ming. This ascina ion wi h he la ge
p eda o s ems pa ly om he special cul u al oles o bea s—b own, black o whi e—
among he peoples o he no he n hemisphe e: bea s ha e adi ionally been ea ed and
wo shipped because o hei size ( he pola bea is he la ges land p eda o wi h a weigh
o up o 700 kilog ams), s eng h and he dange hey ep esen , and s o ies o hem ha e
ci cula ed in cul u es o housands o yea s, ende ing hem s icky wi h mys e y, espec
and ea (e.g. Ruponen). Wi h he ad en o ecological c ime ic ion, he pola bea en e s
a new con ex as pa o he socioecological c i icism o he gen e.
When i comes o he pola bea and a ec , i is c ucial o ake in o accoun he
cul u al embeddedness o a ec . Ins ead o ega ding a ec as a p ecogni i e bodily
sensa ion and emo ion as a cul u ally p ocessed, explained o unde s ood phenomenon, I
see bo h a ec and emo ion, ollowing Ahmed and Paasonen, as e e ing o a ela ionship
wi h he wo ld. As Ahmed w i es, i is impossible o sepa a e immedia e emo ional
in ensi ies such as ea o loa hing om cul u al con ex s, alues o memo ies, which
means ha he immedia e physical eac ion is always al eady connec ed o cogni i e
p ocesses (Cul u al; Paasonen “A ek i” 42). The ecogni ion o “somebody as a s ange ”
(Ahmed Cul u al 21; i alics in o iginal) and a ea some objec — o example i we
encoun e a pola bea in ou home s ee —is in e wined and simul aneous wi h he
bodily eac ions ha indica e ea . In e es ingly, Ahmed ac ually uses he bea as an
example while explaining how ea is shaped by “cul u al his o ies and memo ies”
(Cul u al 7). The ci cula ion o a ec in Fo i ude hus akes pa in he o ma ion o
a ec i e his o ies and memo ies connec ed o he bea as a ea some animal—and as a
symbol o he p esen clima e c isis. Fo a iewe o a c ime ele ision se ies also he
p e ious knowledge o he gen e o ms a pa o he a ec i e ambience. Below I use a ec
as he o e all e m when discussing iewe a ec ; I use emo ion when I e e o he
ep esen a ions o emo ions o single cha ac e s hus holding on o he embodiedness o
a ec as possible only wi h eal, li ing iewe s and he ep esen a ions o he emo ions o
he cha ac e s on he sc een h ough di e en ma ke s disce nible by he iewe s.
Fo i ude as Eco Noi C ime Fic ion
Season One o Fo i ude s a s o as a c ime na a i e go e ned by he basic c ime
o mula: a mu de is commi ed, a de ec i e a i es om he ou side and e en ually he
mu de mys e y is sol ed. This, howe e , is only a s a ing poin o a s o y wi h an
abundance o subna a i es, mu de s and ake mu de s, and se e al o icial and uno icial
in es iga o s, in which he mys e ious dea hs a e no always causes o pe sonal o social
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e il bu a e ied in a ious ways o he consequences o mel ing glacie s and clima e
change.
A e he iolen ini ial encoun e wi h he pola bea , he iewe is in oduced o
a mul ina ional communi y li ing on a ic ional secluded island in “a cold clima e”
(Fo shaw) somewhe e o he No wegian coas , popula ed by 713 people and 3,000 pola
bea s, as Go e no Hildu Odega d (So ie G åbøl) s a es in Episode One o he i s season.
When an inhabi an o he small own, D S odda (Ch is ophe Eccles on), is ound dead
in his home wi h his ib cage o n open, he i s suspec in ac is a pola bea . Howe e ,
i is soon disco e ed ha he iolen a acks on S odda and he la e ic ims a e
commi ed by human animals in aded and con amina ed by pa asi e wasps, whose
p oc ea i e beha iou o d illing in o he bodies o la ge animals o lay hei eggs is
ans e ed o humans h ough genome-changing poison ha compels hem o d ill in o
he bodies o o he humans, using any sha p objec s a hand. These wasps o igina e om
mammo h ca casses now eme ging om unde he mel ing glacie a e ha ing been
bu ied in he pe ma os o 30,000 yea s. In addi ion o he wo main na a i e s ands
o sol ing he ini ial mu de and coping wi h he wasp h ea , he i s season o Fo i ude
wea es se e al o he na a i e s ands in o he s o y. These ange om he consequences
o un equi ed lo e and adul e ous ela ionships o a glacie ho el p ojec o sa e he
economy o he island when he coal mines a e becoming deple ed.
