### **The Last Wave: A Mesh of Ecological Thought and [[Indigenous]] Wisdom** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076299/ In Peter Weir's _The Last Wave_, we encounter a haunting narrative that resonates profoundly with ecological [[Philosophy]]. The film offers a glimpse into a world where human and non-human, past and present, converge in an uncanny mesh, much like the interconnectedness of ecological thought. The film follows David Burton, a lawyer in Sydney, who becomes entangled in the mysterious death of an Aboriginal man. As he delves deeper, Burton's rational worldview unravels, exposing him to [[Aboriginal art]], Dreamtime and prophecies of an apocalyptic deluge. Here, Weir presents a potent collision of Western rationalism with indigenous cosmology, emphasising the limits of anthropocentric thought—a theme central to an ecological philosophical inquiry, such as [[Timothy Morton]]'s. _The Last Wave_ could exemplify what he terms "[[dark ecology]]," where the recognition of our enmeshment in the natural world comes with an unsettling, eerie awareness. Burton's journey through the film mirrors this unsettling realisation as he experiences visions and dreams that reveal a deeper, non-linear reality—of "[[Hyperobjects]]" of sorts, entities so massively distributed in time and space that they transcends our conventional understanding. The impending disaster in the film is not just an external event but a manifestation of the intertwined fate of humanity and nature. Weir's narrative technique, combining the mundane with the mystical, mirrors this exploration of how ecological awareness permeates all aspects of existence. The film's use of water as a recurring motif aligns with the fluidity and omnipresence of ecological networks, highlighting water as both a life-giving force and a harbinger of destruction. This duality reflects the complexity and ambiguity inherent in ecological relationships. In _The Last Wave_, the Aboriginal characters embody a profound ecological wisdom, often dismissed or misunderstood by Western characters. This dynamic challenges the anthropocentric and [[Colonialism]] tendencies that marginalise indigenous knowledge systems, emphasising instead their crucial role in understanding and mitigating ecological crises. The film thus serves as a call to embrace a more inclusive and humble perspective, recognizing the voices and wisdom of those who have long understood the delicate balance of the natural world. In conclusion, Peter Weir's _The Last Wave_ illustrates the entanglement of humans within the broader ecological mesh and the necessity of re-evaluating our place within it. The film's haunting beauty and profound narrative invite us to confront the ecological uncanny, urging a reconceptualisation of our relationship with the world and a deeper respect for the wisdom embedded in its oldest cultures.