INTERNATIONAL UNION OF ANTHROPOLOGICAL AND ETHNOLOGICAL SCIENCESUNION INTF RNATIONALE DES SCIENCES ANTHROPOLOGIQUES ET ETHNOLOGIQUES

C O M M I S S I O N ON VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

COMMISS ION D'ANTHROPOLOGIE VISUELLE

CVA REVIEWBULLETIN D'INFORMATION

published by / pub.ié parCommission on Visual AnthropologyCommission d'anthropologie visuelleDépartement d'anthropologieUniversité de MontréalC.P. 6128, succursale AMontréal (Québec) CanadaH3C 3.17

with the collaboration /avec la collaborationMusée de la civilisation85. rue DalhousieC P. 155, succursale BQuébec (Québec) CanadaGIK 7A6

Our Review is distributed free of charge. The Commission has no funding. In view of this, we wouldwelcome donations from our American and European colleagues. A contribution of $10 will enableus to send the Review to three new institutions to the Third World. Your donations will strengthenour commitment to the promotion of visual anthropology activities in developing countries.

Ce bulletin d'information est distribué gratuitement. La Commission ne reçoit aucun subside régu-lier. Dans ce contexte, nous acceptons volontiers des dons de nos collègues américains et européens.Une contribution de $IO nous permettrait de faire parvenir ce bulletin i1 trois nouvelles institutionsdans le Tiers-Monde. Votre don encouragerait notre engagement envers la promotion des activitésd'anthropologie visuelle dans tes pays en voie de développement.

Printemps/Spring 1990

CVA REVIEW SPRING 1990

LETTERS

ARTICLES

Andrée GE1 IDRE4U

Terence TURNER

John P. HOMIAK

Kathleen KUEt MAST

Robert GORDON

Wilton MARTINEZ

L'Audiovisuel au Musée de la civilisation

Visual Media, Cultural Politics, and Anthropological Practice: SomeImplications of Recent Uses of Film and Video Among th Kayapo of Brazil

The Anthropological Visualization of Haiti: Reflections on the Finis ofMelville Hensknvits and Maya Deren

Gender Representation in Visual Ethnographies: an Interpretivist Perspective

People of the Great Sandface: People of the Great White Lie?

Critical Studies and Visual Anthropology: Aberrant vs. Anticipated Readingsof Ethnographic Film

CONCLUDING REMARKS ON PAST MEETINGS

Paolo CliioZZI V i s u a l Anthropology in Ethnographic Museums

Valérie F}?sa-iET

Leslle DEVFRP.AUx

Nash) KRIZNAR

Brian LARKIN

Wendy L IGH ONKaron VEXED

L'Audiovisuel en anthropologic: le deuxième atelier international de Is VieilleCharité ;t Marseille

F ib and the Humanities 1989, Confetenor Report Film and Representationsof Culture

Visual Documentation and the Commentary

Margaret Mead Film Festival

1989 AAA Visual Pre-Conference Review

UPCOMING MEETINGS

WORLD NEWS AND REPORTS

PUBLICATIONS

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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The CVA REVIEW is published by:Commission d'anthropologie visuelle / Commission on Visual AnthropologyUniversité de Montréal, Département d'anthropologieC.P. 6128, Succursale A, Montréal (Qué.) H3C 317, Canada

Tel: (514) 343-6565 (514) 273-7422 Fax: (514) 343-2494

Submissions of articles, reports, news items, reviews and announcements, should be sent to the address above.

Editor. Asen Balikci Production: Anna Balikei Assistant Editor. Sara Amato I S S N : 0839-3605

TextTextAsen BALKIPaul HOCKINGSR. BOONZA.JER FLAES

LEITERS

A LEITER FROM ASEN BALIKCI

chairman,Commission on Visual Anthropology

We hope our readers will excuse theCommission for the late publication of thisSpring issue. Unexpected circumstances haveled to a change in sponsorship. Followingrecent budget constraints and an expectedadministrative restructuring, the CanadianMuseum o f Civilization was obliged tointerrupt its subsidy to our Commission. Wewould like to thank Dr. George MacDonald,Director of the Canadian Museum for his helpin the past and his keen interest in theCommission's activities. T h e CanadianMuseum is a highly innovative institutionwhich, in the future, intends to devote aconsiderable part of its substantial resources toaudiovisual presentations. We sincerely hopethat visual anthropology activities will be giventheir due place.

Our new sponsor is the Musée de lacivilisation in Québec. I t is also a recentlyestablished institution, seriously interested inthe intelligent application o f v i s u a lanthropology methods and techniques, both onthe museum premises and in a variety o foutreach programs. There are, many othermuseums devoted to cultural history whichhave expressed a willingness to establish closelinks with visual anthropology. ProfessorPaolo Chiozzi's report in this issue is atestimony to this growing trend.

The first article in this issue describesthe various exhibits and activities of the QuebecMuseum and the way they are related toaudiovisual presentations. Terence Turnerpresents a vivid account of his involvement inthe production of two television films amongthe Kayapo. The following two articles share asimilar interest in the ideological context ofethnographic f i lm production. H o m i a kanalyses footage shot by M. Herskovits andMaya Delen in Haiti in the 30's and 40's withthe aim t o assess their place i n t he"anthropological visualization' of that country.Kuehnast's contribution i s on genderrepresentation in visual ethnographies with an

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interesting statement on Melissa Llewelyn-Davies' rendering of Maasai women.

It is our intention to seriously considerthe publication of special issues of our Reviewdevoted to single themes of wider significance.Visual anthropologists in any part of the worldwho may be potentially interested to becomeguest editors o f monothematic issues areinvited t o submit the i r plans t o theCommission's Montreal office.

We are pleased to announce the electionof Dr. Paul Hockings as the new editor of thejournal Visual A n t h r o p o l o g y. T h eCommission on Visual Anthropology is theacademic sponsor of the journal, founded byDr. Jay Ruby and published by HarwoodAcademic Publishers. O n behalf of theCommission I would like to thank Dr. Rubyfor his enlightened contribution. Dr. Hockingsis well known to all of us for his classiccompendium Pr inc ip les o f V i s u a lAnthropology. Visual anthropology i sgrowing very rapidly, many talented youngprofessionals in several parts of the world areengaged in research or production projects ofconsiderable originality. I n this favorablecontext we believe Dr. Hockings will provideour profession with the necessary intellectualleadership. We wish Dr. Hockings good luckin his new endeavor. W e invi te theCommission's members and correspondents toencourage and actively help the new editor.

In the context o f t h e I U A E Slntecwligress in Lisbon, Portugal, September5th - 12th, 1990, the Commission on VisualAnthropology is organizing a seminar mainlydevoted to the many issues related t oAnthropology on the Air. T h e seminarorganizer is Dr. Robert Boonzajer-Flaes fromAmsterdam University (see announcement inthis issue). I t is expected that our seminar willbe well attended and that it will provide thesetting for discussing the past accomplishmentsand future activities o f our Commission.Several new projects have been suggested bymembers: the organizing by the Commissionof an international ethnographic film festivalwith substantial representation from ThirdWorld countries; an international seminar on"cultural copyright' implying the control by

indigenous communities o f data locallyassembled, training workshops for ThirdWorld ethnographers as video makers, etc.

We hope that all those attending theLisbon seminar will also participate in theSecond International Festival of EthnographicFilm organized by the Royal AnthropologicalInstitute and the Granada Center for VisualAnthropology at Manchester University. Thefestival will be held in Manchester, September24th - 29th, 1990 (see announcement in thisissue) The Sir Denis Forman Lecture will bedelivered by Dr. Peter Loizos (London Schoolof Economics).

A LETTER FROM PAUL HOCKINGSProfessor, Department of Anthropology

University of Illinois at Chicago

Dear Asen,May I take a line space to tell your

readers that I have been appointed the nexteditor of the international journal VisualAnthropology, beginning in January, 1991.Many of them will probably be already familiarwith me as the editor of Principles of VisualAnthropoloty (1975).

The international credentials of thisjournal have already been well established byits first editor, Jay Ruby, and by the continuingsponsorship of the Commission on VisualAnthropology (International Union o fAnthropological and Ethnological Science)plan no serious changes in the policy or formatof the journal, but will seek to develop furtherour intellectual tics around the world. To thisend I want to take this present opportunity ofstating that I am interested in seeing high-quality articles from any visual anthropologistanywhere, and these do not necessarily have tobe in English. I will certainly consider thepublication of articles that are sent in French,Spanish or German, although in most casestranslation into English would becomenecessary for publication A s always, a fairlybroad definition of "visual anthropologist- iscalled for, and it can well include filmmakers,art historians, sociologists and psychologiststoo.

Although the journal is published in theUnited States (by Harwood Academic

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Publishers), I hope t o make an e a r l yappointment of a book review editor in Europeso that we shall have one foot solidly on thatside of the Atlantic.

A LETTER FROMROBERT BOONZAJER FLAES

Director of the Center of Visual AnthropologyUniversity of Amsterdam

Dear Asen,Hectic developments at the University

of Amsterdam - bu t never a dull moment.This about summarizes the situation at ourCenter for Visual Anthropology

We are proud that the Eves Across theWater conference proceedings (Amsterdam,Summer 1989) have come out in the form of abook With financial support from the DutchAcademy of Sciences, the International VisualSociology Association and the University ofSouthern California, it is a true internationalcooperative effort, and I am confident that itwill find its way. Due to the fact that theconference was so well attended, the bookreflects the most current trends in visual studiesat the close o f the eighties. T h e idea tocombine current trends in visual anthropologyand sociology is by no means new o rrevolutionary, but for us it took producing thisbook to realize how close we in fact arc, andhow br ight the prospects f o r f u r the rcooperative efforts could be T h e book hasalmost sold out, but a limited number of copiesarc still available through the Publisher HetSpinhuis, c/o o u r Center f o r VisualAnthropology at the University of Amsterdam

The prospects f o r t h e fu r therdevelopment of visual studies at this Universityappear to be reasonably good Endeavors areunderway t o create a Media StudiesDepartment, where both film making and visualanalysis would be combined at the MA level I tis a cooperative effort between the FilmAcademy - in Holland, a separate vocationalschool - and the University. The relationshipof our Center for Visual Anthropology withthis new department is not yet clear, but sincewe arc at present the only collectivity at thisUniversity with any experience in what couldbe loosely termed Practical Visuals 1 have nodoubt that the effect will be beneficial

After the Margaret Mead Festival(where our production Thinking is Useless wasshown to an often bewildered audience) I paida working visit to the Center for VisualAnthropology in Los Angeles. I was quiteoverwhelmed by the impact and quality of ananthropological institute dedicated in its entiretyto visual media. I was especially impressedwith the way students are working as juniorcolleagues rather than as pupils; I, at least,considered it a refreshing experience. This, nodoubt, is to a certain extent, a question of funds- compared to USC standards a DutchUniversity is a pauper's place - still, theremust be more to it than the dollar. Most of thetechnical training takes place at the film schoolin the form of film assignments, with more orless good results. On the one hand, there isgreat potential in providing professionalguidance and gaining access to superbequipment, on the other hand, there exists arather large gap between the theory ofanthropological film making and actual filmingassignments. A t the Amsterdam Center bothaspects are integrated - partly because we haveno access to the expertise and equipment of thefilm school, also because we concentrate somuch on carrying out interviews and combinedvideo/research projects. A film schoolapproach - at least as taught in this country -is not something 1 sorely miss.

With the financial backing of theEuropean Economic Community, a delegationfrom our Center had the opportunity to set upan intensive course in Visual Anthropology atthe EHESS at Marseille in January. T h eEHESS is a graduate school apparentlydesignated by the French Government as acenter for visual studies, set in a superblocation at the very heart of old Marseille. Notknowing what to expect Martin Rens, MarySchoenmakers and I based our program on theteaching methods that we use in Amsterdam;not much formal theory, intensive on the spottraining, and a blending of filming and researchinto a collective productive effort. After threedays of technical training in the form ofelementary camera and sound handling thestudents went out to the streets of this area withthe question "What does Marseille mean toyou?'. Tw o days later the question wasrefined and changed to 'What does Le Panier (aspecific area around thc EHESS building) meanto you?'. These open interviews were

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analyzed back a t school for technicaldeficiencies. Students worked on improvingthe style of the interviews. A s could beexpected, the best interviews were made whenthe informants took complete control and thecamera acted as a catalyst rather than arecording device, which was often the case.The final result after ten days of intensiveworkshop was a ten minute interview portraitof the area, called Le Panier. Ten days provedto be enough for everyone to acquire the basicskills in camera and sound handling, and tomake considerable progress in interviewing,interview analysis and project development.Tune was too short, however, to enable us toshare the secrets of the editing process with allof thc students.

Finally, in March and April we hadProfessor Douglas Harper from SUNY as avisiting scholar - as a scholar in residence,rather. Douglas did an intensive seminar onethnophotography and photo elicitation, asubject not taught so far at our Center due to alack o f expertise. I will refrain fromcommenting on it since Douglas will no doubtdo this himself, but as the receiving institution Iwas amazed at the amount of work our ownstudents were apparently able to do. We areendeavoring to start such a project in our nextyear's program as an experimental programwhere elicitation techniques in still photographyand video will be combined.

The Stichting A u d i o v i s u e l eAntropologie Nederland (SAVAN), a littlemore than a year since its inception, managedto organize an ethnographic film festival at theEthnographic Museum in Rotterdam. I t is thefirst such festival in Holland, if my memoryserves me right, and it has received good presscoverage so far. The deadline of the CVAreview precludes an overview of the results,but these will reach you no doubt in time forthe next issue.

I do hope I will see you and many othercolleagues at the IUAES intercongress inLisbon in September. There are still a numberof slots to be filled in the section VisualAnthropology, devoted to all aspects of theoften cumbersome relations between TV andVisual Anthropology, under the tit leAnthropology on the Air.

ARTICLES

L'AUDIOVISUEL AU MUSES DE LACIVILISATION

ParAndrée GEMDREAU

Musée de la civilisationQuébec (Québec), Canada

IntroductionL'inauguration du Musée de l a

civilisation, en octobre 1988, ajoutait au réseaumuséologique québécois un troisième muséed'État. C e dernier-né des grands muséesquébécois bénéficie d'un "momentum" pan-canadien favorable à la muséologie.l C erenouveau d'intérêt pour les musées s'inscritdans une tendance internationale ou plusparticulièrement occidentale. Si les prévisionspessimistes des années soixante q u iprëvoyaient la mort de ces institutions se sontrévélées trop hâtives, n'est-ce pas parce que lesmusées eux-mêmes ont subi une mutation,notamment en s'ouvrant plus largement à unpublic populaire et en embrassant de façon plusgénéreuse le phénomène culturel?

L'émergence d u Musée d e l acivilisation procède de cette évolution,scientifique et sociale. Elle s'intègre dans laremise en question du musée dit traditionnel,qui devait donner lieu à deux formes muséalesnouvelles: l'une fondée sur un élargissementdu champ muséologiquc qui trouve ses racinesdans le développement de la pensée scientifiquecontemporaine, l'autre axée sur la définitiond'une image populaire et sa mise en valeur àpartir d'une territorialité précise ou de thèmesidentitaires.

Comme le souligne si bien AndréDesvallées, ces démarches, si elles ont eutendance ii produire des formes différentes(musée de civilisation, musée territorial, muséed'identité), s'appuient sur la "même conceptionanthropologique du patrimoine, qui n'admetpas de limites, et en particulier les limitesesthétiques qui lui étaient généralement

l Musée canadien des beaux arts àOttawa, M u s e e c a n a d i e n d e scivilisations à Hull, Musee d artcontemporain a Montréal.

imposées. Dans les deux cas, il s'agit de saisirla globalité des témoins patrimoniaux, de lesrecenser, de les étudier et éventuellement de lesmettre en valeur' (Brises, n 10, 1987, p. 5).

Institution québécoise, le Musée de lacivilisation se définit à partir de cette doubletrame scientifique et populaire tout en sedistinguant par un intérêt marqué pour lesrapports interculturels. Nous verrons commentcette double perspective pose des problèmesspécifiques à la muséologie, notamment auniveau de la collection, et comment lesdocuments audiovisuels proposent des voies etsuggèrent des solutions.Un musée de la civilisation

Loin de la génération spontanée,l'émergence du Musée de la civilisationparticipe d e l'évolution scientifiquecontemporaine, e n particulier d urapprochement qu'ont connu certainesdisciplines, notamment l'histoire e tl'anthropologie. Au-delà des débats suscitéspar les différences disciplinaires, la récenteévolution de l'histoire, dite 'nouvelle", quiétablit des rapports inédits avec l'ethnologie etl'anthropologie, prend racine au niveauinstitutionnel dans l'avènement de formesmuséales spécifiques, dont les musées decivilisation qui se distinguent de l'approcheesthétique par un déplacement de l'objet à lathématique. Restituée dans le cadre d'uneproduction sociale et mise en rapport au tempset à la collectivité, l'interprétation du sens s'entrouve donc transformée: d'un faisceau delumière orienté sur l'instant, l'unique ou leprécieux, l'éclairage se diffuse sur l'ensembledans une mise à jour des rapports entreéléments, l'intérêt portant désormais sur le "faitsocial total".

L'institution muséale, dont l'une desfonctions consiste à formaliser dans un autrelangage ces démarches scientifiques, nepouvait que subir une profonde transformationparla récente ouverture des disciplines. De lamise en valeur de l'objet à celle d'uneproblématique, d'un thème ou d'un discours,l'espace à franchir est vaste. I l exige nonseulement une modification de la penséemuséologique mais également celle del'organisation interne institutionnelle.

L'illustration des idées'It even happens frequently i n

anthropological collections that a vast field ofthought may be expressed by a single object orby no object whatever, because that particularaspect of life may consist of ideas only' (Boas,F., Science 1907). Cette réflexion de Boasnous permet cependant de réaliser que si lesmusées de la civilisation ont à faire face à uneproblématique particulière, celle-ci n'est pastotalement nouvelle. L e problème d el'illustration des idées, déjà reconnu et discutéau début du siècle, fait ressortir l'importancedu rapport sujet/objet. Alors qu'un muséetraditionnel fonde son existence sur lacollection, un musée de la civilisation, sans lanégliger, renverse le rapport sujet/objet, cedernier se faisant serviteur de l'idée, illustrantle fait social et en témoignant Cette conceptionde l'objet subordonné au sujet, marque defaçon très nette la pratique et l'organisation deces derniers. La recherche et la conservationsont des secteurs névralgiques à cet égard carc'est à eux que revient souvent la tâche denégocier le rapport entre les processusscientifiques et créatifs d'une part, entre lesconcepts et leur matérialisation d'autre part.L'audiovisuel est alors d'un intérêt certain.L'apport de I'audiovisuel au musée

Inutile de rappeler l'importance du filmethnographique et son apport à l'anthropologie,d'autres l'ont très bien fait avant nous (Balikci,I985; Piault, 1985), mais on peut imaginer quele contexte de la muséologie contemporaine faitface à une problématique voisine de celle desanthropologues. Devant l'obligation detraduire en un autre langage des faits ou desdonnées scientifiques, l'image sert dedocument d'appui, d'illustration du texte écritou encore d'instrument de diffusion et devulgarisation. Q u i plus est, le documentaudiovisuel, de par sa complexité, permetl'observation systématique de multiplesdonnées en interaction Pensons à Bateson etaux travaux de l'école de Palo Alto. E nmuséologie, le document audiovisuel est utiliséà des fuis relativement semblables 1 )document d'appui, il démontre, rappelle ouillustre, 2) instrument de diffusion, il permetau public d'accéder à des thématiquescomplexes souvent difficiles à rendre par lesoutils classiques de l'exposition; 3) outil decréation, il présente une dimension esthétique,4) instrument de recherche, il dépasse les fins

de l'exposition pour constituer la base deréflexions à long terme; 5 ) documentd'archive, il complète les collections et fournitdes informations permettant de pousserl'analyse des objets dans leurs fonctionssymboliques.La pratique audiovisuelle du musée

La pratique audiovisuelle s'estadroitement insinuée dans toutes les activitésmuséologiques. Des expositions aux activitésculturelles, en passant par les collections,l'audiovisuel est présent partout.

Si on fait usage de l'audiovisuel pourdiverses fonctions et selon des perspectivesvariées, on peut tout de même percevoir desprofils d'utilisation selon les grands domainesd'intervention. Ainsi, à un extiêxue du spectremuséologique, la conservation utilise latechnique audiovisuelle pour documenter sacollection et l'ouvrir à des problématiquescontemporaines; à l'autre extrémité, le champdes activités culturelles (spectacles,conférences, cinéma, etc.) ajoute à un éventaillarge et coloré de productions audiovisuelles defactures externes sa propre part de création.Par ailleurs, dans les expositions, c'est surtoutl'aspect communication du médium audiovisuelqui retient l'attention. L'utilisation en est alorsvariée et se manifeste sous plusieurs formes:commentaire, création d'environnement,documentation.Communication et audiovisuelCommentaire

En même temps qu'elles réduisent lespossibilités du médium audiovisuel lescontraintes d'espace-temps de l'expositionappellent des formes originales d'utilisation dece médium. L'audiovisuel s'intègre ainsi dediverses façons à une exposition. Sa force decommunication et de rétention de l'attention dupublic permet en effet de commenterl'exposition de façon simple et agréableDifférente de l'écriture qui rebute certains typesde visiteurs, l'audiovisuel attire. Cettetechnique permet donc de présenter ou de fairela synthèse de l'exposition en fournissant desrenseignements complémentaires. Dans cescas, les documents audiovisuels sontgénéralement présentés dans un endroitréservé, un peu à l'écart du mouvement desfoules, soit à l'entrée ou à la sortie de la salle,bien que cela ne soit pas une règle. Cet endroitest également prévu comme une aire de détenteet de repos ou il est possible de s'asseoir. Ces

commentaires se retrouvent souvent dans lesmusées d'art, ils agissent alors un peu commele catalogue qui poursuit la réflexion tout enpermettant au conservateur de respecterl'espace traditionnel de la salle d'exposition.Au Musée de la civilisation, le commentaireaudiovisuel, tout en demeurant aux marges del'exposition, possède un aspect didactique quisert à contextualiser l'événement. C'était decette manière que l'audiovisuel a été utilisédans les expositions Turquie, splendeurs descivilisations anatoliennes' et "Architectures duXXe siècle au Québec'.Création d'environnement

Au contraire, l 'env i ronnementaudiovisuel créé dans des expositions commeToundra Taiga, se veut moins informatifmais plus d'atmosphère. Dans cette expositionqui présentait des peuples nordiquescircumpolaires d'U.R.S.S. et du Canada, desimages de la vie quotidienne de ces peuplesétaient projetées le long des murs qu idélimitaient la salle. L a vision éclatée devisages, d'objets, de scènes étrangères quiapparaissait alors dans un jeu de lumière et desonorité avait pour effet d'enclore le visiteurdans un espace privilégié, de le soustraire pourun instant au monde connu, de le dépayser touten fermant épistémologiquement le l ieud'appréhension du spectateur

L'intention était alors bien loin d el'information. L e médium audiovisuelintervenait dans t'exposition. I l en créait leslimites et les ouvertures. I l agissait commeélément cristallisateur et mobilisateur. Que cetype d'utilisation puisse être plus contesté quele premier, nous n'en doutons pas car, pouragir efficacement, il doit posséder une formeprovocatrice qui pourrait être employée à tort.Une certaine prudence doit donc être observéeen même temps qu'une réserve. L'abus de cesystème pourrait en distiller l'effet.Documentation

L'approche documentaire est for trépandue, en particulier dans les musées descience. A la différence du commentairegénéral sur l'exposition ou sur son contexte,l'utilisation d e l 'audiovisuel commedocumentation est la plupart du temps réduite àun sujet ou à un aspect de l'exposition. Aussi,elle s'intègre tris bien au scénario et peut mêmeconstituer un module en lui-même. Plusieursexpositions ont utilisé cette approche. Dansl'exposition Famille, on pouvait voir et

entendre des scènes de téléromans québécoisqui traduisaient la transformation familialesubie depuis l'avènement de la télévision. DuCylindre a u L a s e r, exposition s u rl'évolution de l'enregistrement du son,présentait des personnages assis dans leursalon ou leur boudoir en train de visionner desspectacles de variétés. On pourrait allonger laliste des exemples mais ce serait sans doutesuperflu. On aura compris que l'audiovisuelest alors utilleA pour sa qualité démonstrative.Il prend la place d 'un objet ou d'uneexplication. I l existe en tant qu'artefact et encela il est parfaitement intégré à l'expositionqu'il contribue à créer.De l'utilisation il la créationEngranger la culture

On a déjà dit que le champ des activitésculturelles débordait de l'utilisation pure etsimple des outils audiovisuels pour pénétrerdans la création et la recherche. Bien au-delàdes soirées de cinéma qui, soit dit en passant,attirent un public connaisseur et intéressé, lesactivités culturelles dont l'un des mandatsconsiste dans l'élargissement et le support desexpositions, ont mis au point plusieursexpériences à retenir pour développer le champd'exploration des diverses ethnies du Musée.

Dans le cadre de l'exposition Famille,des enfants de milieux divers ont été accueillisau Musée pour un week-end, et ont discutéavec le concours d'une animatrice de télévisionfort aimée des jeunes de ce qu'est la famillecontemporaine et des plaisirs et difficultésqu'ils éprouvent dans cette famille. C e srencontres, conservées comme archives, ontété saisies sur pellicules et présentées auxparents qui ont manifesté, dans plusieurs descas, un étonnement vis-à-vis des propos deleur enfant et ont ainsi pu engager un nouveaudialogue. A la demande d e plusieursinstitutions collégiales, ces documents circulentet sont étudiés dans le cadre de cours sur lafamille.

Une deuxième activité a découlé de ceprojet. Le Musée, concepteur du projet, et unréalisateur de cinéma ont décidé de poursuivrecet échange avec une douzaine d'enfants quiseront conviés annuellement à venir raconter cequi se passe dans leur vie, et ce, jusqu'en l'an2000. I I sera donné de voir l'évolution desdouze jeunes de 1989 au nouveau millénaire,ou comment ils aborderont l'âge adulte. Uneautre expérience du même type a été tentée pour

compléter une exposition sur la culturequébécoise, intitulée Mémoires. Des aïeulscette fois sont interrogés par leurs petits-enfants dans certains cas, par un animateurdans d'autres. Ces témoignages sont ensuitediffusés au public en après-midi ou en soirée.L'intérêt de ces témoignages n'est pas l'uniqueenjeu de cette expérience. Sans être un alibi, leMusée visait une fin plus large que le simplesupport d'une exposition, fut-elle permanentecomme c'est le cas pour Mémoi res .L'impression sur vidéo de ces témoignagesavait également pour but de faire prendreconscience aux personnes âgées de la valeur deleur expérience. L'expérience étant d'autantplus audacieuse, que les entretiens se faisaientdevant le public, un public qui devenait témoin.Ces captations ont toujours été suivies detémoignages avec l'auditoire qu i sereconnaissait, en découvrant une autre époque,d'autres valeurs. O r la matérialisation deshistoires de vie dans un médium audiovisuel etsa diffusion au public sont effectivementressenties par ces aieuls comme un élément detransmission culturel. Pour reprendre certainesaffirmations, ils lèguent ainsi leur 'héritage'.N'est-ce pas là l'une des fonctions d'unmusée, recevoir l'héritage? Boas aurait peut-être apprécié vivre en ce temps de technique...Créer la culture

Même sans être un musée d'art, on nepourrait passer outre la création esthétique.L'esthétique, sinon l'art, ne fait-elle pas partieintégrante de toutes les cultures? Comme suiteà une exposition traitant du thème de Noël oùl'on avait invité quelques artistes à créer unepièce sur la signification actuelle de la fête de lanativité, un vidéo a été produit mettant en scèneoeuvres et artistes. Loin du documentaire, cevidéo est apparu comme une oeuvre en soit.Oeuvre qui a d'ailleurs mérité un prix àl'auteur.

D'autres tentatives ont été réalisées. LeMusée a également enregistré un spectacle dedanse spécialement créé pour Ies fêtesd'ouverture sur le thème et lieu d'une sculptureornant son hall d'entrée. Cette création, perçuecomme novatrice, continue de circuler auQuébec dans les lieux culturels.Comprendre la culture

Un autre aspect de l a pratiqueaudiovisuelle au Musée peut se résumer dans lesouci de conserver des documents de base quifourniront les outils d'analyse de la culture

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matérielle contemporaine. On sait depuis lesétudes de Bourdieu (1985) chez les Kabyles etde tant d'autres anthropologues, l'importancedu contexte et de l'organisation symbolique desobjets entre eux pour la compréhension de laculture. On dira que la distance permettait desaisir des différences difficiles à percevoir cheznous. Bien sûr. Mais d'autres expériences ontdémontré q u e dans n o s sociétéscontemporaines un phénomène identique estobservable; Edward T. Hall (1966) enparticulier a très bien démontré commentl'environnement quotidien pouvait être lié à laculture et à l'idéologie. Des phénomènessemblables ont aussi été observés dans certainsmusées. Ainsi, la disposition d'objets dansune exposition peut choquer certainespersonnes plus sensibles à la tradition ou plusprès de: par exemple, au Musée des arts ettraditions populaires à Paris, on a dû faireface à certaines difficultés avec des objets demagie qui, selon le donateur, s'interposaientavec d'autres objets. On a finalement modifiéla disposition de l'ensemble. Les objets deculte et les objets d'art peuvent aussi se poserdans une problématique semblable. I l en estainsi dans nos environnements quotidiens;lorsque nous jetons un regard sur les récentesannées, U est facile d'observer que des modesde vie, pratiqués aujourd'hui, auraient étéimpensables hier. L'audiovisuel peut permettreainsi de restituer les façons d'être dans leurcontexte culturel et idéologique. Pour unmusée ayant comme mandat de tenir compte dela culture contemporaine, le problème est Ioind'être résolu. L'utilisation de la techniqueaudiovisuelle permet cependant d'espérerdépasser le problème car on peut par elle saisirun environnement et même enregistrer destémoignages sur l'organisation de cesensembles tant dans leur aspect matériel queplus culturel en remettant à plus tard uneanalyse plus fine de ces systèmes et de leurinteraction. Une telle expérimentation a étéréalisée au moment où un coiffeur pourhomme, d'origine italienne et fort connu dumilieu politique, intellectuel et d'affaires de laville de Québec, a fermé son cabinet et l'aoffert au Musée. Un vidéo a alors permis deconserver sur pellicule l'intégrité de l'ensembleet son agencement alors que le propriétairecommentait les objets et sa pratique qui,répétons-le, était reconnue comme une'institution'.

ConclusionLe Musée de ta civilisation est une

institution jeune et ne peut se poser enexemple, mais la jeunesse donne peut-etre pourquelque temps des ailes qu'il faut déployer.Nous n'avons pas encore à notre curriculum degrandes expéditions où les chercheurs,anthropologues, archéologues ou autres, sontaccompagnés d'une équipe de cameramen et deconservateurs comme certains musées le font.Il n'est non plus pas évident que nouspuissions ou voulions jamais le faire.

On peut observer cependant quel'audiovisuel, non seulement nous permet defaire état des conditions matérielles de la culturemais surtout de rendre matérielles des idées.

Pour l e moment, l a p r a t i q u eaudiovisuelle tend à s'intégrer à l'ensemble denos activités et à y apporter des élémentsspécifiques qui seront sans doute un apport à lamuséologie. L e s quelques cas de figureillustres dans ce texte n'épuisent cependant pasla pratique du Musée de ta civilisation duQuébec à l'égard de l'audiovisuel. D'autresexpositions y ont eu recours, telles queMémoires , E l e c t r i q u c , l 'Homme oiseau.Ces exemples, nous semble-t-il, ne feraientqu'ajouter cependant aux différents corridorsde pratique tracés ci-dessus. L'audiovisuel estainsi perçu comme un outil, un instrument quis'allie à tous les aspects de la muséologie, tanttechniques que scientifiques ou artistiques_Médium contemporain, il contribue à créer unemuséologie actuelle.

BibliographieBALIKC, Asen. "Themes du cinéma ethnographique"

in Museum, 145' UNESCO, 1985, pp. 16 25BOAS, 1 . ' S o m e prrncepiles o f m u s e u m

administration', .n Science, n" 64, avril 1907,New 1 ork, pp 921 333

BOURDIEU, Pierre " L a maison renversée", i nSociologie de 'Algene 7e édition - P I F,1985.

HALL, Edward T. The hidden dimension, Garden city(New York), Doubleday, 1966.

PIAF LT, Marc. "Anthropologie e t . inéma" i nEncyclopedia Universalis, Symposium"l esenieux",1985, pp 442-449.

VISUAL M E D I A , CULTURAL POLITICS,AND ANTHROPOLOGICAL PRACTICE

SOME IMPLICATIONS OF RECENT USESOF F I L M A N D VIDEO

AMONG THE ICAYAPO OF BRAZIL

byTerence TURNER

Department of Anthropology, University ofChicago

and Latin American Studies Center,Cornell University

The Kayapo, a Go-speaking people ofCentral Brazil, have become widely known inthe last few years for their remarkably bold andsuccessful actions in defense of their lands,rights and environment (Turner 1987, 1989a,1989b, 1989e, 1989d, n.d.1, n.d.2, n.d.3).Audio visual media have played a central rolein these actions, not only in the usual forms offilm, video and television coverage b yBrazilian and foreign crews, but also in that ofvideo coverage by the Kayapo themselvesusing their own audio cassette recorders andvideo cameras. I n this paper I discuss someimplications o f these uses of audio-visualmedia both for Kayapo culture and politics andfor anthropological theory and practice.

