PhilosophySciencePsychologySocietyCulture
EssaysVideos

Popular

About
DONATENEWSLETTER
/
/
Aeon
DONATE/NEWSLETTER/
/

    On the run from the electromagnetic fields of everyday technology

    With the ever-expanding prevalence of electromagnetic field-emitting technological devices, including mobile phones, video screens and Wi-Fi transmitters, a growing number of people claim to be experiencing electromagnetic hypersensitivity (EHS), essentially an allergic reaction to electromagnetic waves. Though studies have shown no discernible connection between electromagnetic fields and the supposed effects of EHS, the symptoms themselves are very real, leading some self-diagnosed EHS sufferers to seek out ‘quiet zones’, refuges free of what they think is causing them physical and psychological distress. Quiet Zone, by the Canadian filmmakers David Bryant and Karl Lemieux, is an impressionistic short film that seeks to convey the experiences of these ‘wave refugees’ as they retreat from modern technology and its electromagnetic aura.

    Directors: David Bryant, Karl Lemieux

    Producer: Julie Roy

    Presented by the National Film Board of Canada

    6 October 2016
    Two people standing barefoot on grass. Only their lower bodies are visible, with hills and trees in the background.

    videoTechnology and the self

    Greetings from Green Bank – the small town where modern technology is banned

    10 minutes

    Silhouette of a head with an abstract drawing of a face in motion with white lines overlaid.

    videoMental health

    The dark side of ego loss – what it’s like to disappear into depersonalisation

    9 minutes

    Monochrome photo of concentric circular patterns resembling sound waves or ripples viewed from above forming a deep central hole.

    videoEarth science and climate

    Magnetic and majestic: visualising the powerful storms hidden from human view

    5 minutes

    Yellow warning sign with a black palm tree bent over in strong wind, signifying severe weather or wind conditions.

    videoInformation and communication

    An animation built from road signs is a whirlwind study of flash communication

    2 minutes

    A person uses a phone with cartoon faces in the background representing online interactions.

    videoSocial psychology

    Social contagions can cause genuine illness, and TikTok may be a superspreader

    10 minutes

    Photo split into two halves: left shows a hand holding an orange balloon, right shows an open hand against a plain white wall.

    videoConsciousness and altered states

    What happens when you start paying close attention to everyday sensory experience?

    6 minutes

    Abstract digital painting with swirling, overlapping strokes in grey, white, and black, with hints of orange and blue lines on a light background.

    videoQuantum theory

    ‘Moving paintings’ evoke a quantum particle collision at the Large Hadron Collider

    4 minutes

    A misty forest reflected in a still pond, with greenery and moss-covered trees, creating a serene, peaceful atmosphere.

    videoNature and landscape

    Preventing the all-consuming sound pollution of modern life starts with listening to nature

    10 minutes

    Abstract colourful image resembling fireworks with pink, red, blue, and green bursts on a dark background.

    videoFilm and visual culture

    A Palme d’Or-winning animation toys with the way our eyes perceive light

    5 minutes