The plane: Materiality, air, and environmental-health “heterotopia”

Abstract

This article explores the materiality of the airplane, working at the intersection of the environment and health. Via its ambiguous relationship with air—existing and functioning within it while also polluting it—the plane is an object that invades and engages with ecologies. The article proposes conceiving of the plane as a material object that creates environmental-health “heterotopias”—a concept borrowed from Michel Foucault—generating pollution via emissions and pathogens. It investigates the value of viewing the plane in this way in the era of environmental and health crises. Exploring interactions and relationships between pilots, air crew, passengers, and civilians on the one hand, and the plane on the other, the article unveils how the meaning of the plane is constructed. To illustrate the idea of the plane as a distinct “heterotopia”, this article refers to Jean-François Richet’s action thriller film Plane (2023).