The Kayapo presently are divided intofourteen, autonomous communities scatteredover an area roughly the size of Great Britain.One of these communities, Gorotire, madepeaceful contact with Brazilians fifty years ago;most of the others established peacefulrelations during the 1950's. The rust couple ofdecades of peaceful coexistence with Braziliansociety brought the Kayapo the same array ofcatastrophes suffered by other Amazonianpeoples under the same circumstances.Epidemics carried off a significant percentageof their population, large areas o f theirtraditional lands were seized either by the stateor private agents, and they were reduced todependence on representatives of the aliendominant society for a variety of medical,technological and economic needs. Unlikesome other Amazonian peoples, however, theKayapo were able to maintain their traditionalsocial institutions and ceremonial practices, andby the end of the 1960's they had begun tolearn and take control o f administrativetechnological, and medical functions within

their own communities. During the 1970's and'80's, Kayapo became para-medics, FUNAI(Brazilian Bureau of Indian Affairs) agents,motorboat, tractor and truck operators andmechanics, radio operators, and even, in acouple of cases, missionaries, effectivelyrecovering local control of all major points ofdependency on the national society within theirown communities. Their population had alsobegun to increase; the extant communities haveby now reached the demographic level they hadbefore the establishment of peaceful contactExtensive tracts of lost territory have beenreclaimed, in some cases by protracted armedstruggle. There occurred, in sum, a generalresurgence of cultural self-confidence, socialmorale, and political will.

Throughout this period the Kayapowere visited by a number of anthropologists,journalists, and other outsiders, w h ointroduced them to photography, film, audio-cassette recorders, radio, and finally videocameras. At the same time, these visitors madethe Kayapo aware that the outside world,beyond the limited circle of local Brazilianfrontier society and national governmentofficials, valued their culture and was generallyinclined to support their political and landrights. The Kayapo also learned how audioand visual media had become a major channelof communication within this external world.Travel to Brazilian towns revealed theimportance of media such as commercial radio,television, journalistic photography and cinemain Western culture. Electronic audio and visualmedia, in short, appeared as a new technologyof great power and strategic importance, whichwas at the same time directly accessible to nonliterate people like the Kayapo. The Kayapobecame interested in learning and acquiring thisnew technology and its associated power forthemselves,

The first step was audio-cassetterecorders. B y the mid 1970's, the Kayapoalready owned numerous racg'tte decks, whichthey used to record and play back their ownceremonial performances a n d sendcommunications from one village to another.Then in 1985 three Brazilian researchersformed a project to introduce the Kayapocommunity of Gorotire to the use of videocameras and monitors. T h e y gave acamcorder, video cassette recorder deck andmonitor to the village, and trained some

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Kayapo in video photography. When I went toGorotire in 1987 with a documentary film crewfrom TV Granada (UK), as anthropologicalconsultant f o r a f i lm i n G r a n a d a ' s"Disappearing World" series, I brought asecond camcorder for the Metuktire communityof Kayapo, together with a VCR and TVmonitor. Returning in January 1989 asanthropological consultant for a second"Disappearing World' film, I brought a thirdcamcorder, which the Kayapo used to maketheir own video record of their demonstrationat Altamira. Both of these video cameras, withtheir attendant batteries, VCR, monitor, andnumerous blank video tapes, were paid for byGranada as part of the quid pro quo presentedto the Kayapo for their cooperation in thefilming.

The Kayapo have used their owncapacity for video in a variety of ways: thedocumentation of their own traditional culture,above all ceremonial performances; secondly,the recording of important events and actionssuch as the Altamira demonstration, or thecapture of the gold mines of Maria Bonita andtransactions with Brazilians, so as to have theequivalent of a legally binding transcript ofbusiness contracts or political agreements (forexample, the negotiations of contracts with airtaxi pilots for the supply of the captured goldmines); and fourthly, as an organizing tool.An example of the latter was the appeal of theassembled Kayapo chiefs for attendance at theAltamira demonstration, which was videotapedat the close o f their planning meeting atGorotire to be sent around to other Kayapo andnon Kayapo native communities (the basicmessage was spoken in Portuguese, followedby individual chiefs' appeals and exhortationsin Kayapo).

More elaborate plans arc currentlybeing made for cultural self-documentationusing video. The Kayapo leader, Payakan, hasestablished a "Kayapo Foundation" (FundacaoMebengokre), primarily concerned with settingup and running an 'extractive reserve" withinthe Kayapo Indigenous Area. One of theprojected activities of this foundation is to be asystematic program o f documenting, o nvideotape, traditional Kayapo knowledge of theforest environment and its uses. Other aspectsof traditional culture are also to be recorded,such as myths and oral history, ceremonial,and oratory by community leaders. These are

to be used for the education of young people intraditional Kayapo culture. The tapes ofecological knowledge are also to be madeavailable to Brazilian and international scholarsand others interested in the use of renewableforest resources.

Although several Kayapo f r o mdifferent communities have become expertvideo camerapersans, none have yet acquiredthe capability to edit or dub. The Kayapo haveno access to editing, copying, or climaticallystable storage facilities. The latter are of primeimportance, since climatic conditions and theuneven mechanical operation of generator-powered VCR decks in Kayapo villages lead torapid deterioration of videotapes. To begin tomeet these needs, I have obtained a grant fromthe Spencer Foundation to support theestablishment of a Kayapo film archive at thevideo editing facility of the Ecumenical Centerfor Documentation and Information (CEDI) inSao Paulo. Kayapo would have access to thisfacility for editing their own video films andcould store their original rushes and masters inthe air-conditioned archive located on thepremises. Skilled personnel of CEDI and theCenter for Indigenous Work (CTI) haveindicated a willingness to teach editing skills toKayapo video filmmakers and work with themin a supportive capacity in the editing of theirfilms. T h e projects o f cultural self-documentation envisioned by Payakan andother Kayapo leaders will hopefully be able tobe supported through this center and archive,to be established this summer.

From an anthropological point of view,the Kayapo acquisition and use of videotechnology is fraught with implications forKayapo culture. I n assessing theseimplications, it is necessary to take one'sbearing from the historical context of theappropriation by the Kayapo of the wholerange of technological skills most immediatelyinvolved in mediating their relationship to thedominant society. The Kayapo have already ineffect reoriented themselves from theperspective of an isolated traditional society tothat of a dependent part of a social systemwhich includes the dominant Western societyas well. They have, at the same time, graspedthat the situation of contact with the dominantsociety provides opportunities for considerablelocal autonomy and manipulation through theexploitation of its own political, economic and

technological resources. A t the same time,their remarkable success in seizing andexploiting these opportunities have beenachieved through a reliance on their traditionalsocial organization and cultural forms. Whiletheir struggle has been conceived as a defenceof their traditional culture and socialinstitutions, however, i t has entailed theobjectification of both in ways and to a degreeunknown in 'traditional' times (whether theseare defined as preceding the earliest Europeancontacts or the establishment of peacefulrelations with Brazil). By 'objectification', Imean, firstly, the conception of themselves ashaving a 'culture' in our sense of the term, andsecondly, the notion that this 'culture' issomething to be defended and consciouslyreproduced through deliberate choice andpolitical action in a situation where alternatives(namely, assimilation to the national culture)are conceivable.

Representational media (photography,audio recording, but above all film and video)have played and are playing a key role in thisprocess of cultural self-objectification. As themost concretely accessible aspects of therecording of their culture by outsiders such asanthropologists and journalists, such mediaconveyed to the Kayapo more vividly anddirectly than any other form of communicationthat in the eyes of these puzzling but potentoutsiders, their stock of collective patterns ofbehavior constituted as a total entity called a'culture', and as such had value in the eyes ofthat part of the alien society from whence theculture recorders emanated, The power ofrepresentation through these media thusbecame identified with the power of conferringvalue and meaning on themselves in the eyes ofthe outside world, and reflexively, in newways, in their own eyes as well. T h etechnology involved thereby assumed thecharacter of a power to control the terms of thismeaning and value-imbuing process. Theacquisition of this technology, both in the formof hardware and operating skills, thus becamea primary goal in the struggle for self-empowerment in the situation of inter-ethniccontact

The significance of the acquisition ofmedia capacity for the cultural politics ofempowerment is manifest in the prominencethe Kayapo give to their video camerapersonsin their confrontations with the national

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affects it in numerous ways, some intendedand some not.

What happened during the making ofthe first Granada, Disappearing Worlds film onthe Kayapo is a case in point. I had plannedthe film as a comparative study of the reactionsof two different Kayapo communities to thechallenges presented by the encroachments ofBrazilian society. I wanted to show that theKayapo were successfully drawing on theircommon stock o f social institutions andcultural values to resist and adapt to thenational society, and at the same time that theywere, in the process, actively debating andrevising the meaning of their own culture. Thegeneral point was that the "cultures" of simplesocieties l i k e t h e Kayapo a r c n o thomogeneous, internally oriented, closedsystems of 'collective representations", butactive processes of political struggle over theterms a n d meanings o f co l lec t i veaccommodation t o historical situationsinvolving interaction with external conditions,including other societies. 1 was aware of theKayapo use of audio cassette recorders andvideo cameras, and planned to include thisalong with other forms of newly acquiredtechnological expertise in the film as instancesof this general point.

When our crew was preparing to leavethe first of the two villages to go to the second,the leader of the community asked us to recorda message from him to the second communityon one of our audio-cassette recorders. Themessage criticized the second community forallowing too much Brazilian exploitation oftribal land and resources and generally forgoing too far in the direction of acculturation toBrazilian ways. We duly called the tape to theattention of the second community, where itwas played by that community's leading chiefand to the assembled population. They reactedangrily t o the criticisms o f the f i rs tcommunity's leader, and several madespeeches justifying their own approach tocoexistence with the Brazilians, insisting that intheir fashion they were remaining true to theirculture. We filmed this dramatic and revealingencounter, and it became the central pivot ofour film, linking the sections o f the twocommunities as expressions o f opposingpositions in the historic debate taking placeamong the Kayapo over the meaning of theirculture in the present crisis of inter-ethnic

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confrontation. As a prime example of the waythe second community was attempting to useBrazilian technology to defend and preserve itsKayapo culture, we famed their use of video torecord their own ceremonies and encounterswith the Brazilians, actually incorporatingsections of videos they had shot in our film. Inorder to do this, however, we had to clean,restore and recopy Kayapo video tapes whichhad been damaged by mildew and hard use.These in duc course became available again tothe community fo r showing on its ownmonitor. Meanwhile, our desire to film theKayapos' use of video stimulated them tovideo-record our crew filming their videocamerapersons video recording certainceremonies. In all of these ways, our activityof video and audio-recording the Kayapobecame a material part of their own use ofvideo and audio-media for their own politicaland cultural purposes. T h i s materialparticipation became, in an unplanned andspontaneous but therefore perhaps even moresignificant way, the organizing structure of ouraudio visual representation of their culturalreality: the first "Disappearing Worlds'Kayapo film. O u r presentation of a videocamera to the community was merely a furtherinstance of this reflexive involvement in theiruse of audio-visual media.

When these reflexive dimensions ofaudio-visual documentation of a contemporarycultural reality, like that of the Kayapo, arcconsidered together with the ways reviewedabove that the Kayapo have begun toincorporate audio-visual media, and thematerial activity of audio-visual recording (e.g.the presence of Kayapo video camerapersonsand non Kayapo film crews) into their owncollective acts of political confrontation andcultural self-definition, it becomes apparent thatthe use of audiovisual media has taken ondimensions of meaning without close parallelsin traditional anthropological methods offieldwork. The quantitative shift certainlyapproaches, if it has not already reached, thepoint of qualitative transformation. For theanthropological film maker, the change has hadthe character of a shift from participantobservation to observant participation.

This shift involves a change in thetraditional terms of ethical responsibility infieldwork. A s a participant (willy Hilly) inprocesses of cultural self-conscientization and

sociopolitical empowermen t , t h eanthropological media user has some controlover the terms of his or her participation,including the choice of deliberately planninghis or her own documentary activity and itsproducts so as to encourage, augment, orotherwise support the process he or shedocuments. The change wrought by the use ofcontemporary media technologies, however,affects not only the role of the anthropologistsand documentary-makers, but the nature of thereality being documented. I f the Kayapo areany indication, the processes of cultural andethnic self-conscientization that have beencatalyzed by the new media and their use inworld-wide networks of communication arebecoming far more important as a componentof 'culture' (or, b y the same token,'ethnicity') both in the sense of becomingmore complex and rapidly developing and inthat of becoming more central to basic socialand political processes. The nature of 'culture'itself is changing together with the techniqueswe employ to study and document it. This is aphenomenon that calls for more study anddocumentation by anthropologists than it hasthus far received.End notes

The writing of this article has beenmade possible in part by generous supportfrom the Spencer Foundation and the Centerfor Latin American Studies a t CornellUniversity. I have benefited greatly fromdiscussions of the ideas presented in the paperwith Faye Ginsburg, Paul Henley, FredMyers, and critical audiences at showings anddiscussions o f my Kayapo films a t theMargaret Mead Festival (1988 and 1989). TheFestival of Native American Film (1989). TheUniversity of Chicago (1988 and 1989), NewYork University (1988 and 1989), andAmazon Week, New York, 1990.

References citedTURNER, Terence1987 Disappearing Worlds:The Kayapo. Film, 52

min. M. Beckham, Director, T. Turner,Anthropological Consultant, Granada

I989a The Kayapo: Out of the Forest, Film, 52min. M. Beckham, Director, T. Turner,Anthropological Consultant, Granada.

1989b The Kayapo: Out of the Forest, 3luee Filmsfrom_the Series. Disappearing World, Granada

1989c Kayapo Plan Meeting to Discuss Dams,Cultural Survival Quarterly, Vol. 13, No. I

1989d Five Days in Altamira: Kayapo IndiansOrganize Protest Against ProposedHydroelectric Dams, JGavapo Support GroupNewsletter, No. I

n.d.I T h e Role of Indigenous Peoples in theEnvironmental Crisis. The Example of theKayapo of the Brazilian Amazon, to appear inNew Perspectives in Biology and Medicine

n.d.2 Culture and the Making of History. TheKayapo from Pacification to Altamira, toappear In Anthropology and J3lstorY

n.d.3 Cosmology, Ideology, and The HistoricalTransformation o f Kayapo SocialConsciousness, submitted to AnnuarioAnthropologies, Sao Paulo

THE ANTHROPOLOGICALVISUALIZATION OF HAITIc

REFLECTIONS ON THE FILMS OFMELVILLE HERSKOVITS AND MAYA

DEREN

byJohn P. HOMIAK

Human Studies Film ArchivesSmithsonian Institution

IntroductionOf all the areas of the New World

African Diaspora, Haiti celebrates one of themost vibrant of 'African" cultures. I n largepart this derives from the historical presence ofyodun, a distinctly Creole religion associatedwith the only successful national slaverevolution in the hemisphere. "Vodun'--a Fonword for spirit - permeates the entire fabric ofHaitian life. i t is related to family, conceptionsof health, community social control and, invarying degrees, t o national po l i t i csEthnographic accounts of Haitian life havealways given ample attention to vodun. I t ishardly surprising, therefore, that the filmicgaze of those who have documented theisland's culture has been similarly focused.

This paper examines the collections offootage shot by Melville Herskovits and MayaDeren (recorded in 1934 and between 1947-1952, respectively), with an eye towardassessing their place in the "anthropologicalvisualization' of Helti l . Both are seen as

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visual texts embedded in discursive practices.These practices are lodged in institutionalizedcontexts which function to inscribe relations ofpower and engage contrasting epistemologiesand aesthetics (see Marcus and Fischer1986:26).

Herskovits and Deren produced two ofthe earliest film documents shot in Haiti. Theformer is now archived at the Smithsonian'sHuman Studies Film Archives; the lattermaterials are held at Anthology Film Archivesin New York. A n y o n e screening thesecollections of footage will surely be struck bytheir different contents and contrasting styles ofrepresentation. This is accounted for by thedifferent professional backgrounds of thefilmmakers, their objectives, and the times andplaces in which they filmed. Herskovitsworked primarily in the Mircbelais Valley, andfocused on the daily mutines of rural Haitianlife, including various ritual and technicalactivities related to vodun. Along with soundrecordings, he produced some 1,700 feet of35mm black and white footage that was lateredited with intertitles. Herskovits' detachedmid-range stationary style stands out for its'film-as-documentation' approach. Derenworked in Port-au-Prince a n d variousoutlaying villages and focused almostexclusively on the ritual activities of vodun.She shot some 18,000 feet of footage in 16mmblack and white--primarily at close range andusing what were then experimental cinematictechniques. By contrast, her foregrounding ofa spectacular black aesthetic of motion in dance- drumming and religious pnacacxion suggestsa 'film-as-experience' approach.

As evidenced by their publishedmonographs, Herskovits and Deren bothshared a concern t o represent certainethnographic 'truths' about Haiti whichempowered their subjects Their film images,however, were couched in distinct frames ofreference. F o r Herskovits this was thehistorically informed tradition o f Boasiananthropology and with it an early version ofcultural relativism, for Deren it was a counter-cultural tradition in which cross culturalexperience served as a means to explore theseif and one's own social milieu vis-a-vis thewider society. Herskovits was a pioneerchronicler of the Afro-American tradition A nethnographer who flirted with film as a meansof supporting and interpreting what he

observed in the field, he differed from Derenthe filmmaker, who strayed into the outposts ofethnography. T h e visual documents theyproduced must be seen in relation to distinctsocial and intellectual frames of reference.These reflect contrasting attitudes toward Haiti,toward vodun, and toward representations ofthe Other. For his part, Herskovits labored inthe emergent tradition of cultural relativismtoward the very end of the U.S. occupation ofthe island. He had to contend with sensationalaccounts of Haitian life drawn by the Americanpress and dime novelists who depicted Haiti asa land of zombies. By contrast, Deren wroteextensively about experimental film techniques,was herself a participant in the avant gardecounterculture, and worked in Haiti at thebeginning o f vodun's rehabilitation b yeducated members of Haitian society.Life in a Haitian Valley: Herskovitsand Film

In the late summer of 1934, Herskovitsand his wife, Frances, spent a brief three and ahalf months in Haiti, principally i n theMirebelais Valley. This was their fourth suchfield stint, following two short trips to Surinamin !928-29 and to West Africa in 1931. I neach instance a 35mm Eyemo motion picturecamera (as well as still photography) was usedto record and document aspects of native lifeand culture. This visual documentation wasaccompanied by extensive sound recordings ofnarratives, proverbs and secular and religioussongs made on wax cylinders.2 In Haiti, some1,500 feet of silent black and white footagewas shot, also accompanied b y soundrecordings N o doubt Herskovits conceived ofhis use of the camera (and sound) as a form ofrecording for documentation, later study, andprobably as a record to be preserved fo rposterity.The few published references he made in this

regard suggest that he saw film as an objectiveway to capture empirical data that couldsupport his ideas about the persistence o fAfrican cultural elements in the Diaspora3. [nthe Myth of the Negro Past, the publicationwhere he argued most forcefully for the depthof African elements in Negro culture, he hintedthat film had a potentially prominent place inthe development of Afro-American research:

The retention of Africanisms in motor habitspresents a vast field for study. Methodological

difficulties in the way of such research are appreciable,Since results having scientific validity can be obtajnedonly by analyzing motion pictures of such routineactivities as walking, speaking, laughing, sittingpostures, or of dancing, singing, burden carrying,hoeing, and movements made in various industrialtechniques [emphasis mine) (Herskovits 1941:146).

A number o f points arc worthmentioning here. The first is Herskovits'attention to identifying Africanisms byestablishing correspondences o f cultural'forms' (survivals). Second is his attention tomore subtle 'imponderables' in expressivestyle which Herskovits believed werehistorically transmitted as part of sociallylearned cultural patterns A t this more subtlelevel Herskovits' imaging of Afro-Americancultural patterns was done with the intention ofproviding data with which to distinguishphenomenologically between the categories ofrace and culture. What warrants specialattention here is Herskovits' implied daim thatfilm images constituted a kind of empirical"evidence."4 Yet he also recognized that suchdatum were subject to interpretation (culturaland historical) within a scientific discourse.Unlike other anthropologists who attempted toestablish a methodology for research films, the'seen' and the known' were not filmicallyequivalent for Herskovits (cf. Sorenson 1975).

Central to Herskovits' schema were theconcepts of acculturation and syncretism. InHaiti, he developed these ideas in relation tovodun, a cultural form reflecting theinterpenetration of Catholic and Africanelements of worship. Although he documentedvodun rites rather freely using a still camera,there is relatively scant footage of the collectivespectacle of vodun ceremonies. What he didfilm was the process of making vodun drums,their ritual baptism, and an action de grace, arather controlled ritual sequence derived fromthe Catholic litany which precedes offerings tothe vodun deities. A t a time w h e nanthropologists were supposed to have beenengaged in the practice of Inventing andexaggerating the exoticism of "the Other", (andwhen there was a public appetite for this),why, one might wonder, did Herskovits fail toproduce more footage of something that wascentral to his interests?

Given that Herskovits went to greatpains in his ethnography to reveal vodun as adisciplined form of cultural practice, I suggest

that there is an implicit sub-text in this footagewhich cannot be discerned apart fromHerskovits' writing. This applies to theimportance he attached to objective scientificmethods in understanding Afro-Americancultures and to applying the results of suchstudy to the area of American race relations.His own public construction as a scientistincluded the strong reservations about theparticipatory aspect of fieldwork, as it might beundertaken among "Negro' peoples. A s ascholar who believed in the social importanceof his work to American race relations,Herskovits was determined to remain detached,an observer of those he studied (Herskovits1937'322.23)- I n this vein, his use of ascientific discourse in treating 'Africanisms'served to strengthen the idea (at the timecontested), that Afro-Americans, in fact, had acultural history. A s Mintz (1970:13) haspointed out, Herskovits had to prove that anhistorical past existed for Afro-Americans inorder to validate their culture as a fit subject foranthropological study. Ultimately, he hopedthat his findings would be applied to promotingunderstanding in the area of American racerelations.

We should not be surprised thatHerskovits sought to humanize Af ro -Americans to his fellow Americans. This isapparent in the sympathetic way in which heimaged Haitians (and Africans) in scenesrevealing qualities of industry, mutualcooperation, and technical and artistic skill, andpolitical organizations. This can be seen as acounter to the racist climate in which Negropeoples were stereotyped as lazy, childlike,and irrational, and in which practices such asreligious possession were attributed to racialtemperament We do well to remember that thefield which Herskovits pioneered (Afro-American anthropology) was, as Mintz(1989:1) notes, 'nearly a perfect vacuum at thetime.' No doubt his imaging of Haitians wascalculated to fell this vacuum in a wayconducive to thoughtful reflection andunderstanding. Having repeatedly screened theentire collection of his films, I suspect thatHerskovits consciously avoided filmingbehavior that might be seen as exotic or strangein order not to reinforce existing stereotypes.The vodun sequence which he chose to film (inaddition to representing visually an historicaland psychological example o f syncretic

—15—

process), is distinguished by the controlledtenor of the rite. Th is sequence enabledHerskovits to represent an instance of religiouspossession in a matter-of-fact way.

His narrative sequence o f t h econstruction, r i tual consecration, a n d'baptism' of a set of rada drums (perhaps themost well-crafted piece of filmic documentationin the Haitian footage), deserves mention forsimilar reasons. T h i s sequence not onlyreveals the craftsmanship and attention to detailthat was expended on objects prepared forreligious purposes, but also covers the socialand spatial relationships entailed in such aprocess. I n these shots can be seen a typicalHaitian 'yard' and the type of cooperativeinteraction among individuals that hastraditionally characterized male cohorts in theCaribbean.

What public did he imagine for thisfootage? We may never know. Althoughsome of his students recall having seen it,Herskovits apparently did not use his filmsregularly in his teaching. And although thesewere edited with intertitles, I have no way ofknowing i f Herskovits even used them forpublic lectures. What is clear is this view ofvodun could serve t o de -mystify thephenomenon a n d t o contest accountstrivializing it as a collection of 'mysterious'and orgiastic rites. The proliferation of suchaccounts accompanied U.S. imperialistintervention in Haitian political life.5

Seen i n conjunction w i t h h i smonograph on Haiti (as well reviews publishedin popular magazines which criticized manyjournalistic accounts of New World Africanpeoples), the footage stands as a consciouslyformed counter-discourse to the widely heldimages of Haiti. Herskovits' response to onewriter's description of voodoo dances revealshis impatience with this genre of story-telling:...1 too saw dances of this sort in the Suriname bush,and I should be the last to deny [sic] the fascination oftheir rhythms and song, the incredible performances ofthe dancers under a state of auto-hypnosis superinducedby the voice of the gods in the drums. But the miracleis that these men knew not to harm other persons withtheir machetes, that though they were foaming at themouth, each performed according to the dictates of thespirit which possessed him-- comparable strictly to theHaitian h. 1 regret, too, the orgiastic emphasis whichMr. Seabrook places on the dances he witnessed. [...]there is grave danger in reading into complex esoteric

ceremonies simple erotic explanations drawn from ourown life.

There is, as I have noted, much inHerskovits' approach that suggests an abidingconcern with the 'everydayness' of things. Iwould argue that the selective perception anddistance of his 'gaze" was apparently shapedby concern to understand and representHaitians and their culture in terms of both theirhistorical complexity and in response tocontemporary circumstances--both as theywere and as they were imagined to be by otherswho knew little first-hand of Haiti. In order tovalidate Afro-American culture as a worthyarea of study, he situated his images of Haitianlife in the context of peasant subsistence and ofHaitian culture and in the processes o finterpenetration between African and Europeancultures.The Voodoo Gods o f Haiti: M a y aDeren and Film

In September of 1947 Maya Deren--anavant garde/experimental filmmaker traveled tothe southern part of Haiti with, as she put it, 'acarefully conceived plan for a film in whichHaitian dance, as purely a dance form, wouldbe combined (in montage principle) withvarious non-Haitian elements' (Deren 1970:5).Although she had no formal anthropologicaltraining, she had been inspired by the work ofMargaret Mead and Gregory Bateson andenlisted their advice in conceiving the plan forher film (see Deren 1965:11-17).6 Overall,Deren spent a total of eighteen months in Haitiin the course of three separate trips, the last in1952. By all accounts, this Haitian experiencechanged Deren's professional and personallife. What she claims to have experienced inHaiti was the 'irrefutable reality' of the ritualand philosophical world of vodoun. Th isexperience so overwhelmed her artisticintentions that she shelved her original plansfor a film on Haitian dance. Deren feltcompelled to cope first with vodoun's logic ina monograph (Divine Horsemen. The VodooGods of Haiti) as a detour to reconstructing herfilmic concepts. A statement i n theintroduction to her book reveals her attitudestoward vodun. T h e monograph, s h ewrites,'...was inspired by the conviction that(vodun] is a religion of major status, rarepoetic vision, artistic expression, and that itcontains a pantheon of divinities which, inastronomical terminology, could be called a

—16—

conventions of ethnographic realism, Deren'sseeks to experiment with the limits of suchrealism; where one set of images is an impliedresponse to the imaginal world o f Haitipromoted b y ethnocentric commercialopportunities, the other seeks to explode theworld from within; where one is a counter-textto the sensationalized image of voodoo; theother is a tex t f o r contemplating thepossibilities of consciousness contained inanother form of spiritual practice.

These distinctions have importantimplications, I think, when one considers thesefilm texts f rom the perspective o f acommunicative paradigm. These two filmicdocuments can be seen--to borrow a phrasefrom Fernandez (1978)--as an 'argument ofimages' in the anthropological visualization ofHaiti and its people. By this I do not refer tothe use of imagery by Haitians themselves. Iam concerned, rather, with the extensivediscourse of representation, written and visual,on Haiti (and the Caribbean generally) whichfunctions as an implied background againstwhich these visual texts are 'read'. H o wviewers read a film is likely to depend as muchon their exposure to the historically-basedaesthetics of film, prevailing ideologies, oraspects of popular culture, as it does on thenarrative and stylistic moves of a filmmaker.Whatever the intentions of a filmmaker, afilmic text (be it archival footage or edited film)is an open-ended form of communication.

With this in mind we might wondernow many viewers are likely to accessHerskovits' footage with an appreciation of itshistorically constructed qualities. I suspectthat this is a rather narrow constituency. Somewill surely dismiss the content of this footageas prosaic or fmd it 'boring", especially sincewe have been socialized to expect entertainment(or, at the very least, info-tainment) from film.By contrast, Deren's more provocative Imagesare likely to appear much more familiar tomany viewers. Th is is precisely becausepopular imagery impinges more strongly here.This includes a parade of Hollywood features(beginning with I Walked With a Zombiereleased in 1943) which have constructed a'mysterious' Haiti to boost their commercialappeal 10 In this inspect, vodun has served asa popular representational icon for Haiti. i t isone which signifies an arcane and fearsome

power derived from the Dark Continent. Thisfunctions to dissolve the actual historicalcontours of vodun's development and project itinto a mystified past.

I believe i t is significant that acommercially available edited video of Deren'sfootage was released in the past few years.This coincided with recent attention focused onHaiti due to political turmoil and the sµctic ofthe ton ton macoutes and their putativeassociation with vodun. in the present climateof 'mambo madness', Deren's spectacularimages travel well. They converge with arenewed interest in black exotica which callsforth not the Los (and a correspondingunderstanding of the same), but intractablestereotypes of alien African Others in thepostmodern mix. Such stereotypes continue tocirculate through flints such as Angel Heart (apsychodrama), The Seventh Sian (a thriller),and The Serpent and the Rainbow (a horrormovie), and Major League (a comedy); as wellas in popular written accounts, most recentlyJames A . Mitchener's Caribbean. T h emutually reinforcing tendencies of the media tolabel nearly every Afro-Caribbean possessionreligion as voodoo and of the public toindiscriminately accept a n d consumeinformation presented as 'sound-bites' only toserve to exacerbate this trivialization.

Deren's film fits well in the currentpost-modern mood marked by a resistance towider contextualizing frames and a preferencefor 'evoking' rather than representingexperience. The danger in this instance is thatan appeal to images primarily fo r theirevocation of poetic experience narrows anappreciation of the historical and politicalcontexts in which vodun practice is situated. 11This merges stylistically with the tendency ofmass culture to encourage the consumption ofimages without grappling with the complexityof their content and structure.Postscript

In recent years there has been growingattention within the film community to the factthat 'visual artifacts" now largely supersedeour collective societal memory and experience.Certain movements within this communitysuggest that film archives must be relied uponincreasingly as our technological memorybank; many couple this with the belief that thefilmic image can serve as a vehicle for the

constellation of the first magnitude' (Deren1970:15).

Unlike Herskovits, Deren eschewed therole of passive observer during her Haitiansojourns. She is said, in fact, to have beeninitiated as a priestess of the cult. Her filmingof cult ceremonies reflected this level o finvolvement--an houngan having suggested toher that this would be her way of 'serving theloa' (Deren 1970:14). The hounfour (the ritualspace where t h e l o a m o u n t t h e i rcommunicants), thus served as her mise-en-scene where the camera explored rhythm andmovement as the metaphysic of vodun's beauty(Deren 1970:8.9).

Although Deren later familiarizedherself with the ethnography of vodun, hermethodology of filmmaking was intuitive andsubjective. She writes that '..since film isdependent on visual impact I deliberatelyrefrained from learning anything about theunderlying meaning of the (vodun) dancemovements so that such knowledge should notprejudice my evaluation of their purely visualimpact' (Deren 1970:7)2 From this devolvedan essentially mystical approach to filmiccommunication. This was based on falselydrawn dichotomies (e.g., between experienceand knowledge) and a conflation of her ownsubjectivity with emotional states in vodun thatshe felt carried universal meanings. in the end.Deren took a pre-linguistic approach to therepresentation of reality. In her own words,this was to be achieved through...the communication of concepts and ideas by meansaddressed to emotional and psychological perceptionsrather than in terms of a self-conscious articulation oran address to intellectual analysis: far example, the ideaof power convened in none rather than in the label ofa name or definition"

it is reasonable to question, I believe,whether Deren's filmic epistemology containedan overall approach toward Haitians as apeople governed largely by emotions andmystical outlooks, N o doubt the grace andmotion in vodun ritual engaged her artisticinclinations and led her to believe in thepossibility of intuitively representing a/thepsychological reality beneath its surfaces.Deren's previous experimentation with anti-narrative cinematic conventions in so-called'trance films' (a genre which played withelements of flow and movement), no doubt

buttressed her belief in this possibility. Herpre-Haitian writings, in fact, evidence herintention ' to convert movement, in filmicterms, into metaphysical principles' and torepresent mental processes cinematically(Sitney 1974:27). Commenting on her filmThe Very Eve of Night, Deren summarizes afilmic epistemology that collapses the 'seen'and the 'known', stating thatThe camera can create dance, movement, and actionwhich transcend geography and take place anywhere andeverywhere; it can also, as in this film, be themediating mind turned inwards upon the idea ofmovement, and this idea, being an abstraction, takesplace nowhere or, as it were, in the very center ofspace. (quoted in Sitrt y 1974:28)

In the Haitian footage (and the filmDivine Horsemen: Voodoo Gods of Haitiedited later), the viewer encounters this 'verycenter of space' via a cinematic gaze fixedtightly upon the forms, surfaces, rhythmiccontours within the hounfour. Deren does notwant us to stand back or to evaluate, but toexperience what she experienced as the powerand beauty of a cultural form. To elicit thisresponse she employs a number of cinematictechniques which dissolve the 'objective' gazeof a stationary and detached observer: tiltedframes and pre-shortened angles (which mimicthe peregrinations of a devotee in ritual space),slow motion and freeze frames, and extensivecutting on action (widely used in her otherfilms and closely akin to the dancer's art ofconnecting movement) (Sitney 1974:24). Themethod of shot framing coupled with the directreturn gaze of other serviteurs indicatespresence and participation fdmically. I n oneshot recording possession amidst a group ofdancers she uses slow motion and freezeframes the returned gaze of the possessedserviteur. This Is not to be read as the gaze ofa man but of the deity himself! Such cameratechniques index underlying slates of body andmind and function as signifiers within a filmicnarrative of initiation.

Deren experimented w i t h atransgressive mode of filmic representationThis contested the conventions and limits offilmic realism within her own professionalmilieu, and was certainly far different from thefilm-as-documentation approach pursued byHerskovits. O n the one hand there is anunderlying critique o f fOm medium as oneexcluding the use o f imagination a n d

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resuscitation of collective cultural memory. Inthis paper, however, I have sought to illustratethat film images are deeply embedded in thehistorical and ideological contexts of theirconstruction.

