In this milestone 40th episode, Clare and Masha are discussing the visually-stunning Oscar-winner of 2024, Flow. Despite this animation having no dialogue and minimal explicit narrative, we follow the travels of the Cat and their rag-tag bag of animal companions to see what they might tell us about survival, the climate crisis, found-family, and mutual support between very different characters.
We consider the way in which collaboration and community benefit everyone. We situate the mythical circumstances of the film within a real-life crisis of rising sea-levels and extreme weather phenomena, from both our usual anthropocentric standpoint and the impact on flora and fauna.
We follow the Cat's arc, as they become more resourceful and courageous, and learn the benefit of having others in their lives. We look at the Capybara as a symbol of generosity and the Lemur as representative of consumerism. We explore the Dog's journey away from the group-think of the Dog Pack, considering the true nature of friendship. And we pick at the strands of spiritual and religious narrative that seem to underpin the depiction of the Secretary Bird.
Flow is far from being allegorical and even defies some metaphorical interpretation. If you have your own ideas as to how we might learn from this film, please let us know your thoughts via our website and social media, and don't forget to rate and review if you enjoy this episode!
