Ringvorlesung | Apokalypse und Weltrettung | Prof Dr Pierre Cassou-Noguès (Paris)

Apocalypse and Control (Vortrag auf Englisch)

Empty streets constantly filmed by drones and surveillance cameras, an army of soldiers wrapped up in plastic, marching in line and spreading white fumes all around an abandoned mall, what is happening to our cities? Let us pretend we don’t know, and just watch at the images that circulate on social networks. Is it «World War I, or II or something» to quote the words of the former US president? Could it be «World War Z», like the zombie film by Marc Forster? Are we in a zombie film?

I will first discuss the web series Virusland, that I am co-authoring with Gwenola Wagon and which attempts to document moments and aspects of the pandemic through twelve episodes in found footage, remixing viral videos from social networks. I will then wonder about the apocalyptic color of some of the images. They are like a dream which does not reflect the reality of the pandemic. But, in this dream, this nightmare, what are we afraid of? The virus or the technology that it used to fight the virus or both? Is apocalypse absolute chaos or perfect control? These images may be a sort of dream but do we have a way to wake up?

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