There is, of course, a debate aboutwhether f i l m i c representations a r einterpretations or datum. And this debate willcontinue, linked as i t is with issues o freflexivity in contemporary anthropology. Butthis same debate raises important questionsabout the division o f labor betweenpreservation and curatorial functions in filmarchiving. is our warrant merely to insure thepreservation of visual ethnographic records ofthe 'disappearing' or changing Other? I thinknot. Film is the dominant narrative mode ofour time. Indeed, what is publicly perceivednot only about the Other, but about theanthropological enterpr ise i t se l f , i scommunicated more widely via film than anyother medium. A n anthropological f i lmarchives must be expected not only to preservea record of this enterprise, but to foster anintellectual climate for the critical study of thefilmic record as well.Acknowledgements.

I am indebted t o I ra Jacknis fo rsuggesting that the works of Herskovits andDeren could usefully be compared f o runderstanding the anthropological visualizationof Haiti. I would also like to thank ProfessorSidney Mintz for his helpful comments on anearlier draft of this paper and David Brown andGuhar Shankar of Smithsonian Foiklife fortheir thoughtful comments on the Herskovitsand Deren films.

NotesI This paper is an introduction to the topic.

A thoroughgoing study would have to include, amongother materials, analysis o f the following Haitianfootage•. Zora Neal Hurston, early 1920s (Library ofCongress [?A Alan Lomax, 1937 (Archive of Folkj u g , Reel 1, Motion Picture Collection, LC, No.FCA 5327 Katherine Dunham late 1930s (New YorkPublic Library Dance Collection, cat. #MGZHB 12•1449); broadcast film entitled 'Voodoo: narrated byCharles Collingwood (American Museum of NaturalHistory Collection, N.Y.), the ethnographic films ToServe the Gods and Leant of the Spirits by KarenKramer (Film Library, Wyckoff, N.Y.)

2 These sound recordings are preserved as theIndiana University Archives of Traditional Music. An

inventory of these materials can be found in theannotated catalogue by Anthony Seeger and LouiseSpear (1978).

3I have elsewhere described how Herskovits'imaging of Afm-American cultural patterns may berelated to his scale of intensity of AfricanismC and hisconcepts of cultural focus and cultural imponderablesThe latter included an inventory of patterned behaviors(e.g., bodily movement, rhythm, gestures, speechbehaviors) which were so closely identified withphysical endowment o f the Individual as to becommonly seen as 'racially Inherited' [see Homiak(199O)I.

4 Herskovits also recognized the ability offilm to evoke the artistic quality of expressive andceremonial activity. He intended to make a film withsound on the macumbai and candombles of Bahiaduring his 1941 fieldwork in Brazil. On August 13,1947 he received a permit from the Brazilian consulateto enter the country with 8,000 feet of 35mm film and200 sound discs (MJ. Henkovits papers, UniversityArchives, Northwestern University library, Evanston,ILL). Whether the footage was ever shot (or whatbecame of it) is unknown.

5 Henkovits traveled to Haiti at the terminusof the U.S. military occupation of the island-a periodduring which journalists and the authors of pulp novelschurned out descriptions of a society replete withorgiastic riles, zombies, cannibalism, and mysteriouspower. In the popular imagination of the period, Haitiflmctioned as a metonym for the Dark Continent, withjournalistic accounts serving as a reader's vicarious-andhems:--safe passage through the 'bean of darkness'.

6 The proposed film was to relate the ritualaspects of children's gantes to traditional rites in Balland Haiti (Sitrey, 1974).

7 It was, in fact, a disdain for analysis whichDeren felt identified her with the dlsempowered subjectsshe filmed. Deren romanticized her identification withthe Haitian peasant In this regard and, In so doing,suppressed a recognition of the inequality of powerinherent in her work (see Deren 1970: 165.66). Hersympathetic identification with her subjects contrastswith the tome the stakes with naard to bar film projectAccording to Deren there was 'virtually no precedent forthe filming of [vodunj ceremonies' prior to her work(1970:14)-the implication being that she was In aprivileged position to represent the reality. Th isforecast the proprietary attitude which has prevailedamong members of the white avant garde with respectto 'the Other (see Fusco 1988:9).

8 Deren (1970:9) claims that, based onimmediate experience, she arrived at Interpretations ofthe jvodunj rituals...so consistently correct thatHaitians began to believe that I had gone throughvarying degrees of initiation? She does not, however,specify anything about the precise nature of these

- 2 0 -

precluding the possibility of creating anotherreality (Sidney 1974; Deren 1977). However,insofar as this intuitive style seeks to elevatevodun to a 'danced-spirituality' with universalrelevance, Deren's approach confuses 'seeing'with 'knowing' just as it remains a futile effortto transcend the intellectual dichotomy betweenexperience and knowledge. i t is also plaguedby what has come to be known in documentaryand ethnographic film as the essentialistfallacy (Nichols 1981:274-275). In this caseit entails projecting the Haitian subject onto ararefied plane of ritual and mythology. Here,whatever dramas or enigmas that confrontindividuals are played out on a cosmic level.Nichols (1981:275) has observed of thisnarrative cinematic strategy that the act ofacquitting oneself on this level is fferet t is'testimony from some timeless region • ofhuman essence.' Although Deren argues inher writing that vodun is a system fo rbalancing the spiritual and material worlds, thelatter, i n its specific historicity, near lydisappears from view in her footage.

To place Deren's images in a widercontext as I have done for Herskovits is a bitmore problematic. This writer would need abetter fix on the role of the avant-garde,surrealism, and other artistic discourses at thetime. But it is worth observing that Deren--asa leading light in the avant garde--played thepart of a broker and popularizer of vodun forthe Bohemian milieu. A s an artist, she waspersonally captivated by the sense of poetry invodun thought and practice: a philosophicalsystem which seeks to balance the material andspiritual sides of the person. He r romanticattraction to this rtuified side of Haitian life canbe contrasted with the avant garde's stridentcriticism of conformism, of middle-America'sobsession with materialism, and the rise of themilitary industrial complex during the post-war period. I n this social and ideologicalcontext, she accessed vodun as a set o fprimordial Jungian images for members of thatcounter-culture, another 'thought-world' intenns of which to see themselves.

Certainly for those in her milieu, if notfor Deren herself, vodun was radical chic. i twas h e r distinctive contribution t o acountercultural bricolage formed f r o miconoclastic symbols. A n d such symbolismdid circulate--as when Deren and her husbandfashioned Halloween invitations featuring a

vevec of Ghede. The accompanying textexplained a correspondence between theHaitian dedication to Ghede, Lord of the Dead,and the celebration of Halloween in the UnitedStates. Forecasting a postmodernist attitudetowards the affair, the invitation included thepromise of a magic show and an invitation toadopt some lost kittens. As Deren consciouslysought to become cross-cultural and to deepenher urban mode of living, her work was aharbinger of a process of cross-cultural artisticexploration by artists and thinkers in the 60'sand 70'x.9

Deren's work was also widely reportedin The Village Voice which struck thefollowing note in review of her monograph onvodtm:Maya Deren's profound, loving study of the voodooreligion is a very rare kind of book (...) For the author,Voodoo was a genuine matter of life and death (...)There are lessons to be learned from knowing aboutVoodoo the way Maya Deren makes you knew about it

The way in which Deren makes us"know about it' was cast as a challenge tobourgeois consciousness. For North Americanviewers there is the evocative power of it ,ratanvisual stimuli and shots which function in atransgressive visual mode. This is especiallythe case with the 'taboos" of sacrifice andpossession and, beyond this, scenes whichconvey the sensual and sexual connotations ofreligious possession. The implied challenge tobourgeois codes of representation in Deren'swork must be seen in her effort to depict thefusion of polarities within vodun: the unity ofbody and mind, life and death, thought andfeeling. In this regard, her images functionsimultaneously as ethnography and subversivecinema.

In all of this, i t Is ironic that Derenpublicized vodun among a liberal segment ofthe American populace at precisely the time thatit was being officially rehabilitated in Haiti andcommercialized as an exotic experience fortourist consumption under the presidency ofPaul Magloire (Rotberg 1974: 363) and, notlong thereafter, as an instrument of socialcontrol by François Duvalier.Conclusion

The footage of Herskovits and Derenpresents us with a version of what Clifford(1988) terms the 'predicament of culture' --individuals in culture looking e culture.Where Herskovits' f i l m approximates

conventions of ethnographic realism, Deren'sseeks to experiment with the limits of suchrealism; where one set of images is an impliedresponse to the imaginal world o f Haitipromoted b y ethnocentric commercialopportunities, the other seeks to explode theworld from within; where one is a counter-textto the sensationalized image of voodoo; theother is a tex t f o r contemplating thepossibilities of consciousness contained inanother form of spiritual practice.

These distinctions have importantimplications, I think, when one considers thesefilm texts f rom the perspective o f acommunicative paradigm. These two filmicdocuments can be seen--to borrow a phrasefrom Fernandez (1978)--as an 'argument ofimages' in the anthropological visualization ofHaiti and its people. By this I do not refer tothe use of imagery by Haitians themselves. Iam concerned, rather, with the extensivediscourse of representation, written and visual,on Haiti (and the Caribbean generally) whichfunctions as an implied background againstwhich these visual texts are 'read'. H o wviewers read a film is likely to depend as muchon their exposure to the historically-basedaesthetics of film, prevailing ideologies, oraspects of popular culture, as it does on thenarrative and stylistic moves of a filmmaker.Whatever the intentions of a filmmaker, afilmic text (be it archival footage or edited film)is an open-ended form of communication.

With this in mind we might wondernow many viewers are likely to accessHerskovits' footage with an appreciation of itshistorically constructed qualities. I suspectthat this is a rather narrow constituency. Somewill surely dismiss the content of this footageas prosaic or fmd it 'boring", especially sincewe have been socialized to expect entertainment(or, at the very least, info-tainment) from film.By contrast, Deren's more provocative Imagesare likely to appear much more familiar tomany viewers. Th is is precisely becausepopular imagery impinges more strongly here.This includes a parade of Hollywood features(beginning with I Walked With a Zombiereleased in 1943) which have constructed a'mysterious' Haiti to boost their commercialappeal 10 In this inspect, vodun has served asa popular representational icon for Haiti. i t isone which signifies an arcane and fearsome

power derived from the Dark Continent. Thisfunctions to dissolve the actual historicalcontours of vodun's development and project itinto a mystified past.

I believe i t is significant that acommercially available edited video of Deren'sfootage was released in the past few years.This coincided with recent attention focused onHaiti due to political turmoil and the sµctic ofthe ton ton macoutes and their putativeassociation with vodun. in the present climateof 'mambo madness', Deren's spectacularimages travel well. They converge with arenewed interest in black exotica which callsforth not the Los (and a correspondingunderstanding of the same), but intractablestereotypes of alien African Others in thepostmodern mix. Such stereotypes continue tocirculate through flints such as Angel Heart (apsychodrama), The Seventh Sian (a thriller),and The Serpent and the Rainbow (a horrormovie), and Major League (a comedy); as wellas in popular written accounts, most recentlyJames A . Mitchener's Caribbean. T h emutually reinforcing tendencies of the media tolabel nearly every Afro-Caribbean possessionreligion as voodoo and of the public toindiscriminately accept a n d consumeinformation presented as 'sound-bites' only toserve to exacerbate this trivialization.

Deren's film fits well in the currentpost-modern mood marked by a resistance towider contextualizing frames and a preferencefor 'evoking' rather than representingexperience. The danger in this instance is thatan appeal to images primarily fo r theirevocation of poetic experience narrows anappreciation of the historical and politicalcontexts in which vodun practice is situated. 11This merges stylistically with the tendency ofmass culture to encourage the consumption ofimages without grappling with the complexityof their content and structure.Postscript

In recent years there has been growingattention within the film community to the factthat 'visual artifacts" now largely supersedeour collective societal memory and experience.Certain movements within this communitysuggest that film archives must be relied uponincreasingly as our technological memorybank; many couple this with the belief that thefilmic image can serve as a vehicle for the

constellation of the first magnitude' (Deren1970:15).

Unlike Herskovits, Deren eschewed therole of passive observer during her Haitiansojourns. She is said, in fact, to have beeninitiated as a priestess of the cult. Her filmingof cult ceremonies reflected this level o finvolvement--an houngan having suggested toher that this would be her way of 'serving theloa' (Deren 1970:14). The hounfour (the ritualspace where t h e l o a m o u n t t h e i rcommunicants), thus served as her mise-en-scene where the camera explored rhythm andmovement as the metaphysic of vodun's beauty(Deren 1970:8.9).

Although Deren later familiarizedherself with the ethnography of vodun, hermethodology of filmmaking was intuitive andsubjective. She writes that '..since film isdependent on visual impact I deliberatelyrefrained from learning anything about theunderlying meaning of the (vodun) dancemovements so that such knowledge should notprejudice my evaluation of their purely visualimpact' (Deren 1970:7)2 From this devolvedan essentially mystical approach to filmiccommunication. This was based on falselydrawn dichotomies (e.g., between experienceand knowledge) and a conflation of her ownsubjectivity with emotional states in vodun thatshe felt carried universal meanings. in the end.Deren took a pre-linguistic approach to therepresentation of reality. In her own words,this was to be achieved through...the communication of concepts and ideas by meansaddressed to emotional and psychological perceptionsrather than in terms of a self-conscious articulation oran address to intellectual analysis: far example, the ideaof power convened in none rather than in the label ofa name or definition"

it is reasonable to question, I believe,whether Deren's filmic epistemology containedan overall approach toward Haitians as apeople governed largely by emotions andmystical outlooks, N o doubt the grace andmotion in vodun ritual engaged her artisticinclinations and led her to believe in thepossibility of intuitively representing a/thepsychological reality beneath its surfaces.Deren's previous experimentation with anti-narrative cinematic conventions in so-called'trance films' (a genre which played withelements of flow and movement), no doubt

buttressed her belief in this possibility. Herpre-Haitian writings, in fact, evidence herintention ' to convert movement, in filmicterms, into metaphysical principles' and torepresent mental processes cinematically(Sitney 1974:27). Commenting on her filmThe Very Eve of Night, Deren summarizes afilmic epistemology that collapses the 'seen'and the 'known', stating thatThe camera can create dance, movement, and actionwhich transcend geography and take place anywhere andeverywhere; it can also, as in this film, be themediating mind turned inwards upon the idea ofmovement, and this idea, being an abstraction, takesplace nowhere or, as it were, in the very center ofspace. (quoted in Sitrt y 1974:28)

In the Haitian footage (and the filmDivine Horsemen: Voodoo Gods of Haitiedited later), the viewer encounters this 'verycenter of space' via a cinematic gaze fixedtightly upon the forms, surfaces, rhythmiccontours within the hounfour. Deren does notwant us to stand back or to evaluate, but toexperience what she experienced as the powerand beauty of a cultural form. To elicit thisresponse she employs a number of cinematictechniques which dissolve the 'objective' gazeof a stationary and detached observer: tiltedframes and pre-shortened angles (which mimicthe peregrinations of a devotee in ritual space),slow motion and freeze frames, and extensivecutting on action (widely used in her otherfilms and closely akin to the dancer's art ofconnecting movement) (Sitney 1974:24). Themethod of shot framing coupled with the directreturn gaze of other serviteurs indicatespresence and participation fdmically. I n oneshot recording possession amidst a group ofdancers she uses slow motion and freezeframes the returned gaze of the possessedserviteur. This Is not to be read as the gaze ofa man but of the deity himself! Such cameratechniques index underlying slates of body andmind and function as signifiers within a filmicnarrative of initiation.

Deren experimented w i t h atransgressive mode of filmic representationThis contested the conventions and limits offilmic realism within her own professionalmilieu, and was certainly far different from thefilm-as-documentation approach pursued byHerskovits. O n the one hand there is anunderlying critique o f fOm medium as oneexcluding the use o f imagination a n d

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resuscitation of collective cultural memory. Inthis paper, however, I have sought to illustratethat film images are deeply embedded in thehistorical and ideological contexts of theirconstruction.

There is, of course, a debate aboutwhether f i l m i c representations a r einterpretations or datum. And this debate willcontinue, linked as i t is with issues o freflexivity in contemporary anthropology. Butthis same debate raises important questionsabout the division o f labor betweenpreservation and curatorial functions in filmarchiving. is our warrant merely to insure thepreservation of visual ethnographic records ofthe 'disappearing' or changing Other? I thinknot. Film is the dominant narrative mode ofour time. Indeed, what is publicly perceivednot only about the Other, but about theanthropological enterpr ise i t se l f , i scommunicated more widely via film than anyother medium. A n anthropological f i lmarchives must be expected not only to preservea record of this enterprise, but to foster anintellectual climate for the critical study of thefilmic record as well.Acknowledgements.

I am indebted t o I ra Jacknis fo rsuggesting that the works of Herskovits andDeren could usefully be compared f o runderstanding the anthropological visualizationof Haiti. I would also like to thank ProfessorSidney Mintz for his helpful comments on anearlier draft of this paper and David Brown andGuhar Shankar of Smithsonian Foiklife fortheir thoughtful comments on the Herskovitsand Deren films.

NotesI This paper is an introduction to the topic.

A thoroughgoing study would have to include, amongother materials, analysis o f the following Haitianfootage•. Zora Neal Hurston, early 1920s (Library ofCongress [?A Alan Lomax, 1937 (Archive of Folkj u g , Reel 1, Motion Picture Collection, LC, No.FCA 5327 Katherine Dunham late 1930s (New YorkPublic Library Dance Collection, cat. #MGZHB 12•1449); broadcast film entitled 'Voodoo: narrated byCharles Collingwood (American Museum of NaturalHistory Collection, N.Y.), the ethnographic films ToServe the Gods and Leant of the Spirits by KarenKramer (Film Library, Wyckoff, N.Y.)

2 These sound recordings are preserved as theIndiana University Archives of Traditional Music. An

inventory of these materials can be found in theannotated catalogue by Anthony Seeger and LouiseSpear (1978).

3I have elsewhere described how Herskovits'imaging of Afm-American cultural patterns may berelated to his scale of intensity of AfricanismC and hisconcepts of cultural focus and cultural imponderablesThe latter included an inventory of patterned behaviors(e.g., bodily movement, rhythm, gestures, speechbehaviors) which were so closely identified withphysical endowment o f the Individual as to becommonly seen as 'racially Inherited' [see Homiak(199O)I.

4 Herskovits also recognized the ability offilm to evoke the artistic quality of expressive andceremonial activity. He intended to make a film withsound on the macumbai and candombles of Bahiaduring his 1941 fieldwork in Brazil. On August 13,1947 he received a permit from the Brazilian consulateto enter the country with 8,000 feet of 35mm film and200 sound discs (MJ. Henkovits papers, UniversityArchives, Northwestern University library, Evanston,ILL). Whether the footage was ever shot (or whatbecame of it) is unknown.

5 Henkovits traveled to Haiti at the terminusof the U.S. military occupation of the island-a periodduring which journalists and the authors of pulp novelschurned out descriptions of a society replete withorgiastic riles, zombies, cannibalism, and mysteriouspower. In the popular imagination of the period, Haitiflmctioned as a metonym for the Dark Continent, withjournalistic accounts serving as a reader's vicarious-andhems:--safe passage through the 'bean of darkness'.

6 The proposed film was to relate the ritualaspects of children's gantes to traditional rites in Balland Haiti (Sitrey, 1974).

7 It was, in fact, a disdain for analysis whichDeren felt identified her with the dlsempowered subjectsshe filmed. Deren romanticized her identification withthe Haitian peasant In this regard and, In so doing,suppressed a recognition of the inequality of powerinherent in her work (see Deren 1970: 165.66). Hersympathetic identification with her subjects contrastswith the tome the stakes with naard to bar film projectAccording to Deren there was 'virtually no precedent forthe filming of [vodunj ceremonies' prior to her work(1970:14)-the implication being that she was In aprivileged position to represent the reality. Th isforecast the proprietary attitude which has prevailedamong members of the white avant garde with respectto 'the Other (see Fusco 1988:9).

8 Deren (1970:9) claims that, based onimmediate experience, she arrived at Interpretations ofthe jvodunj rituals...so consistently correct thatHaitians began to believe that I had gone throughvarying degrees of initiation? She does not, however,specify anything about the precise nature of these

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precluding the possibility of creating anotherreality (Sidney 1974; Deren 1977). However,insofar as this intuitive style seeks to elevatevodun to a 'danced-spirituality' with universalrelevance, Deren's approach confuses 'seeing'with 'knowing' just as it remains a futile effortto transcend the intellectual dichotomy betweenexperience and knowledge. i t is also plaguedby what has come to be known in documentaryand ethnographic film as the essentialistfallacy (Nichols 1981:274-275). In this caseit entails projecting the Haitian subject onto ararefied plane of ritual and mythology. Here,whatever dramas or enigmas that confrontindividuals are played out on a cosmic level.Nichols (1981:275) has observed of thisnarrative cinematic strategy that the act ofacquitting oneself on this level is fferet t is'testimony from some timeless region • ofhuman essence.' Although Deren argues inher writing that vodun is a system fo rbalancing the spiritual and material worlds, thelatter, i n its specific historicity, near lydisappears from view in her footage.

To place Deren's images in a widercontext as I have done for Herskovits is a bitmore problematic. This writer would need abetter fix on the role of the avant-garde,surrealism, and other artistic discourses at thetime. But it is worth observing that Deren--asa leading light in the avant garde--played thepart of a broker and popularizer of vodun forthe Bohemian milieu. A s an artist, she waspersonally captivated by the sense of poetry invodun thought and practice: a philosophicalsystem which seeks to balance the material andspiritual sides of the person. He r romanticattraction to this rtuified side of Haitian life canbe contrasted with the avant garde's stridentcriticism of conformism, of middle-America'sobsession with materialism, and the rise of themilitary industrial complex during the post-war period. I n this social and ideologicalcontext, she accessed vodun as a set o fprimordial Jungian images for members of thatcounter-culture, another 'thought-world' intenns of which to see themselves.

Certainly for those in her milieu, if notfor Deren herself, vodun was radical chic. i twas h e r distinctive contribution t o acountercultural bricolage formed f r o miconoclastic symbols. A n d such symbolismdid circulate--as when Deren and her husbandfashioned Halloween invitations featuring a

vevec of Ghede. The accompanying textexplained a correspondence between theHaitian dedication to Ghede, Lord of the Dead,and the celebration of Halloween in the UnitedStates. Forecasting a postmodernist attitudetowards the affair, the invitation included thepromise of a magic show and an invitation toadopt some lost kittens. As Deren consciouslysought to become cross-cultural and to deepenher urban mode of living, her work was aharbinger of a process of cross-cultural artisticexploration by artists and thinkers in the 60'sand 70'x.9

Deren's work was also widely reportedin The Village Voice which struck thefollowing note in review of her monograph onvodtm:Maya Deren's profound, loving study of the voodooreligion is a very rare kind of book (...) For the author,Voodoo was a genuine matter of life and death (...)There are lessons to be learned from knowing aboutVoodoo the way Maya Deren makes you knew about it

The way in which Deren makes us"know about it' was cast as a challenge tobourgeois consciousness. For North Americanviewers there is the evocative power of it ,ratanvisual stimuli and shots which function in atransgressive visual mode. This is especiallythe case with the 'taboos" of sacrifice andpossession and, beyond this, scenes whichconvey the sensual and sexual connotations ofreligious possession. The implied challenge tobourgeois codes of representation in Deren'swork must be seen in her effort to depict thefusion of polarities within vodun: the unity ofbody and mind, life and death, thought andfeeling. In this regard, her images functionsimultaneously as ethnography and subversivecinema.

In all of this, i t Is ironic that Derenpublicized vodun among a liberal segment ofthe American populace at precisely the time thatit was being officially rehabilitated in Haiti andcommercialized as an exotic experience fortourist consumption under the presidency ofPaul Magloire (Rotberg 1974: 363) and, notlong thereafter, as an instrument of socialcontrol by François Duvalier.Conclusion

The footage of Herskovits and Derenpresents us with a version of what Clifford(1988) terms the 'predicament of culture' --individuals in culture looking e culture.Where Herskovits' f i l m approximates

theoretical relationship with objects—lightingand illuminating them without consumingthem' (as quoted from Owens 1984: 70). JohnLocke formulated the empiricist canons o fmodem social science based on the concept that'the perception o f the mind was most aptlyexplained by words relating to the sight" (1964[1689]: 22 ) . A m o n g a l l t h e tenets o fempiricism, the ideology of the 'supremacy ofvision' has been the most tenacious.

The cultural choice of prizing sight as ameans of developing rational thought receiveda tremendous boost when the camera wasintroduced as a new technology that couldextend our ability to see. The inferred meaningwas that the camera would a l low furtherobjectivity and thus permit a heightened degreeof observational accuracy.

The invention of the camera occurredroughly at the same time as the development ofevolutionary schemes. I n a major critique onmodem presentation, John Berger suggeststhat if we regard photography as coeval in itsorigins w i t h soc io logy, a n t h r o p o l o g y,positivism, we see that "...what they sharedwas the hope that observable, quantif iablefacts, recorded by experts, would constitute theproven truth that humanity required. Precisionwould replace metaphysics; planning wouldresolve conflicts' (1980: 64). Th i s urge forscientific foundations went hand-in-hand withthe rapid inculcation of the camera as a researchtool.

Visual ethnographies i n t h e late-nineteenth a n d ear ly -twentieth centuriesexemplify how the camera became a means toprove the existence o f people and places(Worth 1980). A s an empirical tool, i t wasgrounded i n anthropology 's n e e d t osubstantiate findings and present an eyewitnessaccount. ' Yo u are there because I was there'(Clifford 1988: 22).

One of the first example of the cameraas a significant part of field research was A.C.Haddon's 1898 Cambridge AnthropologicalExpedition to the Torres Straits. Photographicequipment was the central research tool in the'proof' of these findings. This event markedan important bridge from anthropology asspeculative science t o a discipline w i thstandards of evidence comparable to those ofnatural science (Brigard 1975: 16).

The visual image as produced by thecamera has been socialized in the sciences as a

credible source o f objectivity. T h i s 'p re -cooked' image with latent objectivity is lodgedin a cultural belief system that 'the eye does notlie' or that the camera is objective. Thoughthis belief is being more and more challenged,'seeing is believing' still dominates the visualethnographies produced in the documentarygenre.

Visual ethnographers recognize that theproduction of film texts are as difficult as theconstruction of written texts. Though widelyaccepted a s a m e d i u m f o r convey ingethnographic study, ethnographic film presentsa set of challenges in the portrayal of culturalexperience. i t poses such problems as voice,editing, reflexivity and audience (Marcus andFischer 1986: 75). B u t in addition to thenarrative text, ethnographic Film has otherelements that increase the complexity o frepresentation. A complete analysis of visualimages requires examination of these issues:the visual image, the written language, thevoice, the music and the sound effects (Seiler1985: 3).

These added dimensions i n t h ecomposition of an ethnographic filin in manyways arc more slippery, diff icult to controlthan the written text. A s John Collier, Jr.writes, ' o n e photograph c a n contain athousand references. A n d even moreconfounding, most photographs are a minutelime sample - a hundredth of a second slice ofreality' (Coll ier 1962:6) . t h e f lu idi ty o felements in film making beckon for criteria bywhich ethnographers can produce and evaluatetheir visual ethnographic texts. T h e firstamong these recommended criteria i s therecognition of gender inclusivity.Visual Constructions of Gender

Gender representation i n v i s u a lethnographic texts is no easier to disentanglethan in written texts (Marcus and Fischer1986). Though feminist anthropologists haveoffered numerous critiques about the visualrepresentation o f women a n d have longdiscussed the issues o f 'male as viewer','female as viewed' motif, it has been neglectedin the general discourse o n ethnographicfilmmaking and photography (Laurctis 1984;Williams 1985; Scheman 1988)

It is nearly impossible t o separaterepresentational from interpretational 'sues inthe study of gender without examining howgender has been viewed in the social sciences.

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Interpretations (e.g., the cognitivc elements which madethis putative intelligibility across cultural worldspossible).

9 One might compare this dabbling in thephilosophical and spiritual possibilities of vodun by theavant garde in the 1950s with the turn to Easternreligions in the late 19603 by a wider spectrum ofAmerica's disaffected youth.

IO The film I Walked With a Zombie by JackTournler is a good example. I t not only played on themystery of voodoo, but cashed in on the popularity ofcalypso in the United Slate at the time. Tturnicr casta well-known Trinidadian calypso dancer in the role ofthe la Place in the film's vodun scenes. N o tsurprisingly, the music and dance in these sequencesresembles a nightclub performance more than an actualvodun ritual.

I I Krik? Krac! Tales of a Nightmare (JacAvila, 1988. Mountain Top Rims) is a noteworthyfilm in this regard. I t plays with the religious andpolitical imagery surrounding vodun, obscuring thehistorical and the ethnographic contexts related to themeaning(s) o f vodun practice. I n this film thechoreomanla of vodun Is likely to be read as 'chaos'akin to the political turmoil which plagues Haiti ratherthan as disciplined service to the gods of vodun. Thisrisks a stereotypic reading of vodun as a practice whichhas kept Haiti politically backward

ReferencesC i r c a James1988 T h e Predicament of Culture- Twentieth-Cannes,

gthmerwlw Literature and Art. Cambridge,MA: Harvard University Pita

Gina, Maya1965 Maya Deters: rob, essays and letters, film

Culture no. 39, winter.1970 Ovine Homer= The Voodoo Gods of Haiti.

Boston: Beacon Press.1985 Cinematography: the creative use of reality. In

Film Theory and Criticism IntroductoryReadings. Genld Mast di Marshall Cohen,edaOrford Press.

Pmtrtar®a, Jame1978 African religious movements. Annual Review of

0athr000losy 7. 198 234.Pvc, Coco1988 Fantasies of oppoaitionality Afterimage

December, 1988, pp. 5 9Hostmvns, M.J.1930 L o , the poor Haitian. Review of The Maroc

Island W.B. Seabrook. In The Nation 128198.200.

1937 W e . ailaitian Valley. New Yort AlfredKnopf.

1941 T h e Myth of the Negro Past. Bostons BeaconPress.

Haller Millicent1977 Introduction, program nota from A Tribute to

Anthology Film Archives' Avantrarde FilmElmtusi A m e r i c a n Film Institute,November 10, 1977.

HcsaAX. John1990 'Melville J. Henkovita: motor behavior and the

imaging of Afro American culture'. VisualAntlsroswlogv 3(1):11-30-

MARCUS, George, and Michael Fischer1986 Andu000logv as Cultural Critique. Chicago:

University of Chicago Press.Manx, Sidney1970 Foreword. In A f r o -/unclean Anthtwobtn:

Contettmorary Penoectivcs. Norman Whittenrad John Sewed (OS.). New York: Free Prins

1990 Introduction. In The Myth of the Negro Past(with new introduction by Sidney Mmtx).Melville J. Herakovits. Boston: Beacon Press.

N1arOL1, Bill1951 Ideology and the Image. Chicago: University of

Chicago Press.S r . Anthony, and Louve S. SPEAR1978 Early Field Recortlinn A Catalogue of Cylinder

Collections at the Indiana University Archives ofTraditional Music. Bloomington: IndianaUniversity.

STrNEY. P. Adams1974 Vision's Film T1e American Ava t.Garde. New

Yort OrfordS e r e r, E. Richard1975 Visual evident: an emerging force in visual

anthropology, National Anthropological FilmCenter, Occasional Papen SI.

GENDER REPRESENTATION IN VISUALETHNGGRAPmPS:

AN INTFRPRErIVIST PERSPECTIVE

byKathleen KUEHNASf

University of MinnesotaSmithsonian Institute Human Studies Film

Archives Fellow

Central to current theoretical debates inanthropology is the concern of who has thepower to represent whom, and to what extentare our representations simply interpretationsversus scientific facts. O v e r the last fifteenyears, interpretive anthropology (Geertz 1973)has provided a sophisticated inquiry into thenature of ethnographic reporting (Marcus andFischer 1986). T h o u g h the critique hasexamined how and what we write aboutcultures, more work needs to be done about

: 1 -

Dominated by theoretical models that haveemphasized a biologically deterministic view ofgender it has only been in the last twenty yearsthat the concept o f gender as a culturalconstruction has exploded these previousunquestioned assumptions (Rosaldo a n dLamphere 1974, Ortner 1974; Reiter 1975,MacCormack and Strathem 1980; Fedigan1986). Scholars from all fields have not onlycalled attention to this major gap, but soughtout anthropology as a means of investigatingresearch about women, by women, and oftenfor women (Davies 1975; Weiner 1976 ;Atkinson 1982; Hodder 1986; Scott 1986:Bleier 1987) . T h e monumenta l t a s ksurrounding the study o f gender involvesreworking these models, challenging century-old assumptions, while maintaining a rigorousstudy t h a t n o t o n l y o f f e r s a b e t t e runderstanding of the female world view, butalso explains how this view is pertinent to aholistic view of culture.

Unraveling the androcentric or male-oriented bias in anthropological research andtexts is a laborious but important task. T oborrow from Cli fford Geertz's well-knownstatement about ritual as ' a story we tel lourselves about ourselves' (1973: 26), genderconstruction is also a story we tell ourselvesabout ourselves. The definition of gender inany culture 'is a strategic project...and for themost part covert" (Butler 1986). W e mustconsciously recognize tha t the signs a n dsymbols we produce about gender arc amindful process of interpreting a cultural realityladen w i t h sanc t i ons , t a b o o s , a n dprescriptions.

The concept of gender as an analyticalcategory was given form by Suzanne Kesslerand Wendy McKenna's efforts (1985119781).Defining gender attribution as the foundationfor understanding other components of gender,they presented a model of "gender as a socialconstruction' (22). T h e y argued that thepositivist framework perpetuated a polarized,two-gender model (male and female) with noallowance for overlap, while still suggestingthe existence o f contrasting gender roles(masculine and feminine) with some degree ofoverlap I n distinguishing definit ions o fgender attribution, gender role, gender identity,and gender i deo logy, t hese categoriessimultaneously facilitate the biological, socio-

cultural, and symbolic theoretical modelswithout resorting to an either/or polarity.

