The State of the Grass

In the film ‘The State of the Grass’, the relationship between people and their lawn is observed from the perspective of a hedgehog and a magpie. These people all perform different actions that are necessary to maintain a lawn. Watering and mowing the lawn initially seem to have little impact on the environment and animals in the garden. As the film progresses, the interventions in the garden become more drastic and brutal. What are the goals of these interventions and what will they ultimately yield us? Do we want to have too much control over our natural environment?

Some time ago I read the book Natural (2020) written by Alan Levinovitz. In this book, Levinovitz discusses several examples of what we humans consider ‘natural’ or ‘unnatural’. He wonders how this came about and whether our position is justified. For example, the chapter on vanilla. Vanilla can be found in a huge number of contemporary products. Part of this vanilla comes from the lab, where the substance vanillin is extracted from various other products. Another part of this vanilla comes from the vanilla plant. In this chapter, Levinovitz contrasts chemically-derived vanillin with organically-derived vanilla, with organically-derived vanilla being considered by most people to be more ‘natural’ and therefore better. Levinovitz explains that extracting vanilla from the vanilla plant, however, can only be done by women and children, as they can pollinate the plant with their small hands.

In addition, forests are cut for the vanilla plantations and wars are even waged for the vanilla. The question of whether vanillin, from the lab, would therefore be worse than ‘natural’ vanilla is being discussed.

I had a similar question about grass a year ago. I heard a story some time ago that, in England around 1850, a ‘neat’ lawn was reserved only for the nobility. They had money and time to maintain a lawn and pay a gardener. This made me realize that a lawn (like in our gardens) doesn’t exist at all without human interference. How natural is the grass of a lawn then?

Why I want to make this film is directly related to my concerns as a young inhabitant of this planet about pollution and the changing climate. Since my graduation project in 2020, I have made it a point to devote my films to a question that is crucial for shaping our (human) choices regarding the future: What is our (human) relationship to our natural environment? In my films I want to ask the viewer that question and offer a new perspective on this relationship.

In The Stand of the Grass I shed light on our relationship to grass in our own gardens. The little plant of grass is nature in itself. However, if you pour it into a lawn shape, that is highly debatable. A lawn, as we envision it, must be fertilized, aerated, watered, mowed, trimmed, aerated and so on. If we don’t do anything, the lawn will look more like the wild roadsides in a city, but that’s not what most want in the garden. The grass should be green and neat. Alive and clear. Radiant and monotonous. But what does a ‘grass desert’ or ‘grass tarmac’ mean for a lawn’s environment? And don’t we sometimes go too far?

I want to raise this question by showing the film from the perspective of a hedgehog and a magpie. The hedgehog scurrying low to the ground through the gardens, exploring the man-made world. The magpie looks at people more from above or from a distance and comments on what is happening. By means of camera work and sound design I want the viewer to imagine themselves in the world of these frequently seen garden animals. From these perspectives, human actions and associated devices take on a different meaning. This world of grass that seems so ordinary is put in a different light. With this I want the viewer to reflect on his own behavior or his own actions.

The camera work and sound design are very important for this film. They are intended to take the viewer into a perspective and view that he is not used to. In an observant way we see what people do with their lawn and we catch a conversation here and there.

The hedgehog’s gaze is narrow and inquisitive. Things happen to him as he moves around the garden. From this perspective, we find ourselves among the blades of grass and often see no more than people’s legs. The magpie sits at a safer distance and observes the people and their strange actions. We look from a tree, a fence or sometimes from the ground at the things people do. In the camera work and sound design we have tried to give a representation of the experience of a hedgehog and magpie. This, of course, remains our human interpretation of it.

Exploring these non-human perspectives, which I already did in my graduation film ‘Ich bin der Fluβ’ in which the river Danube was the main character, I find very interesting. I think this research is necessary in the search for a new meaning of the relationship between man and nature. Inspired by the movement ‘The Parliament of Things’, initiated by sociologist and philosopher Bruno Latour, I also try to give voice to voiceless parties. I try to explore how I can tell stories that show something different, and are not accusatory in their tone. My goal is not to correct people. I want people to experience something for themselves that triggers something on a feeling level. It’s a more subtle way in which I can still let my opinion shine through. I think we should be prompted to act from an intrinsic value and not by an outside command. I hope to bring this about with The Stand of the Grass

Rashel van der Schaaf