PROLOGUE

We approach Iceland from above, glimpsing it through the clouds. Steam rises from the barren landscape, draped mostly in black and grey, if not altogether devoid of green. Perpendicular overhead shots form abstract patterns out of the landscape, and the introduction of ice prompts new colour combinations. As we travel over the land through smooth camera movements, lakes and rivers enhance the spectacle before we finally arrive at the powerful and majestic waterfall Dettifoss. One might be inclined to believe that one was watching a tourist promotion of Iceland – albeit an unusually expansive and breathtaking one. But as we travel upstream towards the waterfall from below – lo and behold, a spaceship hovers over it. And walking towards the cliff's edge is an alien in the form of a mythical creature about to give life to humanity.

Most viewers of Ridley Scott's Prometheus (2012) do not see Iceland in the film's prologue, but prehistoric Earth, a landscape signifying universality rather than a specific place. The film's opening exemplifies a particular quality of Icelandic landscape that allows it to stand in for other places, imaginary or real. Nonetheless, Prometheus has much in common with a long tradition of depicting Iceland as an alien and wild location. Steaming geysers, harrowing mountains and icy glaciers prevail over culture and habitat, as few travel to Iceland in search of buildings or other monuments. This otherworldliness helps explain the smooth transition of the Icelandic landscape to Hollywood's fan tastical mise-en-sc ène, in not only Prometheus but numerous recent runaway productions (using offshore location filming for economic and/or scenic reasons).

Although the role of Iceland can vary considerably, it is typically limited to a specific part or scenes in the completed films, and most often stands in for other places. Its nature as a stand-in complicates assumptions of, for example, landscape theory and criticism, in which a picture (painted, photographed or filmed) is usually understood to be a representation of the particular model/ landscape painted or captured. Ecocriticism makes comparable assumptions regarding the relations of location or environment to their filmic representation, although environmental issues are certainly central to runaway productions.