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This article has been published in: Ocula 35, Zombesque. Sociosemiotics of a cultural epidemic

author: Lucio Spaziante (Dipartimento delle Arti, Università di Bologna, IT)

The Revenant. Between Survival and Nature

language: italian

abstract: The essay on Alejandro Iñárritu’s The Revenant provides an opportunity to reflect on the theme of life after death, and on the meaning of the relationship between human life and the environment, both with regard to the relationship with other individuals of different ethnicities and identities, but also, according to an environmental ethic. The analysis of the film revealed different paths contained in a western genre film, reinterpreted in a ‘post-revisionist’ key, through a perspective that, at least in part, assumed the indigenous point of view. In the narrative, the value of survival is connected to the strength derived from a widespread spirituality, which can be brought back to our contemporary times, as a set of values based on respect and harmony with the environment, as well as towards different ethnic identities. All this, embedded in an animist mystical vision, linked to an existential and spiritual reflection between life and death, connects this film to the broader genre of tales about revenants and zombies.

citation information: Lucio Spaziante, The Revenant.Un redivivo, tra sopravvivenza e natura, "Ocula", vol.26, n.35, pp.125-140, September 2025. DOI: 10.57576/ocula2025-36

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