The idea that femaleness and malenessare dependent upon and created by a socialgroup has produced n e w methods a n dinterpretations o f ethnographic research(Rosaldo 1980; Ortner and Whitehead 1981;Conkey and Spector 1984). T h i s shif t intheoretical perspective is what Henrietta Moorecites as the most important task regarding thestudy of gender. " T h e real problem aboutincorporating women into anthropology liesnot at the level of empirical research but at thetheoretical and analytical level...the task ofreworking and redefining anthropologicaltheory' (1988:2).

Not all the researchers in the study ofgender have been women (Cucchiari 1981;Owens 1984). Edwin Ardener, for example,recognized biases of power in the developmentof explanatory models in social anthropology.His theory of 'muted groups" (1975: 221-3)proposed that the dominant societal group in agiven culture had control, and thus producedand regulated t h e dominant modes o fexpression. He suggested that any segment ofthe population that is 'silenced or renderedinarticulate' may be considered a muted group.Significantly, h e placed women i n th i scategory.

Ardener went on to explain that therealities o f women and other muted groupscannot be understood or expressed in terms ofthe dominant male model. Ardener's conceptmarked an important shift from the empiricalassumption that a male bias exists s implybecause the majority of ethnographers weremale. T h e inadequacies o f under ly ingtheoretical assumptions became v is ib le ,namely, that anthropologists draw upon malemodels from their own androcentric culturalsymbols t o explain other cultures' gendersystems.

In m y research I propose t h a tethnographic film and photographic images area reflection of the gender stereotypes found inthe filmmaker's (photographer's) dominantgroup, and thus reproduce the ethnographer'sideas and ideals about gender onto the visualrepresentation o f the cultural group beingstudied (Kuchnast 1989b). I n essence, thecamera acts more as a magnifying glass,emphasizing the ethnographer's world view,

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how we visually document other cultures as infilm and photographs.

The post modern predicament, as it hasbeen called (Habermas 1983; Jameson 1983,Lawson 1985; Gunn 1987, Hutchcon 1988), isa c r i s i s be tween representat ion a n dinterpretation. A s Marcus and Fischer havenoted, '...theoretical debates have shifted tothe leve l o f method, t o p rob lems o fepistemology, interpretation and discursiveforms of representation Elevated to a centralconcern of theoretical reflection, problems ofdescr ipt ion b e c o m e p r o b l e m s o frepresentation' (Marcus and Fischer 1986 9)

This essay addresses the current debateby examining how visual anthropology isrepresenting and interpreting cross-culturalconstructions of gender. I suggest that in spiteof the interpretive challenges hurled by Marcusand Fischer, a subtle but tenacious bel iefsystem still persists which is that the cameraobjectively represents reality- Trac i ng theorigins of this belief. I challenge the positivisticnotions that looking through the lens of acamera is neutral. Instead I argue that lookingis not a representation o f real i ty, b u t aninterpretation. I n order to investigate thisconcert, I have chosen to focus upon the issueof how gender is portrayed in ethnographicfilm. I suggest a set o f criteria wherebyanthropologists can critically evaluate genderinclusivity in visual ethnographic texts.The Constructed Visual Image

Ethnographic films offer an interestinganalogue to the current anthropological debatesbetween r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a l i s m a n dinterpretivism. A s a material artifact, theyparadoxically incorporate both perspectives.The constructed visual image, as I will refer tofilin in this essay, is both a product and aprocess I t collects and stores data, and it alsocarries meanings that are not found only in itsimprint of light on paper. These meaningsinstead are negotiated and can alter over ume.To further complicate matters, the meaningsmay differ among the various actors who takepart in the creation of the visual image. Theseactors include the image maker, the imageviewer, the image's object, and the culturalcontext in which each of these players abide.

The constructed visual image is aculturally h o u n d phenomenon. B e i n gculturally constructed, i t is argued that all ofour representations a b o u t r e a l i t y a r e

interpretations o f interpretations, o r whatUmberto Eco refers to as 'unlimited semiosis'(Seiler 1985: 1 7 ) a n d C l i f f o r d Geertzaffectionately describes as 'turtles all the waydown' (1973 29). Metaphorically speakingthen, a r e w e able t o const ruct v i s u a lrepresentations of the world without our ownfingerprint on the emulsion paper?

The critique o f visual ethnographicmonographs is one that is reflexive by nature.Though the positivistic paradigm remainscentral to ethnographic work, the interpretiveframework can help us check our assumptionsabout o u r models. N i e t z s c h e explainsreflexivity not as a negative force that strives toeradicate meaning, but a positive force that"provides t h e l i f e -blood o f the n e w b yunsettling the dead, and dying concepts whichsurround us. Reflexivity is the burden that wecan neither carry nor throw off" (quoted fromLawson 1985. 53). I n order to examineassumptions made in our visual ethnographies,it is useful to retrace how the camera as amaterial a r t i f a c t h a s b e e n u s e d b yanthropologists as an instrument of positivism.Pre-Cooked Images

As a tool, the camera has been used forthe documentation and production of culture.Since its invention in 1839, this instrument hasgiven humans the ability to travel through timeand space without ever leaving their armchairsConsidered the most consequential invention ofour time (Agee and Evans 1939, Mead 1975;Heidegger 1977; Eco 1987), i t has been theempirical a rm o f scientists, t he voice o fpoliticians, and the 'wholesale deception of themasses" (Hall 1982, Horkhcimcr and Adorno19881441).

The u s e o f t h e c a m e r a i nanthropological f ield wo rk is based uponanthropology's ca tegor iza t ion a s a nobservational science (D'Andrade 1984 105)Ethnography s primary research method,participant observation, is situated in a longscientific tradition that champions records ofsight over other human sensory abilities for thepurpose of objective data collection (Fabian1983).

From Aristotle's M e t a p h y s i c s toHegel's Lecture on Aesthetics vision hasbeen touted as the more "noble' sense duc toits ability to distance the observer from -theother". T h i s detachment i s wha t Hegeldescribes when he wrote ' v is ion h u, a pure

theoretical relationship with objects—lightingand illuminating them without consumingthem' (as quoted from Owens 1984: 70). JohnLocke formulated the empiricist canons o fmodem social science based on the concept that'the perception o f the mind was most aptlyexplained by words relating to the sight" (1964[1689]: 22 ) . A m o n g a l l t h e tenets o fempiricism, the ideology of the 'supremacy ofvision' has been the most tenacious.

The cultural choice of prizing sight as ameans of developing rational thought receiveda tremendous boost when the camera wasintroduced as a new technology that couldextend our ability to see. The inferred meaningwas that the camera would a l low furtherobjectivity and thus permit a heightened degreeof observational accuracy.

The invention of the camera occurredroughly at the same time as the development ofevolutionary schemes. I n a major critique onmodem presentation, John Berger suggeststhat if we regard photography as coeval in itsorigins w i t h soc io logy, a n t h r o p o l o g y,positivism, we see that "...what they sharedwas the hope that observable, quantif iablefacts, recorded by experts, would constitute theproven truth that humanity required. Precisionwould replace metaphysics; planning wouldresolve conflicts' (1980: 64). Th i s urge forscientific foundations went hand-in-hand withthe rapid inculcation of the camera as a researchtool.

Visual ethnographies i n t h e late-nineteenth a n d ear ly -twentieth centuriesexemplify how the camera became a means toprove the existence o f people and places(Worth 1980). A s an empirical tool, i t wasgrounded i n anthropology 's n e e d t osubstantiate findings and present an eyewitnessaccount. ' Yo u are there because I was there'(Clifford 1988: 22).

One of the first example of the cameraas a significant part of field research was A.C.Haddon's 1898 Cambridge AnthropologicalExpedition to the Torres Straits. Photographicequipment was the central research tool in the'proof' of these findings. This event markedan important bridge from anthropology asspeculative science t o a discipline w i thstandards of evidence comparable to those ofnatural science (Brigard 1975: 16).

The visual image as produced by thecamera has been socialized in the sciences as a

credible source o f objectivity. T h i s 'p re -cooked' image with latent objectivity is lodgedin a cultural belief system that 'the eye does notlie' or that the camera is objective. Thoughthis belief is being more and more challenged,'seeing is believing' still dominates the visualethnographies produced in the documentarygenre.

Visual ethnographers recognize that theproduction of film texts are as difficult as theconstruction of written texts. Though widelyaccepted a s a m e d i u m f o r convey ingethnographic study, ethnographic film presentsa set of challenges in the portrayal of culturalexperience. i t poses such problems as voice,editing, reflexivity and audience (Marcus andFischer 1986: 75). B u t in addition to thenarrative text, ethnographic Film has otherelements that increase the complexity o frepresentation. A complete analysis of visualimages requires examination of these issues:the visual image, the written language, thevoice, the music and the sound effects (Seiler1985: 3).

These added dimensions i n t h ecomposition of an ethnographic filin in manyways arc more slippery, diff icult to controlthan the written text. A s John Collier, Jr.writes, ' o n e photograph c a n contain athousand references. A n d even moreconfounding, most photographs are a minutelime sample - a hundredth of a second slice ofreality' (Coll ier 1962:6) . t h e f lu idi ty o felements in film making beckon for criteria bywhich ethnographers can produce and evaluatetheir visual ethnographic texts. T h e firstamong these recommended criteria i s therecognition of gender inclusivity.Visual Constructions of Gender

Gender representation i n v i s u a lethnographic texts is no easier to disentanglethan in written texts (Marcus and Fischer1986). Though feminist anthropologists haveoffered numerous critiques about the visualrepresentation o f women a n d have longdiscussed the issues o f 'male as viewer','female as viewed' motif, it has been neglectedin the general discourse o n ethnographicfilmmaking and photography (Laurctis 1984;Williams 1985; Scheman 1988)

It is nearly impossible t o separaterepresentational from interpretational 'sues inthe study of gender without examining howgender has been viewed in the social sciences.

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Interpretations (e.g., the cognitivc elements which madethis putative intelligibility across cultural worldspossible).

9 One might compare this dabbling in thephilosophical and spiritual possibilities of vodun by theavant garde in the 1950s with the turn to Easternreligions in the late 19603 by a wider spectrum ofAmerica's disaffected youth.

IO The film I Walked With a Zombie by JackTournler is a good example. I t not only played on themystery of voodoo, but cashed in on the popularity ofcalypso in the United Slate at the time. Tturnicr casta well-known Trinidadian calypso dancer in the role ofthe la Place in the film's vodun scenes. N o tsurprisingly, the music and dance in these sequencesresembles a nightclub performance more than an actualvodun ritual.

I I Krik? Krac! Tales of a Nightmare (JacAvila, 1988. Mountain Top Rims) is a noteworthyfilm in this regard. I t plays with the religious andpolitical imagery surrounding vodun, obscuring thehistorical and the ethnographic contexts related to themeaning(s) o f vodun practice. I n this film thechoreomanla of vodun Is likely to be read as 'chaos'akin to the political turmoil which plagues Haiti ratherthan as disciplined service to the gods of vodun. Thisrisks a stereotypic reading of vodun as a practice whichhas kept Haiti politically backward

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GENDER REPRESENTATION IN VISUALETHNGGRAPmPS:

AN INTFRPRErIVIST PERSPECTIVE

byKathleen KUEHNASf

University of MinnesotaSmithsonian Institute Human Studies Film

Archives Fellow

Central to current theoretical debates inanthropology is the concern of who has thepower to represent whom, and to what extentare our representations simply interpretationsversus scientific facts. O v e r the last fifteenyears, interpretive anthropology (Geertz 1973)has provided a sophisticated inquiry into thenature of ethnographic reporting (Marcus andFischer 1986). T h o u g h the critique hasexamined how and what we write aboutcultures, more work needs to be done about

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Dominated by theoretical models that haveemphasized a biologically deterministic view ofgender it has only been in the last twenty yearsthat the concept o f gender as a culturalconstruction has exploded these previousunquestioned assumptions (Rosaldo a n dLamphere 1974, Ortner 1974; Reiter 1975,MacCormack and Strathem 1980; Fedigan1986). Scholars from all fields have not onlycalled attention to this major gap, but soughtout anthropology as a means of investigatingresearch about women, by women, and oftenfor women (Davies 1975; Weiner 1976 ;Atkinson 1982; Hodder 1986; Scott 1986:Bleier 1987) . T h e monumenta l t a s ksurrounding the study o f gender involvesreworking these models, challenging century-old assumptions, while maintaining a rigorousstudy t h a t n o t o n l y o f f e r s a b e t t e runderstanding of the female world view, butalso explains how this view is pertinent to aholistic view of culture.

Unraveling the androcentric or male-oriented bias in anthropological research andtexts is a laborious but important task. T oborrow from Cli fford Geertz's well-knownstatement about ritual as ' a story we tel lourselves about ourselves' (1973: 26), genderconstruction is also a story we tell ourselvesabout ourselves. The definition of gender inany culture 'is a strategic project...and for themost part covert" (Butler 1986). W e mustconsciously recognize tha t the signs a n dsymbols we produce about gender arc amindful process of interpreting a cultural realityladen w i t h sanc t i ons , t a b o o s , a n dprescriptions.

The concept of gender as an analyticalcategory was given form by Suzanne Kesslerand Wendy McKenna's efforts (1985119781).Defining gender attribution as the foundationfor understanding other components of gender,they presented a model of "gender as a socialconstruction' (22). T h e y argued that thepositivist framework perpetuated a polarized,two-gender model (male and female) with noallowance for overlap, while still suggestingthe existence o f contrasting gender roles(masculine and feminine) with some degree ofoverlap I n distinguishing definit ions o fgender attribution, gender role, gender identity,and gender i deo logy, t hese categoriessimultaneously facilitate the biological, socio-

cultural, and symbolic theoretical modelswithout resorting to an either/or polarity.

The idea that femaleness and malenessare dependent upon and created by a socialgroup has produced n e w methods a n dinterpretations o f ethnographic research(Rosaldo 1980; Ortner and Whitehead 1981;Conkey and Spector 1984). T h i s shif t intheoretical perspective is what Henrietta Moorecites as the most important task regarding thestudy of gender. " T h e real problem aboutincorporating women into anthropology liesnot at the level of empirical research but at thetheoretical and analytical level...the task ofreworking and redefining anthropologicaltheory' (1988:2).

Not all the researchers in the study ofgender have been women (Cucchiari 1981;Owens 1984). Edwin Ardener, for example,recognized biases of power in the developmentof explanatory models in social anthropology.His theory of 'muted groups" (1975: 221-3)proposed that the dominant societal group in agiven culture had control, and thus producedand regulated t h e dominant modes o fexpression. He suggested that any segment ofthe population that is 'silenced or renderedinarticulate' may be considered a muted group.Significantly, h e placed women i n th i scategory.

Ardener went on to explain that therealities o f women and other muted groupscannot be understood or expressed in terms ofthe dominant male model. Ardener's conceptmarked an important shift from the empiricalassumption that a male bias exists s implybecause the majority of ethnographers weremale. T h e inadequacies o f under ly ingtheoretical assumptions became v is ib le ,namely, that anthropologists draw upon malemodels from their own androcentric culturalsymbols t o explain other cultures' gendersystems.

In m y research I propose t h a tethnographic film and photographic images area reflection of the gender stereotypes found inthe filmmaker's (photographer's) dominantgroup, and thus reproduce the ethnographer'sideas and ideals about gender onto the visualrepresentation o f the cultural group beingstudied (Kuchnast 1989b). I n essence, thecamera acts more as a magnifying glass,emphasizing the ethnographer's world view,

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how we visually document other cultures as infilm and photographs.

The post modern predicament, as it hasbeen called (Habermas 1983; Jameson 1983,Lawson 1985; Gunn 1987, Hutchcon 1988), isa c r i s i s be tween representat ion a n dinterpretation. A s Marcus and Fischer havenoted, '...theoretical debates have shifted tothe leve l o f method, t o p rob lems o fepistemology, interpretation and discursiveforms of representation Elevated to a centralconcern of theoretical reflection, problems ofdescr ipt ion b e c o m e p r o b l e m s o frepresentation' (Marcus and Fischer 1986 9)

This essay addresses the current debateby examining how visual anthropology isrepresenting and interpreting cross-culturalconstructions of gender. I suggest that in spiteof the interpretive challenges hurled by Marcusand Fischer, a subtle but tenacious bel iefsystem still persists which is that the cameraobjectively represents reality- Trac i ng theorigins of this belief. I challenge the positivisticnotions that looking through the lens of acamera is neutral. Instead I argue that lookingis not a representation o f real i ty, b u t aninterpretation. I n order to investigate thisconcert, I have chosen to focus upon the issueof how gender is portrayed in ethnographicfilm. I suggest a set o f criteria wherebyanthropologists can critically evaluate genderinclusivity in visual ethnographic texts.The Constructed Visual Image

Ethnographic films offer an interestinganalogue to the current anthropological debatesbetween r e p r e s e n t a t i o n a l i s m a n dinterpretivism. A s a material artifact, theyparadoxically incorporate both perspectives.The constructed visual image, as I will refer tofilin in this essay, is both a product and aprocess I t collects and stores data, and it alsocarries meanings that are not found only in itsimprint of light on paper. These meaningsinstead are negotiated and can alter over ume.To further complicate matters, the meaningsmay differ among the various actors who takepart in the creation of the visual image. Theseactors include the image maker, the imageviewer, the image's object, and the culturalcontext in which each of these players abide.

The constructed visual image is aculturally h o u n d phenomenon. B e i n gculturally constructed, i t is argued that all ofour representations a b o u t r e a l i t y a r e

interpretations o f interpretations, o r whatUmberto Eco refers to as 'unlimited semiosis'(Seiler 1985: 1 7 ) a n d C l i f f o r d Geertzaffectionately describes as 'turtles all the waydown' (1973 29). Metaphorically speakingthen, a r e w e able t o const ruct v i s u a lrepresentations of the world without our ownfingerprint on the emulsion paper?

The critique o f visual ethnographicmonographs is one that is reflexive by nature.Though the positivistic paradigm remainscentral to ethnographic work, the interpretiveframework can help us check our assumptionsabout o u r models. N i e t z s c h e explainsreflexivity not as a negative force that strives toeradicate meaning, but a positive force that"provides t h e l i f e -blood o f the n e w b yunsettling the dead, and dying concepts whichsurround us. Reflexivity is the burden that wecan neither carry nor throw off" (quoted fromLawson 1985. 53). I n order to examineassumptions made in our visual ethnographies,it is useful to retrace how the camera as amaterial a r t i f a c t h a s b e e n u s e d b yanthropologists as an instrument of positivism.Pre-Cooked Images

As a tool, the camera has been used forthe documentation and production of culture.Since its invention in 1839, this instrument hasgiven humans the ability to travel through timeand space without ever leaving their armchairsConsidered the most consequential invention ofour time (Agee and Evans 1939, Mead 1975;Heidegger 1977; Eco 1987), i t has been theempirical a rm o f scientists, t he voice o fpoliticians, and the 'wholesale deception of themasses" (Hall 1982, Horkhcimcr and Adorno19881441).

The u s e o f t h e c a m e r a i nanthropological f ield wo rk is based uponanthropology's ca tegor iza t ion a s a nobservational science (D'Andrade 1984 105)Ethnography s primary research method,participant observation, is situated in a longscientific tradition that champions records ofsight over other human sensory abilities for thepurpose of objective data collection (Fabian1983).

From Aristotle's M e t a p h y s i c s toHegel's Lecture on Aesthetics vision hasbeen touted as the more "noble' sense duc toits ability to distance the observer from -theother". T h i s detachment i s wha t Hegeldescribes when he wrote ' v is ion h u, a pure

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than it does as an objective lens documentinganother culture's world view.

The distortion of gender roles is notedin a popular ethnographic film about Maasaiwomen produced by Granada Films under theconsultation o f anthropologist MelissaLlewelyn-Davies (1984). H e r voice-overnarration about Maasai women is introduced bydescribing the role of 'a very important manamong the Maasai, the laibon. He is rich andhas many cattle, sheep and goats, and manywomen and children.' Defining women onlyin terms of how their roles are related to menhas been one of the major criticisms put forthby feminist anthropologists (Moore 1989). i tis ironic that this film about Maasai women isintroduced with visual images of cows and themale Laibon. I s this intentional editing?Would we write an ethnography about Masaiwomen with the first paragraphs visuallydescribing cows and the chief?

Llewelyn-Davies goes on to describethe gender relations of the Maasai in terms ofwhat men are and what women are not. Thenarration continues, 'Unlike European womenand children, who are considered to be anexpense to men, Maasai women and childrenare considered to be a man's wealth.' Sheignores the possibility that a woman's wealthcan exceed material control and enter into anarena of what Annette Weiner calls 'the cosmicsphere' (1976: 120), such as women being thegatekeepers of all ritual passages between ageand gender identity development Thoughthere is no independent evidence of howMassai women see themselves, I contend thatwhat we view in her film is Llewelyn-Davies'representation based upon her own culture'sconstruction of gender, and not that of theMaasai's.

in a n unsuccessful voice o v e rtechnique, Llewelyn-Davies attempts to let anelder Maasai woman tell her story. Out of thefifty-six minute film, an estimated 14 minutesare of this informant describing events in theMaa language. Since she offers no translationeither through subtitles or direct narration, icontend that the fourteen minutes in which welisten and watch but cannot understand theelder woman is a subtle but powerful silencingtechnique.

It is proposed that ethnographic filmand photography reproduce stereotypes ofgender construction found in the filmmaker's

hegemonic group, and thus becomes a createdartifact of the ethnographer (Kuehnast 1989).Since visual ethnographies are viewed by morepeople than any written ethnography will everhave the chance to be read, we must considerhow do our won ideas and ideals about genderpermeate our constructed visual stories aboutother cultures? Developing a set of criteria thatcan be applied to visual ethnographies is thefirst step in deconstructing our culturally-bound myths about gender. Are we consciousof how visual ethnographies silence, objectify,or stereotype women? D o we repeatedlyassociate women with traditional or rigid roles?Do we exoticize women? Do linguistic biasesappear in the narration of ethnographic films,for example, referring to the people of a cultureconstantly with the male pronoun?

Historically, the production o f theexotic in ethnographic texts has assistedanthropology in carving its niche. B u texoticism, or the creation of 'the other' has asits correlate, the disembodied gaze. LauraMulvey says women's image has beencontinually stolen to be used for the endproduct, the gaze (1984: 58). In the dominantpatriarchal order, women are the ethnographic'other'.

When w e examine g e n d e rrepresentation in ethnographic filmmaking weare up against what Michel Foucault discussesas the creation of the modern individual as a'passive mute body', the result of technologyand the social sciences (Dreyfus and Rabinow1982). This disembodiment of the observerfrom the observed continues to be at the basisof the dilemma of studying 'the other'. Thecamera acts as a ma •nifier intensifying thisobjectification of 'the other' T o return theethnographic gaze, both women and other non-hegemonic groups must begin to write andmake visual images of the world according totheir own viewpoint_

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the object of the gaze, separated from hervoice, unable to tell her own story.

Returning the gaze i n visualanthropology means the recognition that thecamera does not operate alone. Instead, it isthe conscious penetration of an ethnographicgaze upon a cultural experience. Likewise, theinclusivity of gender codes in ethnographicfilm requires the silenced female to raise hereyes, return the gaze, and speak directly to heraudience.

The camera, if used consciously as atool to understand different interpretations of aculture and not as a tool to reproduce objectiveexotic proofs, can assist not only in revealingto ourselves our own cognitive and culturalconstrictions, but it can also allow others to telltheir stories in their own voice, with their ownviews. I t is then we will know 'the other' hasreturned the gaze.

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than it does as an objective lens documentinganother culture's world view.

The distortion of gender roles is notedin a popular ethnographic film about Maasaiwomen produced by Granada Films under theconsultation o f anthropologist MelissaLlewelyn-Davies (1984). H e r voice-overnarration about Maasai women is introduced bydescribing the role of 'a very important manamong the Maasai, the laibon. He is rich andhas many cattle, sheep and goats, and manywomen and children.' Defining women onlyin terms of how their roles are related to menhas been one of the major criticisms put forthby feminist anthropologists (Moore 1989). i tis ironic that this film about Maasai women isintroduced with visual images of cows and themale Laibon. I s this intentional editing?Would we write an ethnography about Masaiwomen with the first paragraphs visuallydescribing cows and the chief?

Llewelyn-Davies goes on to describethe gender relations of the Maasai in terms ofwhat men are and what women are not. Thenarration continues, 'Unlike European womenand children, who are considered to be anexpense to men, Maasai women and childrenare considered to be a man's wealth.' Sheignores the possibility that a woman's wealthcan exceed material control and enter into anarena of what Annette Weiner calls 'the cosmicsphere' (1976: 120), such as women being thegatekeepers of all ritual passages between ageand gender identity development Thoughthere is no independent evidence of howMassai women see themselves, I contend thatwhat we view in her film is Llewelyn-Davies'representation based upon her own culture'sconstruction of gender, and not that of theMaasai's.

in a n unsuccessful voice o v e rtechnique, Llewelyn-Davies attempts to let anelder Maasai woman tell her story. Out of thefifty-six minute film, an estimated 14 minutesare of this informant describing events in theMaa language. Since she offers no translationeither through subtitles or direct narration, icontend that the fourteen minutes in which welisten and watch but cannot understand theelder woman is a subtle but powerful silencingtechnique.

It is proposed that ethnographic filmand photography reproduce stereotypes ofgender construction found in the filmmaker's

hegemonic group, and thus becomes a createdartifact of the ethnographer (Kuehnast 1989).Since visual ethnographies are viewed by morepeople than any written ethnography will everhave the chance to be read, we must considerhow do our won ideas and ideals about genderpermeate our constructed visual stories aboutother cultures? Developing a set of criteria thatcan be applied to visual ethnographies is thefirst step in deconstructing our culturally-bound myths about gender. Are we consciousof how visual ethnographies silence, objectify,or stereotype women? D o we repeatedlyassociate women with traditional or rigid roles?Do we exoticize women? Do linguistic biasesappear in the narration of ethnographic films,for example, referring to the people of a cultureconstantly with the male pronoun?

Historically, the production o f theexotic in ethnographic texts has assistedanthropology in carving its niche. B u texoticism, or the creation of 'the other' has asits correlate, the disembodied gaze. LauraMulvey says women's image has beencontinually stolen to be used for the endproduct, the gaze (1984: 58). In the dominantpatriarchal order, women are the ethnographic'other'.

When w e examine g e n d e rrepresentation in ethnographic filmmaking weare up against what Michel Foucault discussesas the creation of the modern individual as a'passive mute body', the result of technologyand the social sciences (Dreyfus and Rabinow1982). This disembodiment of the observerfrom the observed continues to be at the basisof the dilemma of studying 'the other'. Thecamera acts as a ma •nifier intensifying thisobjectification of 'the other' T o return theethnographic gaze, both women and other non-hegemonic groups must begin to write andmake visual images of the world according totheir own viewpoint_

In summary, deconstructing cameraobjectivity and reconstructing the female voicein ethnographic f i lm , present parallelinterpretive problems. A s the camera hasrepresented what Julia Kristeva (1988) mightcall the 'transcendental ego', cut off from theethnographer, technologically unconscious -thus, unable to tell a l ie - so has therepresentation of women in ethnographic filmpresented the female as culturally unconscious,

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the object of the gaze, separated from hervoice, unable to tell her own story.

Returning the gaze i n visualanthropology means the recognition that thecamera does not operate alone. Instead, it isthe conscious penetration of an ethnographicgaze upon a cultural experience. Likewise, theinclusivity of gender codes in ethnographicfilm requires the silenced female to raise hereyes, return the gaze, and speak directly to heraudience.

The camera, if used consciously as atool to understand different interpretations of aculture and not as a tool to reproduce objectiveexotic proofs, can assist not only in revealingto ourselves our own cognitive and culturalconstrictions, but it can also allow others to telltheir stories in their own voice, with their ownviews. I t is then we will know 'the other' hasreturned the gaze.

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'Bushmen' have been the most victimized,brutalized and oppressed in the bloody historyof the region. I t is a brutal tale of organizedand-Bushman Commandos and debates duringthe German colonial era in the WindhoekLandestag as to whether Bushmen should bedeclared vermin, yet all Myburgh can say in hisfilm is that Tune and history have taken a tollon their numbers'!!! T h i s is not even aeuphemism. i t is a denial of history.

The war against those labelled Bushmenis still going on. I t is now, however moresubtle. I n its present form it is still primarilyconcerned with dispossessing Bushmen of theirland. In the area where Myburgh based his filmthis took the following form: A t the end of thenineteenth century Rhodes wanted a bufferagainst any German expansion eastward fromNamibia so he sent up an expedition which ledto the creation of the so-called Ghanzi Block, anarea settled by white South African farmers.Among the many mostly Bushmen peopledispossessed by this act were the /Owl. Theaboriginal owners found themselves to besquatters on their own land. O n e of theacademics who provided a rationale for thisland-theft was Siegfried Pasarge who was laterto achieve renown as a 'Bushman Expert'.Many Ghanzi block farmers flouted one of theunspoken laws of the Kalahari, namely that onenever refuses anyone water. Indeed most ofthem chased Bushman squatters off their land.These Bushmen were driven into the largelywaterless central area where the film was made.In the late fifties as Botswana was being readiedfor independence by the British, RaymondSilberbauer was appointed 'Busman SurveyOfficer'. Silberbauer was rightly concernedwith the dispossession of Bushman land, butbecause of the pervasive obnoxiousness ofApartheid could not very well recommend areserve for Bushmen based on ethnicity.Instead he managed to pilot through the creationof the 52,347 sq. km Central Kalahari GameReserve in 1961. i n this large, seasonallywaterless tract, Bushmen would be allowed toremain and practice their "traditional" lifestyle.

As European 'tourism' developed inBotswana, the Central Kalahari Game reservebecame a popular destination. P a r t of itstouristic attraction was precisely its Bushmen (orBasarwa as they are officially known i nBotswana) (Hitchcock & Brandenburgh, 1990).Of course some of these tourists were upset

when these Bushmen did not measure up to theirexpectations, which were fed largely on pulpmovies like The Gods Must Be Crazy andLaurens van der Post's musings. Moreover theBushmen they saw engaged in such disgustinglyirritating behavior like "begging' (forgettingperhaps that begging is simply an extension offoraging). These European tourists were,naturally highly conservation-consciousness,and being of the bourgeoisie carried clout backin Europe. Their clout had an impact in theKalahari because the Botswana government,ever eager to "develop', especially i f it couldlessen its dependency on South Africa, wasanxious to export beef to the European CommonMarket Thus pressed by the need to open areasof cattle production and placate the Europeanconservationist lobby which felt that Bushmenwere killing too much game, the Botswanagovernment announced on December 1, 1986that 'the reserve would lose its integrity i fpeople were allowed to stay there'.

According t o H i tchcock a n dBrandenburgh (1990:23): 'Two ministers whotoured the central Kalahari in mid-1988 offeredseveral reasons as to why resettlement wasnecessary. First of all, they noted, the movewould help ensure conservation of the resourcebase in the reserve. Secondly, they argued thata move to other areas would increase people'saccess to social services and developmentassistance. Finally, they stressed that such amove would enhance the tourism potential of theregion...'

Several human rights organizations soonjoined the battle, including Survival internationaland it is still raging. I t is a conflict going back atleast to the late seventies. And while this warwas raging Myburgh was filming his 'isolated"band, ostensibly, blissfully ignorant of it Andto proclaim at the conclusion of his film that"You see, no one is to blame' is to display adishonesty of ethnocidal magnitude.

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1974 ' S y m b o l • Strategies' Journal ofCommuniotion. 24 (dl. 27-39.

famine to move to settlements with water andform symbiotic relationships with the mostlyagricultural or pastoral people who live there.And come the rain, many foragers revert back toa foraging mode of subsistence. In short thereis nothing 'irreversible' about them going to thesettlement and thus becoming the last wild'Bushmen.

In the film itself, the subject is notallowed to talk instead we have the film-makerpaternalistically explaining what is happening,rather like Barbara Woodhouse explaining to uson television how and why our pets behave theway they do. I t is a narration filled with naiveromantic psychologisms representing them assome contemporary throwback to someimagined primeval men: 'His only reality is tobe a hunter': they have 'instinctive rhythm'. I tis claimed that the consciousness gap betweenBushmen and others cannot be bridged.Compared t o other documentaries andethnographies Myburgh's /Gwi seem to have anobsession with killing which can be read as asign of manliness (both for the objects and thefilm-maker) and the theme of survival constantlysurfaces. The political implications of this clap-trap are deadly and need to be located firmly inthe socio-political milieu in which Myburgh is

operatuIn many ways People o f the GreatSandface is a cinematographic cousin to LeniRiefenstahl's Last of the Nubs, a work whichSusan Sontag has described as about ' aprimitivist ideal: a portrait of a people subsistingin a pure harmony with their environment,untouched by 'civilisation' (Sontag, 1981:86).It is 'an elegy for the soon-to-be extinguishedbeauty and mystic powers of primitives whomRiefensthal calls 'her adopted people' (Sontag,1981-87). S o n t a g aptly characterizedRiefenstahi's project as 'fascinating fascism'.Fascism, she reminds us, does not only implyterror and brutishness, but also stands for 'theideal of life as art, the cult of beauty, thefetishism o f courage, the dissolution o falienation in ecstatic feelings of community; therepudiation of the intellect' (Sontag, 1981:96).Its appeal lies precisely in that it is figurative,emotional and non-intellectual. Sontag'sconclusion on Riefenstahl appears equallyappropriate for Myburgh: 'What is distinctiveabout the fascist version of the aid idea of theNoble Savage is its contempt for all that isrefllective, critical and pluralistic... it is hardly

... the intricacy and subtlety of primitive myththat, social organization, or thinking that isbeing extolled... in celebrating a society wherethe exhibition of physical skill and courage andthe victory of the stronger... are the unifyingsymbols of the communal culture - wheresuccess in (hunting!) is the 'main aspiration of aman's life' (Sontag, 1981:89).