Fo i ude can be desc ibed as an Eco Noi c ime s o y ai h ul o No dic Noi . The
en i onmen al heme is a cen al cons i uen o he na a i e and, h ough he
inco po a ion o he h ea o global wa ming in o a mu de na a i e, he c i ical gaze o
he se ies goes beyond an analysis o injus ice and iolence in human socie ies only.
Besides he social and socie al c i ique ypical o No dic Noi , he se ies embodies i s
ecological c i ique in he ame o a popula c ime na a i e. “Gloomy, pensi e and
pessimis ic in one” (A as and Nes ingen 2), i ea u es aliena ed cha ac e s in a cold and
ha sh en i onmen , s uggling wi h social and emo ional p oblems (see Fo shaw). Ke s in
Be gman has paid a en ion o he seman ic signi icance o he en i onmen , pa icula ly
he u al se ings in Swedish c ime ic ion (Swedish); he signi icance o he no he n
en i onmen is indeed ex emely p onounced in Fo i ude, because he s o y is essen ially
bound wi hin i s speci ic cold and ha sh se ing. Jacob S ougaa d-Nilsen’s cha ac e iza ion
o No dic Noi as ea u ing “da k, dys opian and excessi ely iolen na a i es” (9) is ue
o Fo i ude: he se ies can be ead as an en i onmen al dys opia embedded in a c ime
s o y o ma . A na a i e like his, wi h he pola bea eme ging as an ambiguous
exp ession o he complexi y o he h ea ening en i onmen al c isis, can only be old
whe e bo h human and bea inhabi an s a e ende ed ulne able.
Pola Bea s in C ime Tele ision Se ies
Al hough No dic landscapes may play cen al oles in No dic Eco Noi na a i es,
he oles o animals in con empo a y c ime se ies seldom go beyond being me e p ops o ,
al e na i ely, animals end o ea u e as an h opomo phic e e ences o human
cha ac e is ics in sol ing he c ime case. We end o in e p e animals in ela ion o
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humani y, human iden i y and subjec i i y (McHugh, “Animal” 24), and animals a e o en
ep esen ed as la p o o ypes o humans. In he F ench c ime TV se ies La ô e (2017)
o example, a whi e wol appea s in his kind o ole as a lee ing me apho o he emale
p o agonis ’s auma and in ui ion ha leads he o he oo s o he mu de mys e y
bu ied in he ea some o es . In hese cases, “animals a e p esen bu he ques ion o he
animal is no ” (Bolonga o 109). In he abo e men ioned c ime ele ision se ies Thin Ice,
he pola bea ea u es as a p op ha also embodies me apho ical and e e en ial
meanings as an icon o global wa ming. The big p eda o is no as omnip esen as in
Fo i ude bu i s p esence is explici ly linked wi h mel ing glacie s. Howe e , despi e i s
less p ominen ole, i embodies an a ec i e cha ge ha d aws om bo h i s ea some
and s ange o he ness (see Ahmed S ange) and i s ic im s a us which i sha es wi h all
inhabi an s, human and nonhuman, o he A c ic a eas and beyond.
The Ambiguous Place o he Fea some S ange
A cons an nego ia ion be ween in- and ou side ness is no able in Fo i ude and
links wi h he ways in which he pola bea is cons uc ed in e ms o a ec as a s icky
objec . The inside e e s o he own and human p esence on he island and he ou side o
he en i onmen inhabi ed by he pola bea s. Re e ing o cul u al c i ic Raymond
Williams’s classic wo k The Coun y and he Ci y (1973), Ma a Puxan-Oli a pays a en ion
o he ways in which en i onmen al c ime ic ion cons an ly enego ia es he p e iously
alleged di e ence be ween he coun y as a u al idyll p ese ing mo ali y and he ci y as
i s opposi e, an en i onmen p one o encou age c iminali y (364). In Fo i ude, he own
is indeed depic ed as a place o cha ac e s wi h dodgy backg ounds and suspec
in en ions. Howe e , he o e all se ing in he se ies does no ely on a jux aposi ion o
own s. coun y as a ma ke o di e en mo al a i udes isible in en i onmen al c ime
ic ion as desc ibed by Puxan-Oli a, bu is based on a mo e adical nego ia ion be ween
he inside, whe e he small human popula ion esides, and he ou side ha is cons an ly
in il a ing and ques ioning i s exis ence; he inside is ne e cons an bu con inuously
agmen ed by he wild and dis u bing ou side, inhabi ed by dange ous pola bea s. As
Richa d C. S edman a gues, place is a complica ed compila ion o he physical
en i onmen and socially cons uc ed ac o s, including my hs and memo ies (U y;
Ma cus). In She i Dan Ande ssen’s (Richa d Do me ) speech o a g oup o mine s in he
local pub, he own has mo e o less been swallowed by he ou side; he speech cons uc s
he place on he na a i e—o my h—o he na u al en i onmen : “When people hink o
his place, hey hink o he ice, bea s, moun ains” (Episode 7). How he place accen ua es
pa icula ly he pola bea is u he indica ed by a pos e on he pub wall wi h a ex ha
u ges people o espec hem and lea e hem alone o oam hei na u al habi a (Episode
2).
