Quacking in the Anthropocene: Ecocide and Climate Change in Kate Beaton’s Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands

Abstract

In recent years, the graphic narrative medium has emerged as a potent site for interrogating the complexities of human-nature relations in the context of the Anthropocene epoch. With its unique fusion of visual and textual elements, this medium, transcends the boundaries of traditional storytelling, seamlessly merging artistry with activisms to illuminate the pressing societal concerns of our times. This research paper delves deep into the ecological dimensions of Kate Beaton’s graphic memoir1 Ducks: Two Years in the Oil Sands situated at the confluence of climate change discourse, eco-horror and the emerging discourse on ecocide, an intentional or systematic destruction of ecosystems driven by extractivist economies. Beaton’s portrayal of the Alberta oil-sands as a grotesque, polluted wasteland epitomizes the genre’s capacity to evoke a visceral response to the climate crisis. Her depiction of oil sands workers’ precarious conditions and the pervasive environmental destruction they encounter again reminds us of the discourse on the Anthropocene, highlighting the intersectionality of labour, exploitation, and environmental harm. As Rob Nixon posits in Slow Violence and the Environmentalism of the Poor, the Anthropocene is characterized by “slow violence” and “…it is those people lacking resources who are the principal casualties…” (4). This paper argues that Ducks transcends mere documentation of environmental and human injustices by interrogating the systemic structures that sustain ecocide and ecological amnesia2. The memoir situates individual and collective trauma within broader Anthropocene narratives, challenging readers to reckon with the ethical implications of extractivism and the commodification of nature. While celebrating the aesthetic and thematic innovations of Beaton’s work, this research also interrogates potential limitations in its narrative strategies, addressing the interplay between personal testimony and structural critique. By critically analysing the ecological, ethical and political dimensions of Ducks within the framework of ecocide and eco-horror, this paper contributes to the growing body of scholarship on graphic narratives as potent tools for eco-critical inquiry into the Anthropocene.