The truth of the matter, as John Marshallso eloquently pointed out at the showing ofPeople of the Great Sandface during the 1990Northeastern Anthropological AssociationMeeting, is that there have not been any 'wildBushmen' for a very long time. He recountedhow in the early fifties he and his familycrisscrossed and searched the Kalahari in theirvain search for 'wild Bushmen'. Moreovermany of the 'kills' were set-ups.

So why was this film so well received?The answer to this question is complex andinvolves many factors. Myburg's claim to havespent several years w i th t h e Bushmen(Tomaselli, 1989) and the moving vignette ofMyburgh on state television's U i t en Tutsdressed up like a Bushman while ostensiblyrevealing how he did fieldwork (Tomaselli et al,1986) must have convinced some o f theauthenticity and authority of his project but thematter is more complex.

To be sure People of the Great Sandfaceis vastly superior to the South Africangovernment sponsored pseudo-scientificdocumentaries whose propaganda intent is soblatant as to destroy any authority the film mightseek to establish. And yes, it does have superbcinematography and indeed many of thesequences are stunningly poetic, but can a film-maker make liberal use of 'poetic-license' andthen claim to have produced a documentary?And why were so many people in South Africataken in, believing this film to be the definitivestudy of the last 'wild' Bushmen? I t is not as ifSouth African academics are naive: On thecontrary, academic boycott notwithstanding,they are remarkably au fait with cultural studiesand other developments in media studies.Indeed they have even had a large dose of JayRuby. T h e y strike me as an academicallyrigorous and intellectually independent lot who

I Recall those almost poetic scenes o fkilling the ducker where the hunter isfilmed from the ground up

PEOPLE OF THE GREAT SANDPACE:PEOPLE OF THE GREAT

WHITE LIE?

bRobert b y

Department of AnthropologyUniversity of Vermont

John Paul Myburgh's f i l m h a sapparently been well-received in Britain andEurope and hailed by ttpitted, well-informedand critical South African media commentatorsas a breakthrough in South African ethnographicfilm. Yet People of the Great Sandface raisestroubling questions, not only about how weportray the human dimension o f southernAfrica, but about the very nature of the academicenterprise called visual anthropology. I ncontrast to the received wisdom, in this briefnote i argue that this film reaches new heights inthe art of mystification. Indeed it might moreaccurately be titled: People of the Great WhiteLie, because ultimately Myburgh is concernednot with history but with perpetuating myth.And it is a dangerous, indeed, a killer-myth; themyth of the wild Bushman.

Myburgh claims to have contacted andlived wi th the last group o f 'w i l d ' o rautonomous Bushmen living in the Kalaharialluding that he has visually recorded their lastdays independent forages before they threw inthe towel and settled at a Government providedwaterhole. Since they do not live 'traditionally'anymore, we have no way o f verifyingMyburgh's account and must take his footage asirreplaceable documentation of their supposedlylast days of hunting thus enhancing the value ofthe footage. Severa l f i lmmakers a n danthropologists who have worked with Kalaharipeoples have publicly expressed strongskepticism about the authenticity of this filmand it is skepticism well-founded T h e water-pump settlement which is their final destination.for example, features prominently in JohnMarshall's 1975 National Geographic ClassicBusignen of the Kalahari Indeed, just beforethe film was released it was pointed out thatMyburgh had rounded up a number of formerforagers and gone back into the wilds to filmtheir 'traditional lifestyle' (Tomaselli et al.1986) but this contrived nature of the film hasapparently since been overlooked.

People of the Great Sandface can bediscussed on two fronts: What it says (and howit is said) and what it does not say. While boththese aspects are closely mutually reinforcing,what is not said is probably more important. i fthis film had been made thirty, or even fifteenyears ago, i t would have been hailed as amasterpiece, but so overwhelming has thepolitical dimension been in southern Africa thatit would only be a foolishly naive o r aconservative positivist film-maker who wouldnot at least make some passing reference to thewider socio-political context.

Moreover, even in the well-worked fieldof 'Bushman/San Studies' there has been a shiftof paradigm from studying Bushmen au( theywere the isolated last remnants of the stone-age:people who might somehow inform us as tohow our paleolithic ancestors lived, to treatingthem as an integral part of a large social systemIn the emergent paradigm, most powerfully andeloquently argued in Edwin Wilsen's LandFilled with Flies (1989) they emerge as animpoverished rural underclass.

Myburgh refers to his /Gwi objects (notsubjects) not as San but as Bushmen. Whilesome anthropologists would prefer the gloss ofSan I think he is correct to use the termBushman since the term San is derived from thename Sab which means robber while the termBushman is derived from the Dutch wordmeaning bandit or outlaw. N o t only is it aquestion of calling a spade a spade, but the termSan assists in the mystification process. ManyNamibian school children, for example, believethat while the San have always been found in theKalahari, Bushmen have long been extinct.More important however, the term Bushmenwas a lumpen-category used by the colonialauthorities for anyone who resisted colonialrule. They did not get this label imposed uponthem by living in the splendidly harsh isolated'survivalist' world of the central KalahariPerhaps it is time to make Bushmen (andbanditry) respectable again. Unfortunately thisfilm does exactly the opposite. I t panders to thedangerous myth of the 'wild Bushman' whichprovides an exceedingly narrow pair o fideological blinkers with which to survey theKalahari. What the film does not say is in thiscase more important than what it says.

The truth of the matter is that of all thepeople living in southern Africa those labelled

'Bushmen' have been the most victimized,brutalized and oppressed in the bloody historyof the region. I t is a brutal tale of organizedand-Bushman Commandos and debates duringthe German colonial era in the WindhoekLandestag as to whether Bushmen should bedeclared vermin, yet all Myburgh can say in hisfilm is that Tune and history have taken a tollon their numbers'!!! T h i s is not even aeuphemism. i t is a denial of history.

The war against those labelled Bushmenis still going on. I t is now, however moresubtle. I n its present form it is still primarilyconcerned with dispossessing Bushmen of theirland. In the area where Myburgh based his filmthis took the following form: A t the end of thenineteenth century Rhodes wanted a bufferagainst any German expansion eastward fromNamibia so he sent up an expedition which ledto the creation of the so-called Ghanzi Block, anarea settled by white South African farmers.Among the many mostly Bushmen peopledispossessed by this act were the /Owl. Theaboriginal owners found themselves to besquatters on their own land. O n e of theacademics who provided a rationale for thisland-theft was Siegfried Pasarge who was laterto achieve renown as a 'Bushman Expert'.Many Ghanzi block farmers flouted one of theunspoken laws of the Kalahari, namely that onenever refuses anyone water. Indeed most ofthem chased Bushman squatters off their land.These Bushmen were driven into the largelywaterless central area where the film was made.In the late fifties as Botswana was being readiedfor independence by the British, RaymondSilberbauer was appointed 'Busman SurveyOfficer'. Silberbauer was rightly concernedwith the dispossession of Bushman land, butbecause of the pervasive obnoxiousness ofApartheid could not very well recommend areserve for Bushmen based on ethnicity.Instead he managed to pilot through the creationof the 52,347 sq. km Central Kalahari GameReserve in 1961. i n this large, seasonallywaterless tract, Bushmen would be allowed toremain and practice their "traditional" lifestyle.

As European 'tourism' developed inBotswana, the Central Kalahari Game reservebecame a popular destination. P a r t of itstouristic attraction was precisely its Bushmen (orBasarwa as they are officially known i nBotswana) (Hitchcock & Brandenburgh, 1990).Of course some of these tourists were upset

when these Bushmen did not measure up to theirexpectations, which were fed largely on pulpmovies like The Gods Must Be Crazy andLaurens van der Post's musings. Moreover theBushmen they saw engaged in such disgustinglyirritating behavior like "begging' (forgettingperhaps that begging is simply an extension offoraging). These European tourists were,naturally highly conservation-consciousness,and being of the bourgeoisie carried clout backin Europe. Their clout had an impact in theKalahari because the Botswana government,ever eager to "develop', especially i f it couldlessen its dependency on South Africa, wasanxious to export beef to the European CommonMarket Thus pressed by the need to open areasof cattle production and placate the Europeanconservationist lobby which felt that Bushmenwere killing too much game, the Botswanagovernment announced on December 1, 1986that 'the reserve would lose its integrity i fpeople were allowed to stay there'.

According t o H i tchcock a n dBrandenburgh (1990:23): 'Two ministers whotoured the central Kalahari in mid-1988 offeredseveral reasons as to why resettlement wasnecessary. First of all, they noted, the movewould help ensure conservation of the resourcebase in the reserve. Secondly, they argued thata move to other areas would increase people'saccess to social services and developmentassistance. Finally, they stressed that such amove would enhance the tourism potential of theregion...'

Several human rights organizations soonjoined the battle, including Survival internationaland it is still raging. I t is a conflict going back atleast to the late seventies. And while this warwas raging Myburgh was filming his 'isolated"band, ostensibly, blissfully ignorant of it Andto proclaim at the conclusion of his film that"You see, no one is to blame' is to display adishonesty of ethnocidal magnitude.

This dishonesty i s underlined i nMyburgh's claim that previously in the 'battle ofsurvival' LGieci never had a choice, but now,courtesy of the altruistic Botswana governmentif drought gets too severe they can now opt outand seek succor at the government providedwater-pump. As has been well-established for along time, there have never been any groups inthe Kalahari who live in isolation I t is acommon and historically well documentedstrategy for foragers in times of drought or

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famine to move to settlements with water andform symbiotic relationships with the mostlyagricultural or pastoral people who live there.And come the rain, many foragers revert back toa foraging mode of subsistence. In short thereis nothing 'irreversible' about them going to thesettlement and thus becoming the last wild'Bushmen.

In the film itself, the subject is notallowed to talk instead we have the film-makerpaternalistically explaining what is happening,rather like Barbara Woodhouse explaining to uson television how and why our pets behave theway they do. I t is a narration filled with naiveromantic psychologisms representing them assome contemporary throwback to someimagined primeval men: 'His only reality is tobe a hunter': they have 'instinctive rhythm'. I tis claimed that the consciousness gap betweenBushmen and others cannot be bridged.Compared t o other documentaries andethnographies Myburgh's /Gwi seem to have anobsession with killing which can be read as asign of manliness (both for the objects and thefilm-maker) and the theme of survival constantlysurfaces. The political implications of this clap-trap are deadly and need to be located firmly inthe socio-political milieu in which Myburgh is

operatuIn many ways People o f the GreatSandface is a cinematographic cousin to LeniRiefenstahl's Last of the Nubs, a work whichSusan Sontag has described as about ' aprimitivist ideal: a portrait of a people subsistingin a pure harmony with their environment,untouched by 'civilisation' (Sontag, 1981:86).It is 'an elegy for the soon-to-be extinguishedbeauty and mystic powers of primitives whomRiefensthal calls 'her adopted people' (Sontag,1981-87). S o n t a g aptly characterizedRiefenstahi's project as 'fascinating fascism'.Fascism, she reminds us, does not only implyterror and brutishness, but also stands for 'theideal of life as art, the cult of beauty, thefetishism o f courage, the dissolution o falienation in ecstatic feelings of community; therepudiation of the intellect' (Sontag, 1981:96).Its appeal lies precisely in that it is figurative,emotional and non-intellectual. Sontag'sconclusion on Riefenstahl appears equallyappropriate for Myburgh: 'What is distinctiveabout the fascist version of the aid idea of theNoble Savage is its contempt for all that isrefllective, critical and pluralistic... it is hardly

... the intricacy and subtlety of primitive myththat, social organization, or thinking that isbeing extolled... in celebrating a society wherethe exhibition of physical skill and courage andthe victory of the stronger... are the unifyingsymbols of the communal culture - wheresuccess in (hunting!) is the 'main aspiration of aman's life' (Sontag, 1981:89).

The truth of the matter, as John Marshallso eloquently pointed out at the showing ofPeople of the Great Sandface during the 1990Northeastern Anthropological AssociationMeeting, is that there have not been any 'wildBushmen' for a very long time. He recountedhow in the early fifties he and his familycrisscrossed and searched the Kalahari in theirvain search for 'wild Bushmen'. Moreovermany of the 'kills' were set-ups.

So why was this film so well received?The answer to this question is complex andinvolves many factors. Myburg's claim to havespent several years w i th t h e Bushmen(Tomaselli, 1989) and the moving vignette ofMyburgh on state television's U i t en Tutsdressed up like a Bushman while ostensiblyrevealing how he did fieldwork (Tomaselli et al,1986) must have convinced some o f theauthenticity and authority of his project but thematter is more complex.

To be sure People of the Great Sandfaceis vastly superior to the South Africangovernment sponsored pseudo-scientificdocumentaries whose propaganda intent is soblatant as to destroy any authority the film mightseek to establish. And yes, it does have superbcinematography and indeed many of thesequences are stunningly poetic, but can a film-maker make liberal use of 'poetic-license' andthen claim to have produced a documentary?And why were so many people in South Africataken in, believing this film to be the definitivestudy of the last 'wild' Bushmen? I t is not as ifSouth African academics are naive: On thecontrary, academic boycott notwithstanding,they are remarkably au fait with cultural studiesand other developments in media studies.Indeed they have even had a large dose of JayRuby. T h e y strike me as an academicallyrigorous and intellectually independent lot who

I Recall those almost poetic scenes o fkilling the ducker where the hunter isfilmed from the ground up

PEOPLE OF THE GREAT SANDPACE:PEOPLE OF THE GREAT

WHITE LIE?

bRobert b y

Department of AnthropologyUniversity of Vermont

John Paul Myburgh's f i l m h a sapparently been well-received in Britain andEurope and hailed by ttpitted, well-informedand critical South African media commentatorsas a breakthrough in South African ethnographicfilm. Yet People of the Great Sandface raisestroubling questions, not only about how weportray the human dimension o f southernAfrica, but about the very nature of the academicenterprise called visual anthropology. I ncontrast to the received wisdom, in this briefnote i argue that this film reaches new heights inthe art of mystification. Indeed it might moreaccurately be titled: People of the Great WhiteLie, because ultimately Myburgh is concernednot with history but with perpetuating myth.And it is a dangerous, indeed, a killer-myth; themyth of the wild Bushman.

Myburgh claims to have contacted andlived wi th the last group o f 'w i l d ' o rautonomous Bushmen living in the Kalaharialluding that he has visually recorded their lastdays independent forages before they threw inthe towel and settled at a Government providedwaterhole. Since they do not live 'traditionally'anymore, we have no way o f verifyingMyburgh's account and must take his footage asirreplaceable documentation of their supposedlylast days of hunting thus enhancing the value ofthe footage. Severa l f i lmmakers a n danthropologists who have worked with Kalaharipeoples have publicly expressed strongskepticism about the authenticity of this filmand it is skepticism well-founded T h e water-pump settlement which is their final destination.for example, features prominently in JohnMarshall's 1975 National Geographic ClassicBusignen of the Kalahari Indeed, just beforethe film was released it was pointed out thatMyburgh had rounded up a number of formerforagers and gone back into the wilds to filmtheir 'traditional lifestyle' (Tomaselli et al.1986) but this contrived nature of the film hasapparently since been overlooked.

People of the Great Sandface can bediscussed on two fronts: What it says (and howit is said) and what it does not say. While boththese aspects are closely mutually reinforcing,what is not said is probably more important. i fthis film had been made thirty, or even fifteenyears ago, i t would have been hailed as amasterpiece, but so overwhelming has thepolitical dimension been in southern Africa thatit would only be a foolishly naive o r aconservative positivist film-maker who wouldnot at least make some passing reference to thewider socio-political context.

Moreover, even in the well-worked fieldof 'Bushman/San Studies' there has been a shiftof paradigm from studying Bushmen au( theywere the isolated last remnants of the stone-age:people who might somehow inform us as tohow our paleolithic ancestors lived, to treatingthem as an integral part of a large social systemIn the emergent paradigm, most powerfully andeloquently argued in Edwin Wilsen's LandFilled with Flies (1989) they emerge as animpoverished rural underclass.

Myburgh refers to his /Gwi objects (notsubjects) not as San but as Bushmen. Whilesome anthropologists would prefer the gloss ofSan I think he is correct to use the termBushman since the term San is derived from thename Sab which means robber while the termBushman is derived from the Dutch wordmeaning bandit or outlaw. N o t only is it aquestion of calling a spade a spade, but the termSan assists in the mystification process. ManyNamibian school children, for example, believethat while the San have always been found in theKalahari, Bushmen have long been extinct.More important however, the term Bushmenwas a lumpen-category used by the colonialauthorities for anyone who resisted colonialrule. They did not get this label imposed uponthem by living in the splendidly harsh isolated'survivalist' world of the central KalahariPerhaps it is time to make Bushmen (andbanditry) respectable again. Unfortunately thisfilm does exactly the opposite. I t panders to thedangerous myth of the 'wild Bushman' whichprovides an exceedingly narrow pair o fideological blinkers with which to survey theKalahari. What the film does not say is in thiscase more important than what it says.

The truth of the matter is that of all thepeople living in southern Africa those labelled

Film has been widely adopted i nanthropology courses as the dominantcontemporary medium of communication. Theinclusion of filmic texts is quite routine in thepractice of hundreds of professors, who usethem as exemplary ' i l lustrat ions' o fanthropological knowledge. T h e use o fethnographic films has reinforced the power ofthe academic discourse by adding to it complexsets of visualizations of literally hundreds ofindigenous cultures. However, i f filmsprovide a direct and vivid experience of the'other', this 'presence - enhanced b y thecommon illusion of 'naturalness' of non-fictiongenres - is so powerful, that its effects onstudents are hard for professors to understandand to control, and are thus easy for them tounderestimate.

To a great extent, films are a 'double-edged sword' that can help students betterunderstand other cultures, yet may also helpreinforce ethnocentric beliefs. in a study donein 1973, Thomas Hearne and Paul DeVorefound that the use of Yanomamo films (Asch,Chagnon) in introductory anthropology wasreinforcing students' negative preconceptionsof the Yanomamo. After watching the films,students' v iews evolved f r o m simpleimpressions and characterizations to well-informed and more complex stereotypes aboutthe 'pr imi t ive ' . S o , a long w i t h i t scommunicational value, the medium of filinintroduced new problems to teaching.

Despite the extensive production anduse of visual media by anthropologists, thefield of critical studies in ethnographic filmremains little developed. There are few newstudies available on the textual analysis or onthe politics of representation and ideology inethnographic film (MacDougall, 1975, Nichols,1981: Pinney, 1989) Even more noteworthyis the absence of studies of spectatorship andthe emotional, ideological, and subliminalimpact of ethnographic films on students. Thispaper aims to help remedy this situation bybringing theories from fields closely related tovisual anthropology mass rommunicationresearch and film studies - to the criticalanalysis of ethnographic film

I. I d e o l o g y , H e g e m o n y a n dSpectatorship

Ethnographic film forms part of thelarger culture industry of Western society and

participates in the broader cultural discourseabout the 'primitive other'. The pragmatics ofethnographic films have to be understood aspart of this dialogic process, and can beconsidered a sub-system of cross-culturalcommunication. Th is involves a five-wayrelationship between producers, anthropologybooks, ethnographic films, professors andindividual and social groups of users/viewers.The dialectics o f the m u l t i -channe lanthropological discourse can be seen as achain of interpretations, an ideological processof cross-cultural 'intermediation', in whichmeanings about indigenous cultures areproduced and circulated. T h e system isgenerated and controlled by two institutions:the ethnographic film apparatus (producers,films) and the educational apparatus(professors, universities, books). Both operatewithin a realm characterized by its complexityand by a rich alteration of ideological codesover time.

It is pertinent here to insert a briefdiscussion of the notion of ideology and itscontemporary usage in critical studies. Whilethe original Marxist notion of ideology as theproduction of meanings (representations) stillunderpins the contemporary use of the term,the idea of ideology as 'false consciousness'has been largely criticized as reductionist andmechanist; ideology is now seen as more than asimple mirror of the social determinants. Onthe one hand, British 'cultural studies' - mostlygrounded in social theory - have conceptualizedideology as experience and constitutivediscursive practices, emphasizing the role ofagency and the active constriction of meanings(Williams, 1977); ideology is the site o fstruggle between different classes and groups.On the other hand, French 'critical studies',mostly influenced by semiotics, Lacanianpsychoanalysis and feminism, conceptualizeideology as predominantly unconsciousdiscursive structures which produce experienceand determine the place of the individual.Subjects are 'Interpellated' by ideology andcalled into place within the social scenario.

From a 'middle ground' positionbetween 'dominance' and 'contestation',theorists l ike Stuart Hal l (1985) haveconceptualized ideology as both the processualconstruction of meanings and practices, and asthe result of 'overdeternrination' by 'structures-in-dominance'. New developments in both

need not stand back from colleagues in the moreprivileged countries.

The wave on which People of the GreatSandface coasted to its modest triumph was thesame one on which the Gods must be Crazyrode to Box Office succrss in South Africa (andelsewhere) and was caused by a long and oldgroundswell. To understand this one needs toconsider the role of Bushman as cultural iconwithin the broad South African society and howaspects of fascism have permeated into theunassuming nooks and crannies o f SouthAfrican intellectual life. 'Wild Bushmen' are acrucial feature in the self-image of white SouthAfricans. indeed, already in the twenties, theimmensely popular travel writer H.V. Mortonwent so far as to proclaim Bushmen as one ofthe Seven Wonders o f South A f r i cg .Discovering the las t wild Bushmen' hasbecome something of a South African tradition.in 1910 Louis Peringuey, the Director of theSouth African Museum, claimed to have buriedthe last 'pure Bushman'. A few years later thiswas disputed by E. Dunn to be followed by thebig-game hunter Bain who brought 'the lastwild Bushmen' to the 1966 Empire Exhibition.Periodically, since then, the press haveprominently featured tales of some hardy whitelocating the 'last wild Bushman'. Myburgh'sproject thus has a long intellectual pedigree.

it is not fortuitous that the largest curio-store chain in South Africa is called 'TheBushman Curio Shop' or that one of the hitattractions at any settler historical celebration inSouth Africa is a bevy of loin-clothed 'wildBushmen' obtained courtesy of an enterprisingwhite Namibian impresario. N o r i s i tcoincidental that the South African Defence forceuses Bushmen extensively in its counter-insurgency operations and that at one time theyheld the dubious distinction of being the mostmilitarized ethnic group in the world. One of themajor reasons for military recruitment was thebelief that Bushmen were "natural" hunters andtrackers and thus would be effective counter-insurgency operatives. They also exploitedthem culturally. The SADF was so proud ofwhat it had done for (and to) these 'lastrepresentatives of the stone-age' that, as a matterof course, visiting foreign journalists wereshown the main Bushman base in Namibia,

appropriately named, Omega.2 Thesejournalists recorded a rich fund of characteristicswhich their white fellow-soldiers believed themto have: 'The Bushman's senses in the field areunbelievable. I f a patrol has a Bushman with it,then it is unnecessary to post guards at night.The Bushman also goes to sleep, but when theenemy is still far away he wakes up and raisesthe alarm according to one senior officer (DieBurget, January 6, 1982), while another whitesoldier believed that 'They have fantasticeyesight and they can navigate in the bushwithout a compass or map... With the Bushmenalong, our chances of dying are very slight.They have incredible tenacity, patience andendurance. They've taught me to respectanother race' aline, March 2, 1981). Evenexperienced battle-hardened mercenaries wereimpressed A Soldier of Fortune article exhorts:'Able to survive long periods on minimal foodand water, the Bushman has an instinctive,highly developed sense of danger, and hasproved to be an astoundingly good 'snap'shot... (but, his) (t)orte is tracking... I f you'venever seen a two-legged bloodhound at work,come to South West Africa and watch theBushman. Actually, the Bushman puts thebloodhound to shame. ( In addition, they are)good at estimating mortar projectile strikedistances because of their age-old weapon - thebow and arrow' (Norval, 1984:24))

2The crass use of names and icons t osustain i t s symbolic dominance i s aphenomenon worthy of further ana:ystsThe original base used to train Bushmantrackers was called Alpha (The First)Omega (The Last) base was later built tohouse Angolan Bushman refugees whowere mercenaries t o the Pied C r o wbattalion in which , needless to say. theemblem o f the'white head o f the crowsymbolized t h e w h i t e l eade rsh ipelement".

31t is a widespread Idee fixe According toanother Soldier o f Fortune a r t i c l e'Troops o f the Bushman Battalion areperhaps the best indigenous trackers insouthern Afr ica today. M u c h o f theirskill comes from the Bushman s inherent

-33-

schools have incorporated the post-structuralistdiscussion of ideology as discourse, but theyalso criticize the deconstructionist notion thattexts (ideological signifiers) are detached fromany absolute connection to meaning. P o s t -Marxist theorists of ideology resist the totalcommitment to 'rupture' and 'difference' andthe disarliculation of signification. They arguethat ideology is fixed to social life and has realeffects; ideology is thus seen as the articulationof 'difference' and 'unity'.

The contemporary debate has alsoincorporated t h e Gramscian n o t i o n o f'hegemony', which refers to entire structuresof domination that include world-view, socialpractice, subjective practice and subjectiveexperience. Hegemony is a ' l ived system ofmeanings and values, a sense of reality formost people in the society ...in the strongestsense it is a 'culture" (Williams, 1977: 110).A l ived hegemony is always an historicalprocess, its internal structures highly complexand contradictory. T h e dialectics o f thehegemonic include transformational practicesby which the dominant elite not only controlsgroups and individuals, but also incorporatesand assimilates them into its own discourse.The 'culture industry' plays a fundamental rolein recreating and perpetuating this dominantsystem.

Beginning with evolutionary ideologies,the Western hegemonic view of non-Westernindigenous cultures has been that o f the'primitive' as a cultural analogue/metaphor ofthe past. T h i s view was confirmed b y theresearch of nineteenth century anthropologists(see Morgan, Tylor, Frazer, Durkheim). A f te rmore than a century of studies largely markedby colonialism, Orientalist ideologies (Said,1979) and evolutionary theory, the academicdiscourse is still that defined as the 'science ofMan', "committed only to the description of themost alien, exotic and 'primitive' customs'(Marcus and Fischer, 1986: I8) . Therefore,popular notions of anthropology in the Westcontinue to be conditioned by nineteenthcentury sensibilities, and the attendant searchfor the origins o f human society. T h i sperception, or iginat ing i n Enlightenmentarchetypes of the 'Wild Man', has evolved intothe categories o f the Noble Savage and theBarbarian (see Rousseau, DePawn).

The p o s t -colonial e r a a n d t h ematerialization o f the 'Third Wor ld ' have

occasioned a new set of reinterpretations of the'primitive'. T h e fetishized notion o f theEdenic Noble Savage has been transformedinto an endangered species, w h i l e t h e'underdeveloped' and the working classes havenow also been ascribed both positive andnegative qualities of otherness (White, 1978).The growth of multi-ethnic cities has altered thenature and composition o f the hegemonicculture and its means o f reproducing itself.This can be observed in the mass media, whichappropriates assimilating subcultures easily intoits hegemonic discourse. I n contrast, thedeeply rooted popular view of the 'primitiveother', now a disappearing world, changesmore slowly, due to its archetypal nature.Popular mythologies of the 'primitive' continueto be reproduced in all forms of mass media,from Ho l l ywood f i lms t o television andcomics. i t is within this general context ofintertextual representations of the 'primitive'that w e should approach t h e s t u d y o fethnographic films.

As a specialized highbrow institution ofthe 'culture industry', the ethnographic filmapparatus speaks with the authoritative voice ofWestern scientific representations about the'primitive'. I n relation to other genres andstyles, ethnographic f i l m communicatesthrough elaborated codes, as opposed to themore restricted nature of mass media language.Originating a s chronicles o f t r ave le rs ,ethnographic film has further developed into anindependent f ield, amassing vast archivalmaterials of indigenous peoples from aroundthe wor ld . I n a b road sense, w e candistinguish four predominant tendencies o frepresentation i n convent iona l v i s u a lethnography. Initially, most early ethnographicfilms were largely mythopoetic representationsof epic enterprises (i.e 'Nanook of the North','Dead Birds', 'The Hunters"). This gave wayto the observational and overly objectifyingdepiction o f indigenous peoples. w h i c hresulted i n an 'uncontaminated' b u t alsodehumanizing representation. (i.e. Yanomarnofilms). A third tendency is the 'Orientalist'position, based o n a contemplative a n daesthetically mystified representation o f the'primitive' (i.e. 'The Nuer') A l l three of thesetraditional sorts of ethnographic fi l ins werelargely 'monologues', in which the voice of the'primitive other' was always mediated throughthe anthropologist's authoritative interpretation

These superhuman qualities of Bushmenwere grounded not in humanity but in animality.Their inability to retain cattle was attributed totheir lack o f self-restraint. A s they a r e'extremely emotional', their women folk cannotdo without the men-folk and this determines thelength of patrol (Pretoria News 26 February1981). T e magazine assured us that they areoften distracted from a guerilla track by a honeywhile the sighting of a hyena would provokeuncontrollable laughter (T time, March 2, 1981).4

Bushman rights is still very much anIssue. F i v e days before Namibia becameIndependent, South Africa relocated some 4,000military Bushmen, who apparently chose not tobe demobilized, to a base in South Africa. Thesource of their military efficiency is not their'inherent tracking ability' or any such quality asthe mystificrs would have us believe, but arisesrather, as Cynthia Enloe has suggested, fromtheir pariah status in the wider society (Enloe,1980).

The l o v e a f f a i r w h i c h t h e w h i t ebourgeoisie has with 'w i ld Bushmen' is longand complex. Space does not permit a detailedanalysis of the phenomenon, suffice to say thatit can be related to alienation: As the urbanizingwhites become more and more alienated fromtheir society. ' w i l d Bushmen' take o n amythical reality as antithesis to the problems oftheir society. B u t also, as David Maughan-Brown has recently suggested, it provides themwith moral absolution from accusations of beingracists (Maughan-Brown, 1983).Bibliography&vine, Cynthia. Ethnic Sold,ev: State Security in a1980 D i v i d e d Sac ie , Penguin, HannondawarthI irmigar , Robin at Rodney BtA w e z a ) i Ta u r u m ,

tie w i th the land t h e i r nomadic huntergatherer her i tage w h i c h ensu red t h a tonly those w i t h the sharpest eyes, besthearing and most empathetic feel) o f thebush survived ( M i l l 1987.32

4Detnils on the Bushman situation are t obe found in a photograph 'Gordon. 19811Some newspaper reports also h in t at thisand anthropologists agree S o m e o f t h emost knowledgeable experts believe tha tall Bushmen born a f te r circa 1960 havelost the abil i ty to track a n d most of theirveldcraft skil ls.

1?90 C o r a e n z t ion, and Culture in the Kalahari Desert,Botswana' in Cultural Survival Quarterly 1 4 (2)20 24,

MAurgiw Brawn, David. ' The Noble Savage in.983 A n g l o Saxon Colonial Ideology, 1 9 5 0 1 9 8 0 '

enBlish in Africa. 1 0 (2): 55-77Mai., D. S A D F ' s Buahmca D o r n Nomads on SWAPOs1987 T r a c k ' I n Soldiers of Fortune. January 3 2 37.NORVAL. M - S A D P S Bushman Battalion. Pruniave1984 T r a c k e r s Fight 20th Century War' in Soldiers of

Fortune M a r c h 71.75.S0MA0. Strum. Under the S i r of Sahr+n New York1981 V i n t a g e Preen.Ta i m a u , K., Vint lama, A., I . Siff i 'VHD &1986 R . Toot .s¢u . . M y t h , gate and Power South

Africans Imaged on Fi lm and TV. Rel lv i l le ,Ant hr opos.

Tcau,snr r, Keyart 1989 . Interview with Paul Mybiegh in:989 C V A Review Fa l l , pp. 26-31

CRITICAL STUDIES AND VISUALANTHROPOLOGY:

ABERRANT VS. ANTICIPATEDREADINGS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

byWilton MARTiNFZ

University of Southern California

IntroductionThis article discusses the impact o f

ethnographic film on undergraduate students,in l ight of contemporary critical theories o fcommunication. The first part focuses on thenotions o f 'ideology' and 'hegemony', a n dtheir significance In our understanding o fethnographic film's place within the larger'culture industry'. I t also discusses somespecific approaches to 'audience research, tothe issue o f representation, then offers atypology of hypothetical 'preferred readings' ofethnographic films. Drawing on this theoreticalframework, the second part concentrates onstudents' responses to a set o f eight films,proposing a preliminary taxonomy of reactions,it also analyzes the ideological positioning ofthe audience and the dialectics of decodingprocesses.

The report is excerpted from a largerstudy o f the use o f ethnographic f i lms i nteaching introductory anthropology a t theUniversity of Southern California) T h e studyas a whole examines the nature o f t h eethnographic representation, the pragmatics ofethnographic filin, and their combined effect onundergraduates

- 3 4 -

Film has been widely adopted i nanthropology courses as the dominantcontemporary medium of communication. Theinclusion of filmic texts is quite routine in thepractice of hundreds of professors, who usethem as exemplary ' i l lustrat ions' o fanthropological knowledge. T h e use o fethnographic films has reinforced the power ofthe academic discourse by adding to it complexsets of visualizations of literally hundreds ofindigenous cultures. However, i f filmsprovide a direct and vivid experience of the'other', this 'presence - enhanced b y thecommon illusion of 'naturalness' of non-fictiongenres - is so powerful, that its effects onstudents are hard for professors to understandand to control, and are thus easy for them tounderestimate.

To a great extent, films are a 'double-edged sword' that can help students betterunderstand other cultures, yet may also helpreinforce ethnocentric beliefs. in a study donein 1973, Thomas Hearne and Paul DeVorefound that the use of Yanomamo films (Asch,Chagnon) in introductory anthropology wasreinforcing students' negative preconceptionsof the Yanomamo. After watching the films,students' v iews evolved f r o m simpleimpressions and characterizations to well-informed and more complex stereotypes aboutthe 'pr imi t ive ' . S o , a long w i t h i t scommunicational value, the medium of filinintroduced new problems to teaching.

