Beyond the spectacle: everyday witnessing for we that are here

In this paper, I reflect on the experience of the Australian summer bushfires of 2019/2020 and the different ways forms of media reporting amplified its affects. Across broadcast media, local response, social media and personal account, I chart alternate stories during and after the event-as-spectacle. Taking into account the socio-political climate, the climatic atmosphere and the ongoing anxiety after the fires, I consider the use of apocalyptic words alongside the repetitive pairing of affective images to question what these might reveal about ourselves. Through the lens of affect attention is drawn to the many interacting conditions and forces that coalesce and gather as attachments, ideas, or assumptions and how these might influence perceptions of the event and actions in the aftermath of fire threat. Woven into the paper is my personal writing alongside details drawn from select Instagram accounts recording the everyday labours of caring for a place during and after the fires. As a counter-narrative to obliteration and all things lost, these missives disclose a different understanding of the event, long after the news media has moved on. For the authors and followers alike, lessons are revealed through attention to the land and hope in the processes of everyday encounters.

Automated summary

This paper reflects on the Australian summer bushfires of 2019/2020 and how different forms of media reporting amplified its effects. It explores the use of apocalyptic words and affective images to question what they reveal about us. The paper also examines the socio-political climate, the climatic atmosphere, and the ongoing anxiety after the fires, as well as the lessons revealed through attention to the land and everyday encounters.