Fo he inhabi an s o he own o Fo i ude and he iewe , he pola bea is
cons uc ed in e ms o di e ence and ou side ness as a dange ous s ange ha haun s
and sca es h ough i s ea some po en ial. Sa a Ahmed has paid a en ion o he
omnip esence o he s ange and poin s ou how “s ange s a e ead as posing dange
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whe e e hey a e” (S ange 32). The pola bea ca ies i s ea someness as a po en ial
ha can be ealized a any ime; in ha sense he bea is always he e as a known p ospec
al hough i emains o be de ined h ough i s belonging o he ou side. I is p ecisely his
pa adox o p oximi y and he ecogni ion o “no belonging, … being ou o place” ha
Ahmed u he ega ds as essen ial in he cons uc ion o he s ange (S ange 21;
emphasis in o iginal). This pa adox leads o he ques ion who ac ually is ou o place, he
pola bea s “in hei na u al habi a ” o he human animals who, i onically, a e
esponsible o des uc i e po en ial a mo e dange ous om he pe spec i e o he
global ecosys em.
She i Dan’s line abou “ his place” as no including he own is desc ip i e o how
he ou side has in il a ed wha no mally would be seen as he human sphe e, as home.
S edman’s de ini ion o place as encompassing “ he physical se ing, as well as human
expe ience and in e p e a ion” (672) is ele an he e. When discussing he s ange and
he dange i poses, Ahmed poin s ou ha de ining he s ange as dange ous makes
possible he de ini ion o home as a sa e place (S ange 32). She w i es: “Such a
ecogni ion o hose who a e ou o place allows bo h he dema ca ion and en o cemen
o he bounda ies o ‘ his place’, as whe e ‘we’ dwell. The en o cemen o bounda ies
equi es ha some-body—he e loca able in he di y igu e o he s ange —has al eady
c ossed he line, has al eady come oo close” (S ange 21-22).
In Fo i ude, howe e , he iewe is epea edly eminded o how he pola bea
sha e s his eeling o sa e y by cons an ly coming emo ionally oo nea and b eaking he
bounda y be ween in- and ou side ness. The police ad ise De ec i e Inspec o Mo on
(S anley Tucci), a newcome o he own, o ca y a la ge gun in case he mee s a pola bea
because a small one will no s op i , and shows as e idence images o he sa aged body o
Billy Pe ig ew (Tam Dean Bu n), maimed by a pola bea in he beginning (Episode 1).
Fo he iewe , his way o desc ibing he pola bea in e ms o i s gene a ing ex eme
ea , as an au oma on ha a acks wi h in en ion o kill whene e me , ep esen s a
dicho omous iew be ween human animals and non-human animals. Howe e , in he
con ex o global wa ming ha he se ies explici ly deals wi h, he iewe is in o med
abou he easons why he bea s may espass o e he own and hun wha hey no mally
would no hun . Because o his knowledge, he iewe ’s a ec i e esponse is no only
based on he ea caused by he ea someness o he g ea p eda o bu also on sympa hy
owa ds he nonhuman animal s uggling o i s exis ence in he changing en i onmen .
Mo eo e , he dange o he bea s’ su i al caused by global wa ming and mel ing
glacie s and hei occasional espassing on he human domain a e also p esen ed in
ano he ligh by Go e no Odega d who exploi s he comme cial po en ial o he exo ic
animal in he speech o a g oup o p ospec i e in es o s in a la ge-scale ho el p ojec :
“‘Some imes a bea comes o own and hen he police ha e o ca e ully ushe him ou
again’” (Episode 2). In he desc ip ion he bea is no longe a ea some s ange ; ins ead,
i has u ned in o an animal los in he s ange and sca y human en i onmen ha
equi es human help o ind i s way back o i s own habi a . Howe e , h ough a humo ous
an h opomo phiza ion o he island bea s she exp esses an inhe en s ange ea :
e e ing o he numbe o bea s (3,000) in ela ion o humans (713), she jokes abou wha
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