Despite the extensive production anduse of visual media by anthropologists, thefield of critical studies in ethnographic filmremains little developed. There are few newstudies available on the textual analysis or onthe politics of representation and ideology inethnographic film (MacDougall, 1975, Nichols,1981: Pinney, 1989) Even more noteworthyis the absence of studies of spectatorship andthe emotional, ideological, and subliminalimpact of ethnographic films on students. Thispaper aims to help remedy this situation bybringing theories from fields closely related tovisual anthropology mass rommunicationresearch and film studies - to the criticalanalysis of ethnographic film

I. I d e o l o g y , H e g e m o n y a n dSpectatorship

Ethnographic film forms part of thelarger culture industry of Western society and

participates in the broader cultural discourseabout the 'primitive other'. The pragmatics ofethnographic films have to be understood aspart of this dialogic process, and can beconsidered a sub-system of cross-culturalcommunication. Th is involves a five-wayrelationship between producers, anthropologybooks, ethnographic films, professors andindividual and social groups of users/viewers.The dialectics o f the m u l t i -channe lanthropological discourse can be seen as achain of interpretations, an ideological processof cross-cultural 'intermediation', in whichmeanings about indigenous cultures areproduced and circulated. T h e system isgenerated and controlled by two institutions:the ethnographic film apparatus (producers,films) and the educational apparatus(professors, universities, books). Both operatewithin a realm characterized by its complexityand by a rich alteration of ideological codesover time.

It is pertinent here to insert a briefdiscussion of the notion of ideology and itscontemporary usage in critical studies. Whilethe original Marxist notion of ideology as theproduction of meanings (representations) stillunderpins the contemporary use of the term,the idea of ideology as 'false consciousness'has been largely criticized as reductionist andmechanist; ideology is now seen as more than asimple mirror of the social determinants. Onthe one hand, British 'cultural studies' - mostlygrounded in social theory - have conceptualizedideology as experience and constitutivediscursive practices, emphasizing the role ofagency and the active constriction of meanings(Williams, 1977); ideology is the site o fstruggle between different classes and groups.On the other hand, French 'critical studies',mostly influenced by semiotics, Lacanianpsychoanalysis and feminism, conceptualizeideology as predominantly unconsciousdiscursive structures which produce experienceand determine the place of the individual.Subjects are 'Interpellated' by ideology andcalled into place within the social scenario.

From a 'middle ground' positionbetween 'dominance' and 'contestation',theorists l ike Stuart Hal l (1985) haveconceptualized ideology as both the processualconstruction of meanings and practices, and asthe result of 'overdeternrination' by 'structures-in-dominance'. New developments in both

need not stand back from colleagues in the moreprivileged countries.

The wave on which People of the GreatSandface coasted to its modest triumph was thesame one on which the Gods must be Crazyrode to Box Office succrss in South Africa (andelsewhere) and was caused by a long and oldgroundswell. To understand this one needs toconsider the role of Bushman as cultural iconwithin the broad South African society and howaspects of fascism have permeated into theunassuming nooks and crannies o f SouthAfrican intellectual life. 'Wild Bushmen' are acrucial feature in the self-image of white SouthAfricans. indeed, already in the twenties, theimmensely popular travel writer H.V. Mortonwent so far as to proclaim Bushmen as one ofthe Seven Wonders o f South A f r i cg .Discovering the las t wild Bushmen' hasbecome something of a South African tradition.in 1910 Louis Peringuey, the Director of theSouth African Museum, claimed to have buriedthe last 'pure Bushman'. A few years later thiswas disputed by E. Dunn to be followed by thebig-game hunter Bain who brought 'the lastwild Bushmen' to the 1966 Empire Exhibition.Periodically, since then, the press haveprominently featured tales of some hardy whitelocating the 'last wild Bushman'. Myburgh'sproject thus has a long intellectual pedigree.

it is not fortuitous that the largest curio-store chain in South Africa is called 'TheBushman Curio Shop' or that one of the hitattractions at any settler historical celebration inSouth Africa is a bevy of loin-clothed 'wildBushmen' obtained courtesy of an enterprisingwhite Namibian impresario. N o r i s i tcoincidental that the South African Defence forceuses Bushmen extensively in its counter-insurgency operations and that at one time theyheld the dubious distinction of being the mostmilitarized ethnic group in the world. One of themajor reasons for military recruitment was thebelief that Bushmen were "natural" hunters andtrackers and thus would be effective counter-insurgency operatives. They also exploitedthem culturally. The SADF was so proud ofwhat it had done for (and to) these 'lastrepresentatives of the stone-age' that, as a matterof course, visiting foreign journalists wereshown the main Bushman base in Namibia,

appropriately named, Omega.2 Thesejournalists recorded a rich fund of characteristicswhich their white fellow-soldiers believed themto have: 'The Bushman's senses in the field areunbelievable. I f a patrol has a Bushman with it,then it is unnecessary to post guards at night.The Bushman also goes to sleep, but when theenemy is still far away he wakes up and raisesthe alarm according to one senior officer (DieBurget, January 6, 1982), while another whitesoldier believed that 'They have fantasticeyesight and they can navigate in the bushwithout a compass or map... With the Bushmenalong, our chances of dying are very slight.They have incredible tenacity, patience andendurance. They've taught me to respectanother race' aline, March 2, 1981). Evenexperienced battle-hardened mercenaries wereimpressed A Soldier of Fortune article exhorts:'Able to survive long periods on minimal foodand water, the Bushman has an instinctive,highly developed sense of danger, and hasproved to be an astoundingly good 'snap'shot... (but, his) (t)orte is tracking... I f you'venever seen a two-legged bloodhound at work,come to South West Africa and watch theBushman. Actually, the Bushman puts thebloodhound to shame. ( In addition, they are)good at estimating mortar projectile strikedistances because of their age-old weapon - thebow and arrow' (Norval, 1984:24))

2The crass use of names and icons t osustain i t s symbolic dominance i s aphenomenon worthy of further ana:ystsThe original base used to train Bushmantrackers was called Alpha (The First)Omega (The Last) base was later built tohouse Angolan Bushman refugees whowere mercenaries t o the Pied C r o wbattalion in which , needless to say. theemblem o f the'white head o f the crowsymbolized t h e w h i t e l eade rsh ipelement".

31t is a widespread Idee fixe According toanother Soldier o f Fortune a r t i c l e'Troops o f the Bushman Battalion areperhaps the best indigenous trackers insouthern Afr ica today. M u c h o f theirskill comes from the Bushman s inherent

-33-

schools have incorporated the post-structuralistdiscussion of ideology as discourse, but theyalso criticize the deconstructionist notion thattexts (ideological signifiers) are detached fromany absolute connection to meaning. P o s t -Marxist theorists of ideology resist the totalcommitment to 'rupture' and 'difference' andthe disarliculation of signification. They arguethat ideology is fixed to social life and has realeffects; ideology is thus seen as the articulationof 'difference' and 'unity'.

The contemporary debate has alsoincorporated t h e Gramscian n o t i o n o f'hegemony', which refers to entire structuresof domination that include world-view, socialpractice, subjective practice and subjectiveexperience. Hegemony is a ' l ived system ofmeanings and values, a sense of reality formost people in the society ...in the strongestsense it is a 'culture" (Williams, 1977: 110).A l ived hegemony is always an historicalprocess, its internal structures highly complexand contradictory. T h e dialectics o f thehegemonic include transformational practicesby which the dominant elite not only controlsgroups and individuals, but also incorporatesand assimilates them into its own discourse.The 'culture industry' plays a fundamental rolein recreating and perpetuating this dominantsystem.

Beginning with evolutionary ideologies,the Western hegemonic view of non-Westernindigenous cultures has been that o f the'primitive' as a cultural analogue/metaphor ofthe past. T h i s view was confirmed b y theresearch of nineteenth century anthropologists(see Morgan, Tylor, Frazer, Durkheim). A f te rmore than a century of studies largely markedby colonialism, Orientalist ideologies (Said,1979) and evolutionary theory, the academicdiscourse is still that defined as the 'science ofMan', "committed only to the description of themost alien, exotic and 'primitive' customs'(Marcus and Fischer, 1986: I8) . Therefore,popular notions of anthropology in the Westcontinue to be conditioned by nineteenthcentury sensibilities, and the attendant searchfor the origins o f human society. T h i sperception, or iginat ing i n Enlightenmentarchetypes of the 'Wild Man', has evolved intothe categories o f the Noble Savage and theBarbarian (see Rousseau, DePawn).

The p o s t -colonial e r a a n d t h ematerialization o f the 'Third Wor ld ' have

occasioned a new set of reinterpretations of the'primitive'. T h e fetishized notion o f theEdenic Noble Savage has been transformedinto an endangered species, w h i l e t h e'underdeveloped' and the working classes havenow also been ascribed both positive andnegative qualities of otherness (White, 1978).The growth of multi-ethnic cities has altered thenature and composition o f the hegemonicculture and its means o f reproducing itself.This can be observed in the mass media, whichappropriates assimilating subcultures easily intoits hegemonic discourse. I n contrast, thedeeply rooted popular view of the 'primitiveother', now a disappearing world, changesmore slowly, due to its archetypal nature.Popular mythologies of the 'primitive' continueto be reproduced in all forms of mass media,from Ho l l ywood f i lms t o television andcomics. i t is within this general context ofintertextual representations of the 'primitive'that w e should approach t h e s t u d y o fethnographic films.

As a specialized highbrow institution ofthe 'culture industry', the ethnographic filmapparatus speaks with the authoritative voice ofWestern scientific representations about the'primitive'. I n relation to other genres andstyles, ethnographic f i l m communicatesthrough elaborated codes, as opposed to themore restricted nature of mass media language.Originating a s chronicles o f t r ave le rs ,ethnographic film has further developed into anindependent f ield, amassing vast archivalmaterials of indigenous peoples from aroundthe wor ld . I n a b road sense, w e candistinguish four predominant tendencies o frepresentation i n convent iona l v i s u a lethnography. Initially, most early ethnographicfilms were largely mythopoetic representationsof epic enterprises (i.e 'Nanook of the North','Dead Birds', 'The Hunters"). This gave wayto the observational and overly objectifyingdepiction o f indigenous peoples. w h i c hresulted i n an 'uncontaminated' b u t alsodehumanizing representation. (i.e. Yanomarnofilms). A third tendency is the 'Orientalist'position, based o n a contemplative a n daesthetically mystified representation o f the'primitive' (i.e. 'The Nuer') A l l three of thesetraditional sorts of ethnographic fi l ins werelargely 'monologues', in which the voice of the'primitive other' was always mediated throughthe anthropologist's authoritative interpretation

These superhuman qualities of Bushmenwere grounded not in humanity but in animality.Their inability to retain cattle was attributed totheir lack o f self-restraint. A s they a r e'extremely emotional', their women folk cannotdo without the men-folk and this determines thelength of patrol (Pretoria News 26 February1981). T e magazine assured us that they areoften distracted from a guerilla track by a honeywhile the sighting of a hyena would provokeuncontrollable laughter (T time, March 2, 1981).4

Bushman rights is still very much anIssue. F i v e days before Namibia becameIndependent, South Africa relocated some 4,000military Bushmen, who apparently chose not tobe demobilized, to a base in South Africa. Thesource of their military efficiency is not their'inherent tracking ability' or any such quality asthe mystificrs would have us believe, but arisesrather, as Cynthia Enloe has suggested, fromtheir pariah status in the wider society (Enloe,1980).

The l o v e a f f a i r w h i c h t h e w h i t ebourgeoisie has with 'w i ld Bushmen' is longand complex. Space does not permit a detailedanalysis of the phenomenon, suffice to say thatit can be related to alienation: As the urbanizingwhites become more and more alienated fromtheir society. ' w i l d Bushmen' take o n amythical reality as antithesis to the problems oftheir society. B u t also, as David Maughan-Brown has recently suggested, it provides themwith moral absolution from accusations of beingracists (Maughan-Brown, 1983).Bibliography&vine, Cynthia. Ethnic Sold,ev: State Security in a1980 D i v i d e d Sac ie , Penguin, HannondawarthI irmigar , Robin at Rodney BtA w e z a ) i Ta u r u m ,

tie w i th the land t h e i r nomadic huntergatherer her i tage w h i c h ensu red t h a tonly those w i t h the sharpest eyes, besthearing and most empathetic feel) o f thebush survived ( M i l l 1987.32

4Detnils on the Bushman situation are t obe found in a photograph 'Gordon. 19811Some newspaper reports also h in t at thisand anthropologists agree S o m e o f t h emost knowledgeable experts believe tha tall Bushmen born a f te r circa 1960 havelost the abil i ty to track a n d most of theirveldcraft skil ls.

1?90 C o r a e n z t ion, and Culture in the Kalahari Desert,Botswana' in Cultural Survival Quarterly 1 4 (2)20 24,

MAurgiw Brawn, David. ' The Noble Savage in.983 A n g l o Saxon Colonial Ideology, 1 9 5 0 1 9 8 0 '

enBlish in Africa. 1 0 (2): 55-77Mai., D. S A D F ' s Buahmca D o r n Nomads on SWAPOs1987 T r a c k ' I n Soldiers of Fortune. January 3 2 37.NORVAL. M - S A D P S Bushman Battalion. Pruniave1984 T r a c k e r s Fight 20th Century War' in Soldiers of

Fortune M a r c h 71.75.S0MA0. Strum. Under the S i r of Sahr+n New York1981 V i n t a g e Preen.Ta i m a u , K., Vint lama, A., I . Siff i 'VHD &1986 R . Toot .s¢u . . M y t h , gate and Power South

Africans Imaged on Fi lm and TV. Rel lv i l le ,Ant hr opos.

Tcau,snr r, Keyart 1989 . Interview with Paul Mybiegh in:989 C V A Review Fa l l , pp. 26-31

CRITICAL STUDIES AND VISUALANTHROPOLOGY:

ABERRANT VS. ANTICIPATEDREADINGS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

byWilton MARTiNFZ

University of Southern California

IntroductionThis article discusses the impact o f

ethnographic film on undergraduate students,in l ight of contemporary critical theories o fcommunication. The first part focuses on thenotions o f 'ideology' and 'hegemony', a n dtheir significance In our understanding o fethnographic film's place within the larger'culture industry'. I t also discusses somespecific approaches to 'audience research, tothe issue o f representation, then offers atypology of hypothetical 'preferred readings' ofethnographic films. Drawing on this theoreticalframework, the second part concentrates onstudents' responses to a set o f eight films,proposing a preliminary taxonomy of reactions,it also analyzes the ideological positioning ofthe audience and the dialectics of decodingprocesses.

The report is excerpted from a largerstudy o f the use o f ethnographic f i lms i nteaching introductory anthropology a t theUniversity of Southern California) T h e studyas a whole examines the nature o f t h eethnographic representation, the pragmatics ofethnographic filin, and their combined effect onundergraduates

- 3 4 -

The following results and remarks arebased o n the analysis o f data f r omundergraduate s tuden ts w h o t o o kAnthropology 263g i n Spring 19872.Viewers' ,cst,onses to the films were collectedin the form of film reports. Students wereasked to write up to two pages, answeringspecific questions about each of the 20 filmsviewed in dass. The sample of films included14 documentaries (mostly from the made-for-TV 'Disappearing World' series) and sixclassic American ethnographic films (seeAppendix 1). The contents of a random sampleof 12 students' film reports (15%) werecarefully analyzed, according to students'individual reactions to: (I) the film's style andformat, and (2) its content i.e., the events andsubjects represented. Individual responses tothe films were then coded and classified intofive general categories, including bo themotional and cognitive reactions. Thesecategories have been organized in a continuumranging from 'negative' to 'positive' responses:I. Negative/Disinterested Reactions. This firstcategory groups terms that express lack ofconcern, 'boredom', ' i n d i f f e r e n c e ' ,'confusion', and dislike of the film because ofits style, presentation o f subject matter, o r thepeople depicted.2. Primary Emotional Reactions. This categoryincludes responses considered to be strongprimary emotions - seemingly impulsive,involuntary and immediate visceral reactions,such as 'disturbance', 'awe', 'astonishment','fear', 'shock', 'disbelief, 'controversy', and'surprise/amazement.3. Attention/Interest This set expresses morerational or cognitive responses to the film'sstyle and subject matter, and hence, moreemotionally neutral. Typical reactions includeterms like 'curiosity', 'held my attention','interesting'. 'Interest' also encompassesdifferent levels o f concern, ranging from'comprehension' to 'entertainment'.4. Secondary Emotional Reactions. Thiscategory comprises reactions expressingdifferent degrees of engagement and emotionalinvolvement with the subject matter and theindividuals depicted in the films. There are twomain t y p e s o f r e s p o n s e s :'enjoyment/amusement/entertainment, and amore frequent one of 'sympathy' for thesubjects.

- 3 9 -

5. elaborated Reactions of interest. Thiscategory includes the most sophisticated andthoughtful responses. These comprise bothemotional reactions such as 'fascination' and'empathy', a n d cognitive ones such asreflexivity and criticism, expressed in moreelaborated terms and more developed ideas.

As with our typology of 'preferredreadings' this taxonomy is a methodologicaltool to analyze students' reactions; in readingpractices, there are no absolute 'negative' or'positive' reactions, there is always a complexinterplay of responses within and between eachindividual 'category'. Ye t the classificationhelps us Identify certain patterns of readings, astendencies, or 'symptomatic' responses to thefilms. Although our study considers othervariables (teaching conditions, individual vs.groups of readers), here I will focus primarilyon the relationship reader-text3.

Based on an analysis of the total sample(12 students and 20 films), a distribution offrequencies representing the 'average studentreaction' was calculated. The average maclionsformed an almost bel l -shaped cu r ve ,suggesting a 'normal' distribution againstwhich the responses to individual films werecompared. The findings presented here havebeen correlated to results obtained fromresearch (interviews, essays and observation)by using the strategy of 'triangulation', or the'application and combination o f severalresearch methodologies in the study of the'sample' phenomenon' to overcome the biasesof a single method (Denzin, 1978: 29). The useof multiple methods have demonstrated theconsistency of the response patterns found instudents' film reports. What follows is ananalysis of student interpretations of an eightfilm sample, drawing upon the five categoriesdescribed above.1. Negative/Dislike Reactions

Different levels of 'negative' reactionwere present in response to almost every film.but none elicited a predominance o f thiscategory. Reactions of disinterest/dislike wereof secondary importance in The Axe Flight andin The Nuer. But , as we can see in thefollowing chart, the greatest frequency wasfound in Trance and Dance in Bali, whichgenerated almost four times the average of'negative' reactions.

(MacDougall, 1975). F ina l l y - and as aresponse to the limited polysemy of orthodoxfilms - more contemporary ethnographic filmscombine an interactive or journalistic approach,borrowed from the French cinéma vérité andTV documentaries. I n more recent years,visual anthropology has entered the realm oftelevision (series like 'Odyssey', 'Faces ofCulture', and the British 'DisappearingWorld'), adopting the popularized language ofthe documentary formal Beneath this varietyof 'dialects', most visual anthropology shares acommon academic voice.

To elaborate, a symbiotic relationshipexists between ethnographic film and theeducational apparatus, which provides both itssocio-historically determined theoreticalunderpinnings as well as the institutionalframework in which i t is sustained. I npractice, ethnographic filins are screenedbetween locutionary acts, saving as exemplaryvisual representations o f the informationpresented in lectures, and as material fordiscussion. More generally, the instructor'sspeech expresses t h e institutionalizedideologies and narratives of the academicdiscourse, circumscribed by the expert's notionof 'ethnographic truth'. In fact, the educationalInstitution can be seen as an 'apparatus o ftruth', which generates the process o fconstruction, diffusion and consumption of'truth' statements (Foucault, 1980). Althoughcharacterized by complexity and contradiction,and by the changing frames of reference ofcompeting theoretical schools, the meaningssignified in the classroom through speech andfilms constitute a 'unitary language' whichtends to centralize and unify other more popularforms of discourse.

At the bottom rung of the intermediationprocess, t he spectator i s the 'passive'receptor/consumer of the knowledge andideologies of the educational and ethnographicfilm apparatuses. Undergraduate students,positioned as novices, are generally naive aboutethnographic film and indigenous societies;they speak for - and are 'spoken by' - thepopular discourses determined largely by themass media and commercial films. Students,embodying a variety of personal and collectiveideologies, undergo an ideological and'subjective' initiation into the anthropologicaldiscourse. i n this process characterized by aseries of ritual screenings. they reinterpret and

- 3 7 -

'transfunctionalize' these ideologies- via a'personalization' o f meanings - therebyconstructing themselves as spectators throughthe experience.

To better understand the dynamicoutlined above, I will briefly refer to the recentdebate generated by 'reception theory' and'reader-oriented criticism'. Shifting criticalattention away from the 'words on the page' tothe interaction between reader and text, literarycritics and theorists no longer see meaning asan immutable property, but as the result of the'confrontation' between reader activity andtextual structure (see iser, Ingarden, Holland,Jauss). These theories, which originated inphenomenology, cognitive linguistics andliterary criticism, concentrate on the co-constructed nature of signification (Bakhtin,1981). Reading activity is seen by theorists indiverse ways, ranging from self-realization and'transactional therapy' (Holland, 1980), to adecoding mechanism that demands effort(Condit, 1989), and as an aesthetic practice thatproduces pleasure from literary texts (Fiske,1986). Yet most would agree that given certainsocio-historical conditions, texts will readdifferently, according to the discourses ineffect.

In all discursive situations, there is animplied (fictional or characterized) 'reader inthe text', with both parties - author andaudience - being constituted in the very act ofrepresentation. These representations arecultural forms whose circulation producesmeaning; indeed they construct what we acceptas 'reality' and 'truth'. Social relations andforms of subjectivity are produced in and byrepresentational means. This phenomena hasbeen conceptualized as the process o f'suturing', by which the subject is 'bound in'to the representation (Heath, 1977). Alwaysarbitrary, representation positions the subjectsit addresses, defining them by class, sex,culture and as individuals In active or passiverelations to signification. Forms of discourseare at once forms of definition, means oflimitation, modes of power' (Linker, 1984:76).

How is the subject sutured in to therepresentation? The Aithusserian notion of'interpellation' suggests the construction of'subjects' that recognize the 'call' of ideologicaldiscourses and are 'positioned' by specificdiscursive formations. T h i s recognition,

Chari L Reactions to Trance and Dancein Bali.1 0 %

30

2 0 %

I t

orug p r i m a l l l a , . l a b

, .anoona

" ' R a a c t c , u a i p B

A n , s y a , o n i o n s

The film curve appears displaced to theleft in relation to the average distribution, thusemphasizing 'negative' reactions. W e canobserve the high instance of reactions of disliketowards the film ('confusion', 'boredom').The peak of 'primary' emotional reactionsrepresents the high frequency of reactions of'shock' and 'disbelief. T h e below-averagelevel of atlendonfmterest expresses reactions of'curiosity' more than those o f 'interest'.'Secondary' emotional reactions are also farbelow the average, reflecting the difficultystudents had in relating to the Balinese. Thefollowing quotes summarize the eminentresponses to the film:-This film was weird because it was in blackand white and it was just a lot o f peopledancing...i was annoyed with the narration, itwas unclear and too confusing... The generalviewer would be awestruck and maybe notbelieve it.-My first reaction was one of fright..l wasshocked t o witness such a hor r i fy ingtrance...Why were these people runningaround and stabbing themselves?. _Somewhatbizarre the way they go into convulsions on theground...7hey looked silly.

These statements express apredominantly 'aberrant' decoding of the film:on the one hand, this can be observed in theinability to understand the filmic codes, boththe visual grammar (black-and-white is almostsynonymous w i th 'boredom') and t h enarration, which seemed 'unclear' and toospecialized for most students. This feeling wasexacerbated by the limited backgroundknowledge students had about Balinese cultureand mythology4, and by the film format, whichdepicts a single ritual event, relying o nextensive voice over narration to contextuafizethe trance session. Yet the aberrant decoding is

mostly associated with the film's content: theBalinese 'bizarre' cultural codes, interpreted aslittle more than 'horrifying' nonsense. Thisperception yields both visceral reactions andfeelings o f complete alienation from thesubjects portrayed. Most students positionedthemselves as non-specialized 'generalviewers', and allowed themselves little space tonegotiate meanings. Overa l l , students'responses can also be linked to a hegemonicinterpretation, which commonly equates the'primitive' with 'bizarre' behavior.2. Primary emotional reactionsResponses to the 'different' and 'strange'explain the great majority o f 'pr imary'emotional reactions. These impressionsgenerated high levels of 'contradiction' and'controversy', which stilled a more analyticalunderstanding of the film. The following filmselicited a preponderance of 'primary' reactions:Dervishes of Kurdistan, The bluer Last of theCuivi The_ Ax Frpht, The Feast, Trance andDance in Bali, Dead Birds, the Jero Tapakanseries, and Afghan Frnejps. This is the largestset of films grouped under a single category.

Due chiefly to their format and style, allthe ethnographic films included in the samplewere linked to 'primary' emotional reactions.To students, ethnographic films represent the'raw' version o f the 'primitive other' asopposed t o t h e 'cooked' version o fdocumentaries. in relation to content, all filmsdealing with warfare, animal killing andscarification rituals (which students refer to as'gory' films) produced the largest set o f'primary' emotional reactions. One example ofthis is The Ax Fight-Chart 2. Reactions to the Az Fight

nag i v im a l l s a c

, a a s „ n u

slab

•A- n a a c a o s u

° - A m a p a t o r t e n , '

In this curve, we notice the peak of'primary' responses ('shock', 'disbelief of thephysical violence), and a high proportion of'dislike' and 'confusion'. Reactions o fattention/interest are below average by almost

however, does not assure a 'necessarycorrespondence' between text's and reader'sdiscourses; the process of decoding does notfollow automatically from encodings of thetext. Representations constitute 'maps o fmeaning' which are recorded according to thereader's particular 'conditions of perception'(Eco, 1977). Depending on their socio-culturalpredisposition and on the textual signals,readers/viewers are organized into a variety of'interpretive communities' (Fish, 1980) thatoperate within their own intertextuality, theirspecific 'encrustation' of meanings (Bennett,1982). i n all cases, the tapestry of readingsalso constitutes the arena for the 'politics ofsignification'.

In students' reading of ethnographicfilms, we can observe this struggle f o rmeaning, their recognition and expression ofparticular positions operating within, and onthe margins of, the cultural discourse. Hall'sseminal classification o f 'hypothetical'decoding positions or 'preferred' readings(hegemonic, negotiated, oppositional) i sparticularly useful i n identifying somepredominant tendencies (Hall, 1980). In the'hegemonic' decoding position, the vieweroperates inside the dominant code, participatingin legitimized definitions, the 'taken fo rgranted'. I t is in this context that we find thefacile submission to cross-cultural labels andstereotypes that the dominant discoursepromotes. T h e 'negotiated' decoding, acombination of 'adaptive' and 'oppositional'elements, implies a reader who acknowledgesthe legitimacy of dominant signification, butwho also finds contradictions in aspects of thehegemonic. To some extent, all readings arenegotiated and personalized by individualreaders: a l l viewers may, given certaincircumstances, privilege the 'exception to therule'. Yet, negotiation is limited by the very'suture' into the larger dominant culturalidentity - which is especially determinant inreading visual ethnographies of the 'primitiveother'. The 'oppositional' decoding invokes acritical re-construction, or 'retotalizing' of thehegemonic message in a contrary or alternativeway. Here we find the viewer's rupture withthe 'great syntagmatic views', and the activeassertion of particular forms of 'otherness'

To this classification we can add whatEco refers to as 'aberrant decoding', whichoccurs when the viewer/reader cannot

understand the meaning of the text, and thusproduces an entirely different meaningcomplete with an attendant value judgement(Eco, 1979). Often found in cross-culturalcommunications, surreal and avant-garderepresentations, such misconstruance occurswhen the codes of another culture - or of thetext itself - are so foreign, that they arecompletely distorted in the decoding process.Operating on the fringes of communication,aberrant readings hint at unknown registers,unaided or embryonic interpretations, mostoften framed within either dominant o roppositional stances. This notion has provenparticularly illuminating in our analysis ofstudents' responses to ethnographic film,where textual and cultural codes are littleknown to viewers.

This typology should be considered avehicle for advancing our analysis, not anestablished schema of authoritative definitions.Decoding activities are both experiential andinterpretive processes that work in multipledirections. I t is assumed that viewers canembody the entire range of d o t g positions -over time and space - while also embracingsome 'preferred readings' with particular force.These hypothetical figurations will be useful inidentifying certain readings as 'symptoms' oflarger ideological discourses that condition thereading of ethnographic films.

II. Decoding Ethnographic FilmThis section analyzes students'

emotional and cognitive responses to a set ofeight films. Based on an empirico-inductivemethod of classification, the findings suggest ataxonomy of reactions described below. Froma more interpretive standpoint, this section alsocomments on the ideological decoding of filmictexts, incorporating the aforementionedtypology.

Students' responses to different typesof ethnographic films and to representations ofthe 'other' were collected from January 1987 toDecember 1989, using a combination o fqualitative methods, which included: directclassroom observation, comprehensiveinterviews with 52 students, content analysis of420 students assignments (weekly filin reports,essays assignments), case studies of a non-random sample of six students, and a collectionof students' dreams (related to the film and tothe 'primitive')

The following results and remarks arebased o n the analysis o f data f r omundergraduate s tuden ts w h o t o o kAnthropology 263g i n Spring 19872.Viewers' ,cst,onses to the films were collectedin the form of film reports. Students wereasked to write up to two pages, answeringspecific questions about each of the 20 filmsviewed in dass. The sample of films included14 documentaries (mostly from the made-for-TV 'Disappearing World' series) and sixclassic American ethnographic films (seeAppendix 1). The contents of a random sampleof 12 students' film reports (15%) werecarefully analyzed, according to students'individual reactions to: (I) the film's style andformat, and (2) its content i.e., the events andsubjects represented. Individual responses tothe films were then coded and classified intofive general categories, including bo themotional and cognitive reactions. Thesecategories have been organized in a continuumranging from 'negative' to 'positive' responses:I. Negative/Disinterested Reactions. This firstcategory groups terms that express lack ofconcern, 'boredom', ' i n d i f f e r e n c e ' ,'confusion', and dislike of the film because ofits style, presentation o f subject matter, o r thepeople depicted.2. Primary Emotional Reactions. This categoryincludes responses considered to be strongprimary emotions - seemingly impulsive,involuntary and immediate visceral reactions,such as 'disturbance', 'awe', 'astonishment','fear', 'shock', 'disbelief, 'controversy', and'surprise/amazement.3. Attention/Interest This set expresses morerational or cognitive responses to the film'sstyle and subject matter, and hence, moreemotionally neutral. Typical reactions includeterms like 'curiosity', 'held my attention','interesting'. 'Interest' also encompassesdifferent levels o f concern, ranging from'comprehension' to 'entertainment'.4. Secondary Emotional Reactions. Thiscategory comprises reactions expressingdifferent degrees of engagement and emotionalinvolvement with the subject matter and theindividuals depicted in the films. There are twomain t y p e s o f r e s p o n s e s :'enjoyment/amusement/entertainment, and amore frequent one of 'sympathy' for thesubjects.

- 3 9 -

5. elaborated Reactions of interest. Thiscategory includes the most sophisticated andthoughtful responses. These comprise bothemotional reactions such as 'fascination' and'empathy', a n d cognitive ones such asreflexivity and criticism, expressed in moreelaborated terms and more developed ideas.

As with our typology of 'preferredreadings' this taxonomy is a methodologicaltool to analyze students' reactions; in readingpractices, there are no absolute 'negative' or'positive' reactions, there is always a complexinterplay of responses within and between eachindividual 'category'. Ye t the classificationhelps us Identify certain patterns of readings, astendencies, or 'symptomatic' responses to thefilms. Although our study considers othervariables (teaching conditions, individual vs.groups of readers), here I will focus primarilyon the relationship reader-text3.

Based on an analysis of the total sample(12 students and 20 films), a distribution offrequencies representing the 'average studentreaction' was calculated. The average maclionsformed an almost bel l -shaped cu r ve ,suggesting a 'normal' distribution againstwhich the responses to individual films werecompared. The findings presented here havebeen correlated to results obtained fromresearch (interviews, essays and observation)by using the strategy of 'triangulation', or the'application and combination o f severalresearch methodologies in the study of the'sample' phenomenon' to overcome the biasesof a single method (Denzin, 1978: 29). The useof multiple methods have demonstrated theconsistency of the response patterns found instudents' film reports. What follows is ananalysis of student interpretations of an eightfilm sample, drawing upon the five categoriesdescribed above.1. Negative/Dislike Reactions

Different levels of 'negative' reactionwere present in response to almost every film.but none elicited a predominance o f thiscategory. Reactions of disinterest/dislike wereof secondary importance in The Axe Flight andin The Nuer. But , as we can see in thefollowing chart, the greatest frequency wasfound in Trance and Dance in Bali, whichgenerated almost four times the average of'negative' reactions.

(MacDougall, 1975). F ina l l y - and as aresponse to the limited polysemy of orthodoxfilms - more contemporary ethnographic filmscombine an interactive or journalistic approach,borrowed from the French cinéma vérité andTV documentaries. I n more recent years,visual anthropology has entered the realm oftelevision (series like 'Odyssey', 'Faces ofCulture', and the British 'DisappearingWorld'), adopting the popularized language ofthe documentary formal Beneath this varietyof 'dialects', most visual anthropology shares acommon academic voice.

To elaborate, a symbiotic relationshipexists between ethnographic film and theeducational apparatus, which provides both itssocio-historically determined theoreticalunderpinnings as well as the institutionalframework in which i t is sustained. I npractice, ethnographic filins are screenedbetween locutionary acts, saving as exemplaryvisual representations o f the informationpresented in lectures, and as material fordiscussion. More generally, the instructor'sspeech expresses t h e institutionalizedideologies and narratives of the academicdiscourse, circumscribed by the expert's notionof 'ethnographic truth'. In fact, the educationalInstitution can be seen as an 'apparatus o ftruth', which generates the process o fconstruction, diffusion and consumption of'truth' statements (Foucault, 1980). Althoughcharacterized by complexity and contradiction,and by the changing frames of reference ofcompeting theoretical schools, the meaningssignified in the classroom through speech andfilms constitute a 'unitary language' whichtends to centralize and unify other more popularforms of discourse.

