Petropolitics, cli-fi and Occupied

Abstract

One of a growing group of television series that can be classified as climate fiction, Occupied takes as its premise a hostile political response to Norway’s sudden move towards energy transition. Occupied draws on the long tradition of the Norwegian occupation drama, while also resonating with contemporary tensions between Russia and its neighbours. Mobilizing familiar structures of feeling common to many cli-fi texts as well as recent news cycles, Occupied brings together the genre conventions of political thrillers, occupation dramas and extreme weather/disaster films. With its ensemble cast that explores the conflicting loyalties and personal stakes involved in the emerging crisis, the series portrays the complexities of its fictional petropolitics as a layered accumulation of historical and recent memory shot through with personal and political investments of every conceivable kind that premediate possible futures in the Anthropocene.

Landscape, Geopolitics, and National Identity in the Norwegian Thrillers Occupied and Nobel

“…In its use of geopoliticised landscapes, Occupied does just that, from its use of acier, anonymising spaces to represent "Russianness", to its employment of primordial taiga to evoke the purity of "Norwegianness", to its manipulation of satellite imagery and footage of extreme weather events to generate feelings of insecurity associated with the Anthropocene epoch. Yet, as Leyda (2018) points out in her work, in Occupied, as an example of cli-fi, the evocative use of such politicised landscapes -which contrast two oil-rich states (the Russian Federation and Norway) -also mitigates the percolating petro-guilt flowing through Norwegian society.…”

The Landscapes of Eco-NoirReimagining Norwegian eco-exceptionalism in Occupied

“…Making amends for petro-guilt by replacing the oil industry with sustainable energy production is shown to be far from uncomplicated (cf. Leyda, 2018). Oil in Occupied can be seen as a nonhuman, antagonistic element that sticks to human bodies and insists on an uncanny coexistence.…”

“…In a number of recent television series, including the Norwegian Frikjent With limited exceptions, such as Finland's dependence on nuclear power and Norway's oil-driven economic growth, the Nordic countries are associated with (both from within and from outside) a high level of environmental consciousness. This green (self-) image (Leyda, 2018), or what can be called an eco-exceptionalist (self-)perception, is both expressed and questioned in a number of high-end television series (as distinguished from the notion of "quality TV", see Engelstad, 2016) produced in and for the region. Often labelled "Nordic Noir", such series are frequently described as a socially critical and politically conscious genre (Forshaw, 2012).…”

“…Outside of Scandinavia, television series falling beyond any meaningful borders of the Nordic Noir genre are marketed and consumed under this label, the Danish Borgen (2010-2013) -and Occupied -being good examples of this phenomenon (see, e.g., Arrow Films, n.d.). Although rich in noir-related elements, Occupied is not a crime story (as are the core of Nordic Noir shows), but a fusion of the political thriller and cli-fi (climate fiction) genres (see Leyda, 2018).…”

“…In addition, landscapes in Occupied encode multiple references to Norway's history, primarily World War II, not least by cinematically evoking the Norwegian occupation dramas, a genre dealing with the country's occupation by Nazi Germany, in which nature and landscapes function as conveyors of national and ideological contents (cf. Henlin-Stromme, 2012;Iversen, 2012;Sørenssen, 2012; see also Leyda, 2018). Another layer of historical and geopolitical references encoded in landscapes (and beyond) involves the Cold War, as well as current tensions between Russia and Europe or what it is often deemed in the media as the "New Cold War".…”