Environmental, Natural and Man-Made Disasters Reflected in Kazakh Eco-Documentary Films

Abstract

The subject of this article is “Environmental, Natural and Man-Made Disasters Reflected in the Kazakh Eco-Documentary Films”. The research’s aim is to consider the ecological state of Kazakhstan via the national ecodocumentary. The research is performed on the basis of the national cinema art materials of the Republic of Kazakhstan of the XX–XXI centuries. The set objectives were achieved by using comprehensive research methods: theoretical analysis, visual analysis, SWOT analysis, comparison and collation, film analysis, historical film analysis, analysis and synthesis, abstraction, classification and categorization. Kazakhstan is keeping pace with the world on the environmental crisis, and is waiting to address a number of environmental catastrophe issues. One of the most important topics is the former nuclear test ground, which is located in the city of Semipalatinsk. The next problem is the mismanagement of irrigation projects, which has led to a drop in the level of the Aral Sea, to the point of its disappearance. The shrinkage of the Aral Sea has permanently altered the climate of the area, rendering millions of hectares of land unusable. Air pollution in Kazakhstan is another serious environmental problem. One striking example is the dense smog that covers large megacities like: Astana, Almaty, Semipalatinsk, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Karaganda and other cities. The nature of our country is threatened by human activities, some species of animals such as wild rams, snow leopards, tigers, saigas, fish, birds and various kinds of insects and plants are at risk of extinction. All these local environmental events have their own history and should be presented to the world through the prism of eco-documentary film. Considering all the above-mentioned problems, it can be concluded that the use of cinematographic materials as the basis of this research is indeed relevant, given that cinema has a great impact on the consciousness of both the individual and society as a whole. Through the art of cinema people express their emotions, innermost secrets and desires, cinema is able to respond to the questions raised by the public, while at the same time shaping the outlook and the consciousness of an individual. In this regard cinema gives an opportunity to look at the above-mentioned problems of people from aside, to assess the damage and to give a prognosis of the inevitable damage.