At the bottom rung of the intermediationprocess, t he spectator i s the 'passive'receptor/consumer of the knowledge andideologies of the educational and ethnographicfilm apparatuses. Undergraduate students,positioned as novices, are generally naive aboutethnographic film and indigenous societies;they speak for - and are 'spoken by' - thepopular discourses determined largely by themass media and commercial films. Students,embodying a variety of personal and collectiveideologies, undergo an ideological and'subjective' initiation into the anthropologicaldiscourse. i n this process characterized by aseries of ritual screenings. they reinterpret and

- 3 7 -

'transfunctionalize' these ideologies- via a'personalization' o f meanings - therebyconstructing themselves as spectators throughthe experience.

To better understand the dynamicoutlined above, I will briefly refer to the recentdebate generated by 'reception theory' and'reader-oriented criticism'. Shifting criticalattention away from the 'words on the page' tothe interaction between reader and text, literarycritics and theorists no longer see meaning asan immutable property, but as the result of the'confrontation' between reader activity andtextual structure (see iser, Ingarden, Holland,Jauss). These theories, which originated inphenomenology, cognitive linguistics andliterary criticism, concentrate on the co-constructed nature of signification (Bakhtin,1981). Reading activity is seen by theorists indiverse ways, ranging from self-realization and'transactional therapy' (Holland, 1980), to adecoding mechanism that demands effort(Condit, 1989), and as an aesthetic practice thatproduces pleasure from literary texts (Fiske,1986). Yet most would agree that given certainsocio-historical conditions, texts will readdifferently, according to the discourses ineffect.

In all discursive situations, there is animplied (fictional or characterized) 'reader inthe text', with both parties - author andaudience - being constituted in the very act ofrepresentation. These representations arecultural forms whose circulation producesmeaning; indeed they construct what we acceptas 'reality' and 'truth'. Social relations andforms of subjectivity are produced in and byrepresentational means. This phenomena hasbeen conceptualized as the process o f'suturing', by which the subject is 'bound in'to the representation (Heath, 1977). Alwaysarbitrary, representation positions the subjectsit addresses, defining them by class, sex,culture and as individuals In active or passiverelations to signification. Forms of discourseare at once forms of definition, means oflimitation, modes of power' (Linker, 1984:76).

How is the subject sutured in to therepresentation? The Aithusserian notion of'interpellation' suggests the construction of'subjects' that recognize the 'call' of ideologicaldiscourses and are 'positioned' by specificdiscursive formations. T h i s recognition,

Chari L Reactions to Trance and Dancein Bali.1 0 %

30

2 0 %

I t

orug p r i m a l l l a , . l a b

, .anoona

" ' R a a c t c , u a i p B

A n , s y a , o n i o n s

The film curve appears displaced to theleft in relation to the average distribution, thusemphasizing 'negative' reactions. W e canobserve the high instance of reactions of disliketowards the film ('confusion', 'boredom').The peak of 'primary' emotional reactionsrepresents the high frequency of reactions of'shock' and 'disbelief. T h e below-averagelevel of atlendonfmterest expresses reactions of'curiosity' more than those o f 'interest'.'Secondary' emotional reactions are also farbelow the average, reflecting the difficultystudents had in relating to the Balinese. Thefollowing quotes summarize the eminentresponses to the film:-This film was weird because it was in blackand white and it was just a lot o f peopledancing...i was annoyed with the narration, itwas unclear and too confusing... The generalviewer would be awestruck and maybe notbelieve it.-My first reaction was one of fright..l wasshocked t o witness such a hor r i fy ingtrance...Why were these people runningaround and stabbing themselves?. _Somewhatbizarre the way they go into convulsions on theground...7hey looked silly.

These statements express apredominantly 'aberrant' decoding of the film:on the one hand, this can be observed in theinability to understand the filmic codes, boththe visual grammar (black-and-white is almostsynonymous w i th 'boredom') and t h enarration, which seemed 'unclear' and toospecialized for most students. This feeling wasexacerbated by the limited backgroundknowledge students had about Balinese cultureand mythology4, and by the film format, whichdepicts a single ritual event, relying o nextensive voice over narration to contextuafizethe trance session. Yet the aberrant decoding is

mostly associated with the film's content: theBalinese 'bizarre' cultural codes, interpreted aslittle more than 'horrifying' nonsense. Thisperception yields both visceral reactions andfeelings o f complete alienation from thesubjects portrayed. Most students positionedthemselves as non-specialized 'generalviewers', and allowed themselves little space tonegotiate meanings. Overa l l , students'responses can also be linked to a hegemonicinterpretation, which commonly equates the'primitive' with 'bizarre' behavior.2. Primary emotional reactionsResponses to the 'different' and 'strange'explain the great majority o f 'pr imary'emotional reactions. These impressionsgenerated high levels of 'contradiction' and'controversy', which stilled a more analyticalunderstanding of the film. The following filmselicited a preponderance of 'primary' reactions:Dervishes of Kurdistan, The bluer Last of theCuivi The_ Ax Frpht, The Feast, Trance andDance in Bali, Dead Birds, the Jero Tapakanseries, and Afghan Frnejps. This is the largestset of films grouped under a single category.

Due chiefly to their format and style, allthe ethnographic films included in the samplewere linked to 'primary' emotional reactions.To students, ethnographic films represent the'raw' version o f the 'primitive other' asopposed t o t h e 'cooked' version o fdocumentaries. in relation to content, all filmsdealing with warfare, animal killing andscarification rituals (which students refer to as'gory' films) produced the largest set o f'primary' emotional reactions. One example ofthis is The Ax Fight-Chart 2. Reactions to the Az Fight

nag i v im a l l s a c

, a a s „ n u

slab

•A- n a a c a o s u

° - A m a p a t o r t e n , '

In this curve, we notice the peak of'primary' responses ('shock', 'disbelief of thephysical violence), and a high proportion of'dislike' and 'confusion'. Reactions o fattention/interest are below average by almost

however, does not assure a 'necessarycorrespondence' between text's and reader'sdiscourses; the process of decoding does notfollow automatically from encodings of thetext. Representations constitute 'maps o fmeaning' which are recorded according to thereader's particular 'conditions of perception'(Eco, 1977). Depending on their socio-culturalpredisposition and on the textual signals,readers/viewers are organized into a variety of'interpretive communities' (Fish, 1980) thatoperate within their own intertextuality, theirspecific 'encrustation' of meanings (Bennett,1982). i n all cases, the tapestry of readingsalso constitutes the arena for the 'politics ofsignification'.

In students' reading of ethnographicfilms, we can observe this struggle f o rmeaning, their recognition and expression ofparticular positions operating within, and onthe margins of, the cultural discourse. Hall'sseminal classification o f 'hypothetical'decoding positions or 'preferred' readings(hegemonic, negotiated, oppositional) i sparticularly useful i n identifying somepredominant tendencies (Hall, 1980). In the'hegemonic' decoding position, the vieweroperates inside the dominant code, participatingin legitimized definitions, the 'taken fo rgranted'. I t is in this context that we find thefacile submission to cross-cultural labels andstereotypes that the dominant discoursepromotes. T h e 'negotiated' decoding, acombination of 'adaptive' and 'oppositional'elements, implies a reader who acknowledgesthe legitimacy of dominant signification, butwho also finds contradictions in aspects of thehegemonic. To some extent, all readings arenegotiated and personalized by individualreaders: a l l viewers may, given certaincircumstances, privilege the 'exception to therule'. Yet, negotiation is limited by the very'suture' into the larger dominant culturalidentity - which is especially determinant inreading visual ethnographies of the 'primitiveother'. The 'oppositional' decoding invokes acritical re-construction, or 'retotalizing' of thehegemonic message in a contrary or alternativeway. Here we find the viewer's rupture withthe 'great syntagmatic views', and the activeassertion of particular forms of 'otherness'

To this classification we can add whatEco refers to as 'aberrant decoding', whichoccurs when the viewer/reader cannot

understand the meaning of the text, and thusproduces an entirely different meaningcomplete with an attendant value judgement(Eco, 1979). Often found in cross-culturalcommunications, surreal and avant-garderepresentations, such misconstruance occurswhen the codes of another culture - or of thetext itself - are so foreign, that they arecompletely distorted in the decoding process.Operating on the fringes of communication,aberrant readings hint at unknown registers,unaided or embryonic interpretations, mostoften framed within either dominant o roppositional stances. This notion has provenparticularly illuminating in our analysis ofstudents' responses to ethnographic film,where textual and cultural codes are littleknown to viewers.

This typology should be considered avehicle for advancing our analysis, not anestablished schema of authoritative definitions.Decoding activities are both experiential andinterpretive processes that work in multipledirections. I t is assumed that viewers canembody the entire range of d o t g positions -over time and space - while also embracingsome 'preferred readings' with particular force.These hypothetical figurations will be useful inidentifying certain readings as 'symptoms' oflarger ideological discourses that condition thereading of ethnographic films.

II. Decoding Ethnographic FilmThis section analyzes students'

emotional and cognitive responses to a set ofeight films. Based on an empirico-inductivemethod of classification, the findings suggest ataxonomy of reactions described below. Froma more interpretive standpoint, this section alsocomments on the ideological decoding of filmictexts, incorporating the aforementionedtypology.

Students' responses to different typesof ethnographic films and to representations ofthe 'other' were collected from January 1987 toDecember 1989, using a combination o fqualitative methods, which included: directclassroom observation, comprehensiveinterviews with 52 students, content analysis of420 students assignments (weekly filin reports,essays assignments), case studies of a non-random sample of six students, and a collectionof students' dreams (related to the film and tothe 'primitive')

The curve is very similar to oneindicating average reactions, but with higherlevels of 'interest' and lower levels of 'dislike'.The TV f i lm format, coupled w i th an'interesting' topic, influenced such results. Wecan clearly not ice gender-determineddifferences in students' responses.REPRESENTATIVE FEMALE RESPONSE-The film was good and interesting...Thewomen were treated unfairly...I was shockedby the role of women...! am strongly againstthe pre-arranged marriages and that men wereallowed to have many wives...I felt sympathy,they do not realize how poorly they are beingtreated.REPRESENTATIVE MALE RESPONSE-1 found very interesting how women do ail thework...I like how they have a lot of sexualfreedom...! liked how they appreciate ancientcustoms... No sympathy...! hope they continueto be happy.

Mast students found the film clear andinformative, although some read i t in an'aberrant' way, feeling alienated by the'backward' Maasai codes. Gender-basedreactions dearly express ideological decodingpositions. On the one hand, female studentsfelt more 'touched', and evidently identifiedwith the editorial female voice and its cross-cultural critical view o f male dominance.Accordingly, many females read the film fromthis oppositional stance. Their criticism ofhegemonic patriarchy caused them to be muchless tolerant of Maasai culture as a whole. Onthe other hand, although some males criticizedthe 'unfair' treatment of women, many of themreferred to the 'happy' life of Massai society.This hegemonic decoding o f sexuality wasaccompanied by a more 'tolerant' attitudetowards the almost 'ideal' Maasai socialstructure. Along a continuum of negotiatedreadings, students reflected upon sexual andcultural difference, resulting in most cases in areaffirmation of their views about gender, and avalidation of some ethnocentric notions of the'primitive as both 'backward and 'ideal4. Secondary Emotional Reactions

The only two films with predominantly'secondary' emotional reactions Ongka's BigMoka and Nairn and labar, have in commontheir narrative style and their focus on specific'characters'. Students discerned a familiartextual code and a 'story' they could 'relate' to,as we can see with Ongka's Big Moka.

Chart 6 . Reactions t o Ongka's BigMoka

4 , %

30

20

, 0 %

0

nro Nag

• . • Rs .c t iom le 0131.4

'0- Average , u a n n a

The curve is skewed to the left inrelation to the average distribution, displaying apeak frequency in the 'secondary' category -mostly 'amusement. We note a much lowerfrequency of 'primary' reactions and a lowerlevel o f 'interest', w h i c h was clear lytransmuted into 'entertainment'. 'Negative'and 'elaborated' reactions are found at almostthe same level, above the average frequencies.-Why is Ongka wearing those clothes!...!thought this film was a comedy...! was happyto see a humorous approach to a flm...lt heldmy interest. I t was very entertaining...Theway they talked and their expressions werereally funny.-I did not really feel too much sympathybecause they seemed a bit more civilized thanother tribes...I was envious of their generousculture...I get tired of how competitive andvicious our own society is over wealth.

Although some students were shockedby the 'strange' Kawelka cultural codes(importance of pigs, polygamy, rituals) and feltsomewhat disappointed for not being treated toa 'full' satire, most of them read OBM as an'anthropological comedy' which combined thehumor and entertainment they are used to - andlook for - in films: the pleasure of 'watchingmovies'. T h e film's use of humor helpedstudents to keep their interest, to relate more tothe 'characters', and to enjoy the viewingexperience. Yet these gratifying feelings alsocorrespond to a hegemonic reading of Ongka asa 'funny' 'character', a patronizing view rootedin a caricature of the 'primitive' as 'naive' andsimple-minded (as seen in cartoons and manyHollywood films). Some students, however,negotiated alternative decodings of their own'vicious' value-system, contrasting to the'generous' Kawelka culture. I n most cases.this resulted in a romanticized reading of the

half, while 'secondary' emotional responsesalmost exclusively express 'sympathy' for thebeaten Yanomamo women. There were no'elaborated' responses, as we can see in thefollowing:4 didn't understand what was happening ..1couldn't believe all the yelling that was goingon...Why are these people running aroundnaked hitting each other with sticks...1 feltsorry when the women were crying... Toomuch violence!!!-The main theme was to show how violent thistribe was...The general viewer may find thefilm to be boring and repetitious. But it was agood way to show lineages and kinship in alive model-1 was appalled to see how important fightingwas to them even i f it was over something sostupid...lt seemed as though this society wasexnemelyprimitive and violent

We can clearly note the 'aberrant'decoding, a common response to many films inthe Yanomamo series. Students had majorproblems in understanding both the visualcodes of the film and the cultural practices ofthe Yanomamo. Many students found thethree-part format 'boring' and 'repetitive' andthe kinship explanation too specialized anddifficult to understand. The tendency towardsobjectification in the filmic style contributed toreactions of alienation from the subjects, yet atthe same time appealed to students' sense of'truthfulness' because o f i ts apparentobjectivity. But again, it is the content whichaccounts for most of the film's aberrantreadings. Many students saw Yanomamonudity as 'controversial', expressing the most'primitive' form of social life. This is closelyrelated to the 'frightening' violence, which wasseen as absurd, 'stupid' and anything but'normal'. Students saw in the Yanomamo amodel of the most 'bizarre' and 'uncivilized'behavior they had probably ever seen5. Thesepreferred readings obviously correspond not tonegotiated meanings, but to the taken forgranted, the hegemonic decoding of the'primitive' within the paradigm o f thebarbarian. Only that assumption could explainmaking a film 'to show how violent' theYanomamo are.

Another example of a fi lm elicitingpredominantly 'primary' emotional reactions isThe Nuer.

-;, t-

Chart 1 Reactions to the Neer

° ' Reactions b I N

G - Average m a n a n t

e . p p r M i m s a c . e b b .

Here we notice the peak of 'primary'reactions of 'shock', 'disgust' and the highfrequency o f 'negatives' ( 'd is l ike ' ,'boredom'). Levels of interest and 'secondary'emotional reactions are far below the average.The minor peak of 'elaborated' reactionsindicates a perceived level of contradictionbetween the sophisticated film style and the'disturbing' images o f the Nuer. T h efollowing quotes express the preeminence ofthese responses:-I didn't like this film at all...! found it longand boring...I was in atve when I sawit...Thedroning o f the cattle almost drove mecrazy—The graphic scenes of Gar and thewomen's scars were sickening and stuck in mymind...The people were dirty...Somewhatcord—overeat-I was amazed to see this anorexic lookingpeople brushing their teeth with ashes...Thereactions around the classroom were disgust atthe people, they could not identify, wereoffended and ridiculed( the people for theirappearances.-This is one of the best films in the dass... Verymeditative frlm...The viewer can experiencethese people...Really beautiful imagery—Verypersonal product

As students themselves acknowledged,most were 'shocked' and 'offended' by thebehavior of the Nuer - the latter's 'dirty' and'sickening' ceremonies. Thus, their 'aberrant'decoding of the film was principally caused bythe 'presence' and the 'ridiculized' culturecodes of the Nuer. The focus on the Nuer'sstrong relationship with livestock, theirscarification and funerary ceremonies,generated much of the film's alienatedreadings. Many students found the narration -the 'message' - 'easy' to understand, yet theydisliked the filin as a whole and found it long,repetitive and lacking information. Along withthese 'primary' and 'negative' reactions, the

Kawelka economic system of redistribution.By the end of the semester, most studentsranked OBM as their favorite film, bothbecause of its 'humorous' qualities and its'characters'.

In contrast, Naim and Jabar was seen asthe 'drama' o f two young Afghan malepeasants experiencing economic a n deducational difficulties.Chart 7. Reactions to Naim and Jabar

• - R e a m e r s 10 N I )

' A r. u O i k reactions

r . o O r m I n , . . c M a t

r u c t i o n

The curve appears displaced to theright, emphasizing the more 'posit ive'responses. No te the peak of 'secondary'reactions - almost exclusively 'sympathy' - theaverage level o f 'interest', and the lowfrequency o f 'primary' and 'negative'responses. The narrative format, aided by aninteractive cinéma-vérité style, contributed to agreater emotional engagement We can alsodetect gender differences i n students'responses:REPRESENTATIVE FEMALE RESPONSE-I enjoyed this film... At first it seems there is alot of poverty, but they also have a lot of timeto play and goof around...The subjects wereamusing and entertaining... Young men with agreat outlook on l i fe and thei r manyopportunities...No sympathy... They werevery ambitious.REPRESENTATIVE MALE RESPONSE-This film had a very deep meaning...They arehardworking and destined t o a l ife o fpoverty...The ending was depressing...Thegeneral viewer would feel remorse for thesepeople...I was very sympathetic towards them.

In general, students found the fdm'tooslow', yet very 'emotional' as well. Aided bythe films interactive style, they were able to'relate' to the 'characters' because of their'more Westernized' culture, similar age, andtheir 'search for success'. In contrast with thestudents' reading of Massai Women, heremales identified with the editorial voice: a

- 4 4 -

sympathetic male following the misfortunes oftwo male 'characters'. M a l e students'sympathized' with them on a 'deep' emotionallevel - based on perceptions of the characters as'victims' - and also negotiated some criticalviews of the 'unfairness' of the dominanteconomic system and the Afghan government'spolitics. On the other hand, most females sawthe 'characters' from a more distanced - andunsympathetically hegemonic - position, as'progressive' young men who could succeedhad they the initiative to take advantage of the'tremendous' opportunities offered by thedominant system. T h e f i lm narrat ivepositioned viewers' particular relation to thecharacters between two poles of response tothe Third World: patronization and insoucianceon the one hand; sorrow, guilt and remorse onthe other.5. Elaborated Reactions

There was no preponderance of thiscategory in any o f the films about the'primitive'. In fact, in three films (Trance andDance in Bali, The Ax Fight, Last of the Cuiva)there was almost no evidence of 'elaborated'reactions whatsoever. These reactions, i tseems, could only be generated by a filmrepresenting the students' own culture, such asNumber Our Days:Chart 8 . Reactions to Number O u rDays10%

r . 0 0 r n1 . . < MAO

• « I i M G I p r . , 0 , 1 O 0

0 ' M a r a y a * n a t a n t

'The curve moves straight up from

'negative' to 'positive' reactions, reflecting themost 'positive' impact registered by the samplestudents Empathy' is the most commonreaction-It seemed wein! how old people were going tobean anthropology study M y grandma is in aretirement home and I know how they live..,!feel very snrryfor the older generation.-I loved this film ., Very emodonal..1 enjoyedseeing Barbara MyerhofTget involved while thedocumentary film was being filmed...1t really

film's aesthetic and contemplative style -implying a 'sophisticated' viewer - alsogenerated other contradictory feelings andideas: the film presented students with both'horror' and 'beauty', subjectivity a n d'realism'. I n spite - and because - of theshocking images, few viewers appreciated theaesthetic qualities o f the film enough tonegotiate more 'elaborated' meanings.However, this sensual gratification is mainly arecognition of the film's professionalism,acknowledging the dominant encoding of theexoticized Nuer.3. Attention/Concern Reactions

This category represents different typesof concern, ranging from students' curiosityabout the 'exotic', to their 'interest' in thefilms' subject matters. Although this 'interest'was closely linked to entertainment and to littlemore than a basic understanding o f thematerial, it also represents the degree to whichfilms were found 'educational'. The followingfilms engendered a preponderance of thiscategory: Three Worlds of Bali Coming ofAge, Southeast Nuba, Maasal Women, andWitchcraft Among the Mande. Althoughfocusing on different topics, all these filmemploy a TV format L e t us analyze thereactions to the 'Odyssey' series documentaryThree Worlds ofBali:Chart 4. Reactions to Three Worlds ofBalis a %

. 0 x

3 0 %

2 0 %

l o %

nog p r i m N , t a t

r . a m a . t

Nab

• ' M u n n . 'o TWO

A r n a 0 . r a r t b o n .

Note the lower frequency of 'negative'and 'primary' reactions (less than half theaverage). The high peak in the middle categoryreflects the extraordinary level of 'interest' inthis film. Al though there are not many'secondary' emotional reactions, the more'elaborated' responses of 'fascination' and'impression' amount to twice the average.Most students said they enjoyed the film andfound it very 'educational':

- 4 2 -

-one of the most understandable and enjoyablefilms...Very interesting and educational...ltgave the viewer a little of everything...Notboring a t all, fast moving and easy tofollow...It was not so controversial as the otherfilms.-I was quite impressed by their society...It isgreat that something like the Arts can tie awhole culture together...An almost idealsociety.

These more 'positive' responses seemto be linked to the familiar television textuality,and indicate a particular type of 'interest' in thefilm, due to its informative and 'entertaining'nature. Such a 'pleasing' and 'enjoyable'reading of the film was valued in opposition tothe non-gratifying experience of 'controversial'films - not withstanding the handful o f'shocked' aberrant interpretations o f the'strange' Balinese behavior. T h e fi lmsdiscourse implies a non-specialized decoder,which matched the students' self-positioning as'general viewers'. The celebrated 'overall'depiction o f Balinese culture no t onlycontribute to keeping students attention, butalso helped them identify with the professionaleditorial voice and its particular 'appropriation'of meanings. Most students applauded theinformational quality o f the film, whichprovided them with a 'good understanding' ofBalinese culture. Th is 'understanding' wasimportant enough to 'impress' students, and togenerate feelings o f 'admiration' for theidealized Balinese. The film's figuration of the'other' as a combination of 'Art', 'perfection'and 'exoticism' - as culture-heroes resistingmodern technology - resulted i n apreponderance of Orientalist decoding.

Two other topics students found very'interesting' were those of sexual differenceand the role of women, which can be clearlyobserved in their reactions to Mogan Women:Chart 5. Reactions to Massai Women40x

3 0 %

2 0 %

10%

0 %

IM.cuOm m M W

�- a . . , 0911 ra0110^1

The curve is very similar to oneindicating average reactions, but with higherlevels of 'interest' and lower levels of 'dislike'.The TV f i lm format, coupled w i th an'interesting' topic, influenced such results. Wecan clearly not ice gender-determineddifferences in students' responses.REPRESENTATIVE FEMALE RESPONSE-The film was good and interesting...Thewomen were treated unfairly...I was shockedby the role of women...! am strongly againstthe pre-arranged marriages and that men wereallowed to have many wives...I felt sympathy,they do not realize how poorly they are beingtreated.REPRESENTATIVE MALE RESPONSE-1 found very interesting how women do ail thework...I like how they have a lot of sexualfreedom...! liked how they appreciate ancientcustoms... No sympathy...! hope they continueto be happy.

Mast students found the film clear andinformative, although some read i t in an'aberrant' way, feeling alienated by the'backward' Maasai codes. Gender-basedreactions dearly express ideological decodingpositions. On the one hand, female studentsfelt more 'touched', and evidently identifiedwith the editorial female voice and its cross-cultural critical view o f male dominance.Accordingly, many females read the film fromthis oppositional stance. Their criticism ofhegemonic patriarchy caused them to be muchless tolerant of Maasai culture as a whole. Onthe other hand, although some males criticizedthe 'unfair' treatment of women, many of themreferred to the 'happy' life of Massai society.This hegemonic decoding o f sexuality wasaccompanied by a more 'tolerant' attitudetowards the almost 'ideal' Maasai socialstructure. Along a continuum of negotiatedreadings, students reflected upon sexual andcultural difference, resulting in most cases in areaffirmation of their views about gender, and avalidation of some ethnocentric notions of the'primitive as both 'backward and 'ideal4. Secondary Emotional Reactions

The only two films with predominantly'secondary' emotional reactions Ongka's BigMoka and Nairn and labar, have in commontheir narrative style and their focus on specific'characters'. Students discerned a familiartextual code and a 'story' they could 'relate' to,as we can see with Ongka's Big Moka.

Chart 6 . Reactions t o Ongka's BigMoka

4 , %

30

20

, 0 %

0

nro Nag

• . • Rs .c t iom le 0131.4

'0- Average , u a n n a

The curve is skewed to the left inrelation to the average distribution, displaying apeak frequency in the 'secondary' category -mostly 'amusement. We note a much lowerfrequency of 'primary' reactions and a lowerlevel o f 'interest', w h i c h was clear lytransmuted into 'entertainment'. 'Negative'and 'elaborated' reactions are found at almostthe same level, above the average frequencies.-Why is Ongka wearing those clothes!...!thought this film was a comedy...! was happyto see a humorous approach to a flm...lt heldmy interest. I t was very entertaining...Theway they talked and their expressions werereally funny.-I did not really feel too much sympathybecause they seemed a bit more civilized thanother tribes...I was envious of their generousculture...I get tired of how competitive andvicious our own society is over wealth.

Although some students were shockedby the 'strange' Kawelka cultural codes(importance of pigs, polygamy, rituals) and feltsomewhat disappointed for not being treated toa 'full' satire, most of them read OBM as an'anthropological comedy' which combined thehumor and entertainment they are used to - andlook for - in films: the pleasure of 'watchingmovies'. T h e film's use of humor helpedstudents to keep their interest, to relate more tothe 'characters', and to enjoy the viewingexperience. Yet these gratifying feelings alsocorrespond to a hegemonic reading of Ongka asa 'funny' 'character', a patronizing view rootedin a caricature of the 'primitive' as 'naive' andsimple-minded (as seen in cartoons and manyHollywood films). Some students, however,negotiated alternative decodings of their own'vicious' value-system, contrasting to the'generous' Kawelka culture. I n most cases.this resulted in a romanticized reading of the

half, while 'secondary' emotional responsesalmost exclusively express 'sympathy' for thebeaten Yanomamo women. There were no'elaborated' responses, as we can see in thefollowing:4 didn't understand what was happening ..1couldn't believe all the yelling that was goingon...Why are these people running aroundnaked hitting each other with sticks...1 feltsorry when the women were crying... Toomuch violence!!!-The main theme was to show how violent thistribe was...The general viewer may find thefilm to be boring and repetitious. But it was agood way to show lineages and kinship in alive model-1 was appalled to see how important fightingwas to them even i f it was over something sostupid...lt seemed as though this society wasexnemelyprimitive and violent

We can clearly note the 'aberrant'decoding, a common response to many films inthe Yanomamo series. Students had majorproblems in understanding both the visualcodes of the film and the cultural practices ofthe Yanomamo. Many students found thethree-part format 'boring' and 'repetitive' andthe kinship explanation too specialized anddifficult to understand. The tendency towardsobjectification in the filmic style contributed toreactions of alienation from the subjects, yet atthe same time appealed to students' sense of'truthfulness' because o f i ts apparentobjectivity. But again, it is the content whichaccounts for most of the film's aberrantreadings. Many students saw Yanomamonudity as 'controversial', expressing the most'primitive' form of social life. This is closelyrelated to the 'frightening' violence, which wasseen as absurd, 'stupid' and anything but'normal'. Students saw in the Yanomamo amodel of the most 'bizarre' and 'uncivilized'behavior they had probably ever seen5. Thesepreferred readings obviously correspond not tonegotiated meanings, but to the taken forgranted, the hegemonic decoding of the'primitive' within the paradigm o f thebarbarian. Only that assumption could explainmaking a film 'to show how violent' theYanomamo are.

Another example of a fi lm elicitingpredominantly 'primary' emotional reactions isThe Nuer.

-;, t-

Chart 1 Reactions to the Neer

° ' Reactions b I N

G - Average m a n a n t

e . p p r M i m s a c . e b b .

Here we notice the peak of 'primary'reactions of 'shock', 'disgust' and the highfrequency o f 'negatives' ( 'd is l ike ' ,'boredom'). Levels of interest and 'secondary'emotional reactions are far below the average.The minor peak of 'elaborated' reactionsindicates a perceived level of contradictionbetween the sophisticated film style and the'disturbing' images o f the Nuer. T h efollowing quotes express the preeminence ofthese responses:-I didn't like this film at all...! found it longand boring...I was in atve when I sawit...Thedroning o f the cattle almost drove mecrazy—The graphic scenes of Gar and thewomen's scars were sickening and stuck in mymind...The people were dirty...Somewhatcord—overeat-I was amazed to see this anorexic lookingpeople brushing their teeth with ashes...Thereactions around the classroom were disgust atthe people, they could not identify, wereoffended and ridiculed( the people for theirappearances.-This is one of the best films in the dass... Verymeditative frlm...The viewer can experiencethese people...Really beautiful imagery—Verypersonal product

As students themselves acknowledged,most were 'shocked' and 'offended' by thebehavior of the Nuer - the latter's 'dirty' and'sickening' ceremonies. Thus, their 'aberrant'decoding of the film was principally caused bythe 'presence' and the 'ridiculized' culturecodes of the Nuer. The focus on the Nuer'sstrong relationship with livestock, theirscarification and funerary ceremonies,generated much of the film's alienatedreadings. Many students found the narration -the 'message' - 'easy' to understand, yet theydisliked the filin as a whole and found it long,repetitive and lacking information. Along withthese 'primary' and 'negative' reactions, the

Kawelka economic system of redistribution.By the end of the semester, most studentsranked OBM as their favorite film, bothbecause of its 'humorous' qualities and its'characters'.

In contrast, Naim and Jabar was seen asthe 'drama' o f two young Afghan malepeasants experiencing economic a n deducational difficulties.Chart 7. Reactions to Naim and Jabar

• - R e a m e r s 10 N I )

' A r. u O i k reactions

r . o O r m I n , . . c M a t

r u c t i o n

The curve appears displaced to theright, emphasizing the more 'posit ive'responses. No te the peak of 'secondary'reactions - almost exclusively 'sympathy' - theaverage level o f 'interest', and the lowfrequency o f 'primary' and 'negative'responses. The narrative format, aided by aninteractive cinéma-vérité style, contributed to agreater emotional engagement We can alsodetect gender differences i n students'responses:REPRESENTATIVE FEMALE RESPONSE-I enjoyed this film... At first it seems there is alot of poverty, but they also have a lot of timeto play and goof around...The subjects wereamusing and entertaining... Young men with agreat outlook on l i fe and thei r manyopportunities...No sympathy... They werevery ambitious.REPRESENTATIVE MALE RESPONSE-This film had a very deep meaning...They arehardworking and destined t o a l ife o fpoverty...The ending was depressing...Thegeneral viewer would feel remorse for thesepeople...I was very sympathetic towards them.

In general, students found the fdm'tooslow', yet very 'emotional' as well. Aided bythe films interactive style, they were able to'relate' to the 'characters' because of their'more Westernized' culture, similar age, andtheir 'search for success'. In contrast with thestudents' reading of Massai Women, heremales identified with the editorial voice: a

- 4 4 -

sympathetic male following the misfortunes oftwo male 'characters'. M a l e students'sympathized' with them on a 'deep' emotionallevel - based on perceptions of the characters as'victims' - and also negotiated some criticalviews of the 'unfairness' of the dominanteconomic system and the Afghan government'spolitics. On the other hand, most females sawthe 'characters' from a more distanced - andunsympathetically hegemonic - position, as'progressive' young men who could succeedhad they the initiative to take advantage of the'tremendous' opportunities offered by thedominant system. T h e f i lm narrat ivepositioned viewers' particular relation to thecharacters between two poles of response tothe Third World: patronization and insoucianceon the one hand; sorrow, guilt and remorse onthe other.5. Elaborated Reactions

There was no preponderance of thiscategory in any o f the films about the'primitive'. In fact, in three films (Trance andDance in Bali, The Ax Fight, Last of the Cuiva)there was almost no evidence of 'elaborated'reactions whatsoever. These reactions, i tseems, could only be generated by a filmrepresenting the students' own culture, such asNumber Our Days:Chart 8 . Reactions to Number O u rDays10%

r . 0 0 r n1 . . < MAO

• « I i M G I p r . , 0 , 1 O 0

0 ' M a r a y a * n a t a n t

'The curve moves straight up from

'negative' to 'positive' reactions, reflecting themost 'positive' impact registered by the samplestudents Empathy' is the most commonreaction-It seemed wein! how old people were going tobean anthropology study M y grandma is in aretirement home and I know how they live..,!feel very snrryfor the older generation.-I loved this film ., Very emodonal..1 enjoyedseeing Barbara MyerhofTget involved while thedocumentary film was being filmed...1t really

film's aesthetic and contemplative style -implying a 'sophisticated' viewer - alsogenerated other contradictory feelings andideas: the film presented students with both'horror' and 'beauty', subjectivity a n d'realism'. I n spite - and because - of theshocking images, few viewers appreciated theaesthetic qualities o f the film enough tonegotiate more 'elaborated' meanings.However, this sensual gratification is mainly arecognition of the film's professionalism,acknowledging the dominant encoding of theexoticized Nuer.3. Attention/Concern Reactions

This category represents different typesof concern, ranging from students' curiosityabout the 'exotic', to their 'interest' in thefilms' subject matters. Although this 'interest'was closely linked to entertainment and to littlemore than a basic understanding o f thematerial, it also represents the degree to whichfilms were found 'educational'. The followingfilms engendered a preponderance of thiscategory: Three Worlds of Bali Coming ofAge, Southeast Nuba, Maasal Women, andWitchcraft Among the Mande. Althoughfocusing on different topics, all these filmemploy a TV format L e t us analyze thereactions to the 'Odyssey' series documentaryThree Worlds ofBali:Chart 4. Reactions to Three Worlds ofBalis a %

. 0 x

3 0 %

2 0 %

l o %

nog p r i m N , t a t

r . a m a . t

Nab

• ' M u n n . 'o TWO

A r n a 0 . r a r t b o n .

