Society of the Snow

In Episode 24 of Dystopian Fiction Has Been Moved to Current Affairs, Clare Coombe and Masha Yakovleva are discussing Society of the Snow [La Sociedad de la Nieve], the 2023 film dramatizing the events of the Uruguayan plane crash of 1972 and the subsequent survival of 18 victims in the Andes. We also make comparisons with the 1993 film Alive.

Our themes include surviving in inhospitable landscapes, including reliance on anthropophagy, the consumption of the flesh of the dead. We discuss the responsibilities of rescue services and the survival strategies of the individuals.

We talk about human resilience, teamwork, friendship between men, and mutual support in the face of extreme trauma. We also consider the role of faith and religion in the survival of the crash victims.

We discuss the ethics of survival and wider attitudes to anthropophagy, colonialist impact on the taboo of cannibalism, and the rights of the dead, with particular focus on the place of consent in the case of the deceased.

If you enjoy this episode, please do follow us on Instagram and subscribe to our fortnightly Substack newsletter.