Note the lower frequency of 'negative'and 'primary' reactions (less than half theaverage). The high peak in the middle categoryreflects the extraordinary level of 'interest' inthis film. Al though there are not many'secondary' emotional reactions, the more'elaborated' responses of 'fascination' and'impression' amount to twice the average.Most students said they enjoyed the film andfound it very 'educational':

- 4 2 -

-one of the most understandable and enjoyablefilms...Very interesting and educational...ltgave the viewer a little of everything...Notboring a t all, fast moving and easy tofollow...It was not so controversial as the otherfilms.-I was quite impressed by their society...It isgreat that something like the Arts can tie awhole culture together...An almost idealsociety.

These more 'positive' responses seemto be linked to the familiar television textuality,and indicate a particular type of 'interest' in thefilm, due to its informative and 'entertaining'nature. Such a 'pleasing' and 'enjoyable'reading of the film was valued in opposition tothe non-gratifying experience of 'controversial'films - not withstanding the handful o f'shocked' aberrant interpretations o f the'strange' Balinese behavior. T h e fi lmsdiscourse implies a non-specialized decoder,which matched the students' self-positioning as'general viewers'. The celebrated 'overall'depiction o f Balinese culture no t onlycontribute to keeping students attention, butalso helped them identify with the professionaleditorial voice and its particular 'appropriation'of meanings. Most students applauded theinformational quality o f the film, whichprovided them with a 'good understanding' ofBalinese culture. Th is 'understanding' wasimportant enough to 'impress' students, and togenerate feelings o f 'admiration' for theidealized Balinese. The film's figuration of the'other' as a combination of 'Art', 'perfection'and 'exoticism' - as culture-heroes resistingmodern technology - resulted i n apreponderance of Orientalist decoding.

Two other topics students found very'interesting' were those of sexual differenceand the role of women, which can be clearlyobserved in their reactions to Mogan Women:Chart 5. Reactions to Massai Women40x

3 0 %

2 0 %

10%

0 %

IM.cuOm m M W

�- a . . , 0911 ra0110^1

7. Besides personal observation and qualitative analysis,these tendencies have also been statistically measured.The results o f two attitude scale tests appl ied to 900students o f six different sections o f the course, haverevealed t h a t t h e i r o v e r a l l a t t i t udes t o w a r d s t h e'primitive' do not change significantly after viewing thefi lms,

ReferencesALT7müa , Louis. ' Ideology and the Ideological State1971 Apparatuses' . Lenin and Philowohv. New York:

Monthly Review Preen.1969 F o r M a a . (B. Brewster, trust.) London: Penguin

Pros.BAnnvi, M.M T h e Dialogic Imagination. Austin:1981 U n i v e r s i t y of Texas Press.BFNNerr, Tony. ' Te s t and Social Process: the Csse of1982 J a m e s Bord'. Screen Fducatirg 41:9-14.CormrT, Celeste. ' T h e Rhetorical Limits of Polysemy'.1989 C r i t i c a l Studies in Mass Communisation

6: 103 122.Deana, Norman K. The Research Act. 2d ed. New1978 Y o r k : McCraw Hill.Eco, Umberto. T h e Role of the Reader. Bloomington:1977 I n d i a n a University Pmts.1979 ' D e n o t a t i o n and Connotation'. A Theory of

Semiotics pp. 5 4 57 Bloomington: IndiaraUniversity Press.

1989 T h e Open Work. Cambridge. HarvardUniversity Press.

PIm, Stanley l a There a Text In this Class' Cambridge:1980 H a r v a r d University PressPLUM, John. Television: Polygamy and Popularity'.1986 C r i t i c a l Studies in Mass Communication 3:

391.408.1987 Te l e v i s i o n Culture. New York- Methuen & Co.r w u U LT, Michel. Power/Knowledae: Selected1980 I n t e r v i e w and Other Writings. New York.

Pantheon Books.HALL, Stuart. 'Encoding/decoding', in Hall, Hobson1980 L o w e and Willis (Eds.) Culture. Media and

Lanese pp 128. 138 London. Hutchinson.1985 'Signi f icat ion, Representation, Ideology

Althusser and the Pmt. Structundist Debate'Çfhsgl.5nldiai ses Maas Çs,m:.Illisa(ipg 2: 91114.

Haulm Thomas and Paul DeVone. ' T h e Yanonwno o n1973 p a p e r and on film' Paper prepared for the

anthropological Film Conference, SmithsonianInstitute, Washington, D C.. May 12, 1973.

HEATH, Stephen and Skinow GaLAN. Television: A1977 W o r l d in Action'. Screen 18 (2 ): 7 59H o a u o , Norman. 5 Readers Reading N e w Haven,1980 C o n n . . Yale University PressLINKER. Kate. 'Representation and Sexuality', m lin1984 A f t e r Modernism. Boston Mass - David R .

Codine, Publisher, Inc.M a r { e n , r David. 'Beyond Observational1975 C i n e m a ' . Principles of Visual Anthropology

Paul blackings, ed., Chicago Mouton Publishers.

MAgeus, George and Michael PIsCF®l. A n t h 0 0 0 l o g v1986 a s Cultural Critique. Chicago: University of

Chicago Press.N1cnots, Bill. ideology and the Image. Bloomington:1981 I n d i a n a University Press.PINNY, Chris. 'Appearing Worlds'. Anthropology1989 T o d a y 5 (3)June.SAID, Edward. O r l e n t t m . New York; Vintage Rooks.1979M u m , Hayden. Tropics of Diemurrre. Baltimore:1978 J o h n s Hopkins University Press.WILLIAMS, Raymond. M a r x i s m and Literature. Oxford:1977 O x f o r d University Press.

FilmographyA w n s , Ira. 1980. The Three Wodds of Ball (Ian Abrams

produced director, Stephen Lansing,anthropologist) Public Broadcasting Associates,Inc. 'Odyssey' series. Color, 5 9 min.

M a t , Timothy, 1975. The Ax Fight (Timothy AsehFilmmaker, Napoleon Chagnon, anthropologist).Documentary Edtratiorad Resource. Color, 30min.

BAMMEI, Gregory. 1952. Trance Dance in Bali. (GregoryBateson, Filmmaker, Margret Mad,Anthropologist) Distributor. NYU. B & W, 20Min.

Cumin , Chris. 1974. M a n i Women (Chris Curling,directon Melissa Liewelyn-Davies,Anthropologist) Granada Television, U.K.:'Disappearing World series. Color, 52 min.

HARMS. Hilary 1970. The,Nuer (&Glary Harris and GeorgeBreidenbach, fdmmaken) Distributor. McGrawHill Contemporary Filets, Inc. Color, 29 min.

LIITYAN, Lyme. 1976. Number a t r i k s ' (Lynne Littman,director, Barbara Myerhoff, Anthropologist)Distributor. Direct Cinema, Ltd. color 75 min.

mums. Norman. 1976 N a m and lobar (Norman Miller,director/producer Louis Dupree, anthropologist)Distributor. Wheelok Fduestioral Resources.Color, 50 min

NAnN, Charlie. 1974 The_Kawelka: Onaka'e Big Moka.(Charlie Neirin, director ; AndrewStethern, anthropologist) Granada Television,U K 'Disappearing World' series Color, 52 min.

opened ivy eyes and made me think of myself'as an elderly in this harsh world where we live.

Although some students resisted theidea of seeing themselves as 'anthropologicalsubjects', most of them--regardless of gender -identified with the authorial, self-reflexivevoice of anthropologist Barbara Myerhoff andher return to the 'exoticism' of the self. Thismovement, a result of Myerhoff's shift fromstudying Huitchol culture to elderly Jews inVenice Beach, made quite an impression onstudents. Most students perceived the subjectsas 'old others' rather than 'Jewish others' andempathized with them at a level of familiarityrarely seen in the course. Besides this strongemotional involvement, students alsonegotiated critical readings of their social reality('our harsh world'). T h e topic and the'reflexive' style of the film contributed greatlyto these results. These findings suggest, atleast primarily, that higher levels of 'empathy'and 'reflexivity' can be found among studentsonly when they view films concerningthemselves and their own culture.

ConclusionsThese results indicate a certain pattern ofemotional, cognitive and ideological responsesto anthropological films. A s noted, moststudents decoded ethnographic films in an'aberrant' way, with high levels of 'cultureshock' and alienation, and with relatively lowlevel of understanding of both film and subject-matter. These readings are clearly linked to thespecialized film format, and to what isperceived as the 'bizarre' appearance andbehavior of the 'primitive'. Students' 'interest'was stimulated by topics of general concern(gender, economics, 'exotica', etc.) and bymade-for-TV documentary films. T h i sstandard reading was a product of curiositycombined wi th students' desire f o rentertainment. Emotionally engaging filmswere highly valued, while more strictlyinformational and overtly educational filmswere commonly seen as 'dry' and 'boring'.Students' preference for films with humor andnarrative drama reveals much about deep-seatedunderstanding of film viewing as essentially anemotional experience. The relatively smallproportion of 'elaborated' readings suggeststhat most viewers did not develop higher levelsof critical analysis and reflexivity, it also pointsto the difficulty that students had in relating to

- 4 5 -

the 'primitive other'. Students seemed torespond 'positively' only to subjects from theirown culture, and to the kind of 'stories theylike and to which they have been habituated.

To a great extent, these tendenciesepitomize not only our student sample butethnographic film's primary audience as well6.Students' preferred readings are symptoms oflarger ideological maps of signification aboutthe 'primitive other'. They reveal the dialecticsof dominance and contestation i n theethnographic film viewer, who is clearlydisposed towards the dominant stereotypes ofthe 'primitive' as either the idealized 'NobleSavage', or the grotesque 'Barbarian'. These'symptoms' also express deeper structures fordesire operating within the realm of the'imaginary'. They hint at predominantlyunconscious operations and subjectiveprocesses. This issue, which I have notanalyzed here, breaches the importance ofaffective and subliminal meanings in theinterpretation of ethnographic films. At the riskof over-generalization, the students' emotionaland unconscious responses are of tenoverlooked and consequently repressed byprofessors, which may explain why this energyis promptly rechanneled into stereotypedperceptions.

In this discussion, I have principallyfocused on the students' self-positioning as'non-specialized' viewers and on how thefilmic texts positioned them in their diverseways i t is fundamental to also consider howthe 'context' of the course positions students.The 'symptomatic' readings analyzed herereflect, to a certain measure, how films werepresented, or how the instructor 'translated' thefilms (course design, class dynamics, filmsequence, written materials, etc.) I n oursample, the instructor used written texts in an'informational' fashion and relied on thepresentation of an extensive number of films,which might have reinforced the students' self-image as little more than 'general' viewers I tis very likely that if ethnographic films werenot included in the list, the average distributionwould result in more 'positive' responses O nthe other hand, it is also likely that if the courseapproach were more analytic, reactions toethnographic films would have been more'positive'. But how much different? To whatextent does the 'contextual' information effectemotional and ideological reactions? From my

C O N C L U D I N G R E� I A R K S O N P A S T M E E T I N G S

V I S U A L ANTHROPOLOGY I NETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS

Paolo CHIOZzlInstitute di Antropologia

University o f Florence, I taly

In February 1990 a retrospective o nethnographic f i lm t ook place at the Nat ionalMuseum o f Preh is to ry a n d E t h n o g r a p h y'Lu ig i P igor in i ' , i n Rome. T h i s was the f i rstmeeting o rgan ized s ince a ' p r o t o c o l ' wassigned b y t h e M u s e u m ' s D i r e c t o r , D r .Giovanni Scichilone, and myself as Director ofthe Anthropological Section o f the Festival deiPopoli of Florence. T h e protocol emphasizesthe importance o f visual anthropology wi th inthe museum's context, however, cooperat ionbetween the Museum a n d t h e Fest iva l de lPopoff should n o t be seen as an at tempt tocreate ano the r e thnoeraph ic f i l m f es t i va l .While a selection o f the ethnographic f i lmssubmitted each yea r t o the Fest ival , t o b escreened in Rome, wi l l provide an opportunityfor v iewing f i lms t ha t don't have access to amarket-dependent distr ibution in I ta ly, i t wi l lalso serve to fulf i l l another major aim, towardsimproved discussions and reflections o n thepotentialit ies o f visuals w i t h i n the museumcontext. A s I wrote in the Cata logue o f the30th Festival dei Popol i ( N o v - Dec. 1989),the t i m e h a s c o m e t o ' d i s cuss b o t h t h eproblems of the conservation and use of audio-visual materials in ethnographic museums, andthe ways and means by wh ich the museumsthemselves can produce their own audiovisualmaterials.... The purpose or 'destination' o f anethnographic f i l m determines t h e w a y i t isconceived and made, which is why only a verysmall part of the existing material is suitable tothe needs of a museum. W e must therefore bemore farsighted: ou r objective fo r the futuremust be to establish a specialized k ind o f f i lmproduc t ion t h a t i s t h e r e s u l t o f c l o s ecollaboration between museums and v isua lanthropologists f r om the very rus t stages o fplanning and conceiving the work ' .

Actual ly we al l must agree wi th AsenBalikcï s statement that "increasingly objects instatic exhibits are being realistically integratedand given deeper meaning by the use of related

aud iov isua ls . . .Th is p r a c t i c e , h o w e v e r , i smeeting w i t h d i f f icu l t ies d u e t o the lack o fdirectly appropriate f i lm materials ' ( V C A - N Lmay 1989) . B u t , as he also argues, ' w h a tabout the general lack of museum involvementin the production of new ethnographic films?".Tha t is the ma jor problem we arc concernedwith, and in my opinion its existence is due to'a se t o f conse rva t i ve p o l i c i e s r e j e c t i n ginnovat ion ' rather than to the other reasonssuggested by Bal ikc i . I k n o w f rom personalexperience t h e m a n y d i f f i cu l t i es o n e m a yencounter w h e n t r y i n g t o in t roduce v i s u a la n t h r o p o l o g y i n I t a l i a n e t h n o g r a p h i cmuseums, i n spi te o f the suppo r t i ve ideasexpressed by Paolo Mantegazza who foundedin 1 8 7 0 o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n tethnographic museums in I ta ly, the 'Nat ionalMuseum o f Ethnology and An th ropo logy ' inFlorence: he was aware o f the potent ial i t iesoffered b y p h o t o g r a p h y t o t h e m u s e u mexhibits o f 'objects' , which can be powerful lycontexbialized by photographic images.

Within the general conservative attitudewhich prevails there are few exceptions whichcould be mentioned, a n d as Ba l ikc i h imse l fpoints ou t (Osaka, Amsterdam.. . ) even theseare n o t a lways as innovat ive as they m igh tappear: d u r i n g the meeting in Rome we wereshown a v i d e o o n t h e O s a k a m u s e u m ' svideotheque, a n d t h e response w a s n o t afavorable one. A c t u a l l y, f rom a technologicalpo in t o f v iew, the v ideotheque seems t o bevery we l l o rgan ized , r i c h l y equ ipped a n deasily accessible H o w e v e r , w e w e r e l e f tw i th t h e impress ion t h a t there is a lack o f' i n te rac t i on ' be tween i t a n d t h e exh ib i t s ,whereas w h a t w e a r e s e e k i n g i s a ni m p r o v e m e n t o f s u c h a n i n t e r a c t i v erelationship.

Personally. i do not have any solutionsto tha t problem. i a m convinced, however,that an interaction between visual anthropologyand ethnographic museums is possible - and iknow that it is desirable and could be mutuallyprof i table. W h a t w e need i s t o devise amethodology that st i l l doesn't exist W h e n ,introducing the Seminar that took place afterthe screenings a t the "P igo r in i ' M u s e u m . Iemphasized that the search fo r a methodologyis the cha l lenge w h i c h l i es be fo re u s T h e

experience i n assist ing v a r i o u s p r o f e s s o r susing d i f fe ren t teaching approaches, I haveobserved tha t the tendencies, the patterns o fresponse, out l ined here, do no t change v e r ymuch; they may in degree, bu t not very muchin k ind7. I n fu tu re articles, I w i l l elaboratemore on issues concerning the pragmatics o fethnographic film.

O u r analysis suggests some alternativesthat instructors can adopt in their use o f f i lm.As mass med ia researchers have counsel ledcommunication professionals regarding generalaudiences ( C o n d i t , 1 9 8 9 ) , a n t h r o p o l o g yprofessors can contr ibute t o b r i ng ing abou t'positive' social change by:- f am i l i a r i z i ng s t u d e n t s w i t h t h e h i s t o r y,content, and issues of ethnographic fi lm and itsrelat ion t o the mass media a n d the 'cu l tureindus t ry ' ( i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r l eve l s o f f i l mliteracy);-dealing w i th students' emotional reactions tof i lms, h e l p i n g t o l i b e r a t e e n e r g i e s t h a totherwise wou ld be t ransformed in to re i f ieddominant stereotypes;-teaching s tuden ts t h e r a n g e o f po ten t i a ldecodings f o r texts, t h e r e b y h e l p i n g t h e mincrease their ideological range;-ana lyz ing t h e ' s ymp toma t i c ' r e a d i n g s o fparticular audiences (students, general viewers,others);-teaching students decoding alternatives, whichwou ld d e m a n d e f fo r t , b u t w h i c h m a y alsobecome b o t h ' p l e a s u r a b l e ' a n d e d i f y i n gresources that they can draw upon in the f u m e .

List o f f i lms inc luded i n sampleSpring 1 9 8 7I. Trans & Dance in Bali (TDB)L Dead Birds (DB)3. The Az Fight (AP')4. The Feast ( iT)5. The Nuer (TN)6. km Tapakan senes (IT)7. Nairn& tabor (Nird)8. Number Our Days (NOD)9. In Her Own Time (11107)M. Exilio (Es)1 I. Ongka's Big Moka (0BM)12.Three Worlds of Bali (NIB)13. Coming of Age (COA)14. Maaal Women (MW)15. Witchcraft Among the Annie (WAA)16. Southeast Nuba (SN)17. Dervishes of Kurdistan (DK)18. Last of the Guva (LC)

- 4 6 -

19. Afghan Exodus (AL)20. The Pathata ( I ' )

NotesWilton Martinez is a Fulbright fellow and

doctoral student in social anthropology at USC. H isfields of interest are symbolism and communication,visual anthropology and critical studies.

Acknowledgements. I would like to thankSteven D. Grossman and Nancy Lutkehaus for theircritical reading of this article and for their valuablecontribution to improve its style and organization-I. This three year research was partly designed andsupervised with Dr. Nancy Iutkehaus. The project wasfunded by the Spencer Foundation, the FulbrightCommission and the Center for Visual Anthropology atthe University of Southern California. Preliminaryreports have been presented in the form of papers at theAmerican Anthropological Association meetings in1987, 1988 and 1989, and as a research report to theSpencer Foundation. T h e project also included theproduction of a video series depicting the major findingsof the study. A first video entitled 'Viewing Cultures'has already been completed-2. The introductory course entitled 'Exploring Culturethrough Film' is a general education requirement thatmakes extensive use of film/video. A total of 250students registered in Spring 1987, and were organizedinto three sections. The study sample corresponds toone of the sections in which 1 worked as a teachingassistant.3 On average, 40" of the course time was spent inlecture and discussion and 60% was dedicated tofilm/video screenings. T h e instructor introducedanthropological theory in the context of contemporarycross-cultural media presentations, and emphasized thedevelopment of students' critical analysis of a largenumber of films. Although films differed slightly intheir contextualization, all films were preceded by anintroductory lecture, and followed by some divvssion.Written materials wem available for almost all films, aswell as transcripts of the lectures.4. I n particular, 'Trance and Dance in Bali' waspresented with little background information. Althoughthe instructor introduced the film and lectured on Mead'sand Batman's work in Bali. no related written materialswere made available.5- The similarity with the results of Hearne and DeVorehere is patent. After watching the films, students sawthe Yanotnamo not merely as another 'naked peoplerunning around, but as 'the primitivé par e.rcellenee6. In my presentation, of these results in meetings andconferences, I have heard professors from manyuniversities in the United States agreeing with myoverall findings, and commenting on the strikingsimilarite, found in the way their students react toparticular ethnographic films.

7. Besides personal observation and qualitative analysis,these tendencies have also been statistically measured.The results o f two attitude scale tests appl ied to 900students o f six different sections o f the course, haverevealed t h a t t h e i r o v e r a l l a t t i t udes t o w a r d s t h e'primitive' do not change significantly after viewing thefi lms,

ReferencesALT7müa , Louis. ' Ideology and the Ideological State1971 Apparatuses' . Lenin and Philowohv. New York:

Monthly Review Preen.1969 F o r M a a . (B. Brewster, trust.) London: Penguin

Pros.BAnnvi, M.M T h e Dialogic Imagination. Austin:1981 U n i v e r s i t y of Texas Press.BFNNerr, Tony. ' Te s t and Social Process: the Csse of1982 J a m e s Bord'. Screen Fducatirg 41:9-14.CormrT, Celeste. ' T h e Rhetorical Limits of Polysemy'.1989 C r i t i c a l Studies in Mass Communisation

6: 103 122.Deana, Norman K. The Research Act. 2d ed. New1978 Y o r k : McCraw Hill.Eco, Umberto. T h e Role of the Reader. Bloomington:1977 I n d i a n a University Pmts.1979 ' D e n o t a t i o n and Connotation'. A Theory of

Semiotics pp. 5 4 57 Bloomington: IndiaraUniversity Press.

1989 T h e Open Work. Cambridge. HarvardUniversity Press.

PIm, Stanley l a There a Text In this Class' Cambridge:1980 H a r v a r d University PressPLUM, John. Television: Polygamy and Popularity'.1986 C r i t i c a l Studies in Mass Communication 3:

391.408.1987 Te l e v i s i o n Culture. New York- Methuen & Co.r w u U LT, Michel. Power/Knowledae: Selected1980 I n t e r v i e w and Other Writings. New York.

Pantheon Books.HALL, Stuart. 'Encoding/decoding', in Hall, Hobson1980 L o w e and Willis (Eds.) Culture. Media and

Lanese pp 128. 138 London. Hutchinson.1985 'Signi f icat ion, Representation, Ideology

Althusser and the Pmt. Structundist Debate'Çfhsgl.5nldiai ses Maas Çs,m:.Illisa(ipg 2: 91114.

Haulm Thomas and Paul DeVone. ' T h e Yanonwno o n1973 p a p e r and on film' Paper prepared for the

anthropological Film Conference, SmithsonianInstitute, Washington, D C.. May 12, 1973.

HEATH, Stephen and Skinow GaLAN. Television: A1977 W o r l d in Action'. Screen 18 (2 ): 7 59H o a u o , Norman. 5 Readers Reading N e w Haven,1980 C o n n . . Yale University PressLINKER. Kate. 'Representation and Sexuality', m lin1984 A f t e r Modernism. Boston Mass - David R .

Codine, Publisher, Inc.M a r { e n , r David. 'Beyond Observational1975 C i n e m a ' . Principles of Visual Anthropology

Paul blackings, ed., Chicago Mouton Publishers.

MAgeus, George and Michael PIsCF®l. A n t h 0 0 0 l o g v1986 a s Cultural Critique. Chicago: University of

Chicago Press.N1cnots, Bill. ideology and the Image. Bloomington:1981 I n d i a n a University Press.PINNY, Chris. 'Appearing Worlds'. Anthropology1989 T o d a y 5 (3)June.SAID, Edward. O r l e n t t m . New York; Vintage Rooks.1979M u m , Hayden. Tropics of Diemurrre. Baltimore:1978 J o h n s Hopkins University Press.WILLIAMS, Raymond. M a r x i s m and Literature. Oxford:1977 O x f o r d University Press.

FilmographyA w n s , Ira. 1980. The Three Wodds of Ball (Ian Abrams

produced director, Stephen Lansing,anthropologist) Public Broadcasting Associates,Inc. 'Odyssey' series. Color, 5 9 min.

M a t , Timothy, 1975. The Ax Fight (Timothy AsehFilmmaker, Napoleon Chagnon, anthropologist).Documentary Edtratiorad Resource. Color, 30min.

BAMMEI, Gregory. 1952. Trance Dance in Bali. (GregoryBateson, Filmmaker, Margret Mad,Anthropologist) Distributor. NYU. B & W, 20Min.

Cumin , Chris. 1974. M a n i Women (Chris Curling,directon Melissa Liewelyn-Davies,Anthropologist) Granada Television, U.K.:'Disappearing World series. Color, 52 min.

HARMS. Hilary 1970. The,Nuer (&Glary Harris and GeorgeBreidenbach, fdmmaken) Distributor. McGrawHill Contemporary Filets, Inc. Color, 29 min.

LIITYAN, Lyme. 1976. Number a t r i k s ' (Lynne Littman,director, Barbara Myerhoff, Anthropologist)Distributor. Direct Cinema, Ltd. color 75 min.

mums. Norman. 1976 N a m and lobar (Norman Miller,director/producer Louis Dupree, anthropologist)Distributor. Wheelok Fduestioral Resources.Color, 50 min

NAnN, Charlie. 1974 The_Kawelka: Onaka'e Big Moka.(Charlie Neirin, director ; AndrewStethern, anthropologist) Granada Television,U K 'Disappearing World' series Color, 52 min.

opened ivy eyes and made me think of myself'as an elderly in this harsh world where we live.

Although some students resisted theidea of seeing themselves as 'anthropologicalsubjects', most of them--regardless of gender -identified with the authorial, self-reflexivevoice of anthropologist Barbara Myerhoff andher return to the 'exoticism' of the self. Thismovement, a result of Myerhoff's shift fromstudying Huitchol culture to elderly Jews inVenice Beach, made quite an impression onstudents. Most students perceived the subjectsas 'old others' rather than 'Jewish others' andempathized with them at a level of familiarityrarely seen in the course. Besides this strongemotional involvement, students alsonegotiated critical readings of their social reality('our harsh world'). T h e topic and the'reflexive' style of the film contributed greatlyto these results. These findings suggest, atleast primarily, that higher levels of 'empathy'and 'reflexivity' can be found among studentsonly when they view films concerningthemselves and their own culture.

ConclusionsThese results indicate a certain pattern ofemotional, cognitive and ideological responsesto anthropological films. A s noted, moststudents decoded ethnographic films in an'aberrant' way, with high levels of 'cultureshock' and alienation, and with relatively lowlevel of understanding of both film and subject-matter. These readings are clearly linked to thespecialized film format, and to what isperceived as the 'bizarre' appearance andbehavior of the 'primitive'. Students' 'interest'was stimulated by topics of general concern(gender, economics, 'exotica', etc.) and bymade-for-TV documentary films. T h i sstandard reading was a product of curiositycombined wi th students' desire f o rentertainment. Emotionally engaging filmswere highly valued, while more strictlyinformational and overtly educational filmswere commonly seen as 'dry' and 'boring'.Students' preference for films with humor andnarrative drama reveals much about deep-seatedunderstanding of film viewing as essentially anemotional experience. The relatively smallproportion of 'elaborated' readings suggeststhat most viewers did not develop higher levelsof critical analysis and reflexivity, it also pointsto the difficulty that students had in relating to

- 4 5 -

the 'primitive other'. Students seemed torespond 'positively' only to subjects from theirown culture, and to the kind of 'stories theylike and to which they have been habituated.

To a great extent, these tendenciesepitomize not only our student sample butethnographic film's primary audience as well6.Students' preferred readings are symptoms oflarger ideological maps of signification aboutthe 'primitive other'. They reveal the dialecticsof dominance and contestation i n theethnographic film viewer, who is clearlydisposed towards the dominant stereotypes ofthe 'primitive' as either the idealized 'NobleSavage', or the grotesque 'Barbarian'. These'symptoms' also express deeper structures fordesire operating within the realm of the'imaginary'. They hint at predominantlyunconscious operations and subjectiveprocesses. This issue, which I have notanalyzed here, breaches the importance ofaffective and subliminal meanings in theinterpretation of ethnographic films. At the riskof over-generalization, the students' emotionaland unconscious responses are of tenoverlooked and consequently repressed byprofessors, which may explain why this energyis promptly rechanneled into stereotypedperceptions.

In this discussion, I have principallyfocused on the students' self-positioning as'non-specialized' viewers and on how thefilmic texts positioned them in their diverseways i t is fundamental to also consider howthe 'context' of the course positions students.The 'symptomatic' readings analyzed herereflect, to a certain measure, how films werepresented, or how the instructor 'translated' thefilms (course design, class dynamics, filmsequence, written materials, etc.) I n oursample, the instructor used written texts in an'informational' fashion and relied on thepresentation of an extensive number of films,which might have reinforced the students' self-image as little more than 'general' viewers I tis very likely that if ethnographic films werenot included in the list, the average distributionwould result in more 'positive' responses O nthe other hand, it is also likely that if the courseapproach were more analytic, reactions toethnographic films would have been more'positive'. But how much different? To whatextent does the 'contextual' information effectemotional and ideological reactions? From my

C O N C L U D I N G R E� I A R K S O N P A S T M E E T I N G S

V I S U A L ANTHROPOLOGY I NETHNOGRAPHIC MUSEUMS

Paolo CHIOZzlInstitute di Antropologia

University o f Florence, I taly

In February 1990 a retrospective o nethnographic f i lm t ook place at the Nat ionalMuseum o f Preh is to ry a n d E t h n o g r a p h y'Lu ig i P igor in i ' , i n Rome. T h i s was the f i rstmeeting o rgan ized s ince a ' p r o t o c o l ' wassigned b y t h e M u s e u m ' s D i r e c t o r , D r .Giovanni Scichilone, and myself as Director ofthe Anthropological Section o f the Festival deiPopoli of Florence. T h e protocol emphasizesthe importance o f visual anthropology wi th inthe museum's context, however, cooperat ionbetween the Museum a n d t h e Fest iva l de lPopoff should n o t be seen as an at tempt tocreate ano the r e thnoeraph ic f i l m f es t i va l .While a selection o f the ethnographic f i lmssubmitted each yea r t o the Fest ival , t o b escreened in Rome, wi l l provide an opportunityfor v iewing f i lms t ha t don't have access to amarket-dependent distr ibution in I ta ly, i t wi l lalso serve to fulf i l l another major aim, towardsimproved discussions and reflections o n thepotentialit ies o f visuals w i t h i n the museumcontext. A s I wrote in the Cata logue o f the30th Festival dei Popol i ( N o v - Dec. 1989),the t i m e h a s c o m e t o ' d i s cuss b o t h t h eproblems of the conservation and use of audio-visual materials in ethnographic museums, andthe ways and means by wh ich the museumsthemselves can produce their own audiovisualmaterials.... The purpose or 'destination' o f anethnographic f i l m determines t h e w a y i t isconceived and made, which is why only a verysmall part of the existing material is suitable tothe needs of a museum. W e must therefore bemore farsighted: ou r objective fo r the futuremust be to establish a specialized k ind o f f i lmproduc t ion t h a t i s t h e r e s u l t o f c l o s ecollaboration between museums a n d v isua lanthropologists f r om the very rus t stages o fplanning and conceiving the work ' .

Actual ly we al l must agree wi th AsenBalikcï s statement that "increasingly objects instatic exhibits are being realistically integratedand given deeper meaning by the use of related

aud iov isua ls . . .Th is p r a c t i c e , h o w e v e r , i smeeting w i t h d i f f icu l t ies d u e t o the lack o fdirectly appropriate f i lm materials ' ( V C A - N Lmay 1989) . B u t , as he also argues, ' w h a tabout the general lack of museum involvementin the production of new ethnographic films?".Tha t is the ma jor problem we arc concernedwith, and in my opinion its existence is due to'a se t o f conse rva t i ve p o l i c i e s r e j e c t i n ginnovat ion ' rather than to the other reasonssuggested by Bal ikc i . I k n o w f rom personalexperience t h e m a n y d i f f i cu l t i es o n e m a yencounter w h e n t r y i n g t o in t roduce v i s u a la n t h r o p o l o g y i n I t a l i a n e t h n o g r a p h i cmuseums, i n spi te o f the suppo r t i ve ideasexpressed by Paolo Mantegazza who foundedin 1 8 7 0 o n e o f t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n tethnographic museums in I ta ly, the 'Nat ionalMuseum o f Ethnology and An th ropo logy ' inFlorence: he was aware o f the potent ial i t iesoffered b y p h o t o g r a p h y t o t h e m u s e u mexhibits o f 'objects' , which can be powerful lycontexbialized by photographic images.

Within the general conservative attitudewhich prevails there are few exceptions whichcould be mentioned, and as Ba l ikc i h imse l fpoints ou t (Osaka, Amsterdam.. . ) even theseare n o t a lways as innovat ive as they m igh tappear: d u r i n g the meeting in Rome we wereshown a v i d e o o n t h e O s a k a m u s e u m ' svideotheque, a n d t h e response w a s n o t afavorable one. A c t u a l l y, f rom a technologicalpo in t o f v iew, the v ideotheque seems t o bevery we l l o rgan ized , r i c h l y equ ipped a n deasily accessible H o w e v e r , w e w e r e l e f tw i th t h e impress ion t h a t there is a lack o f' i n te rac t i on ' be tween i t a n d t h e exh ib i t s ,whereas w h a t w e a r e s e e k i n g i s a ni m p r o v e m e n t o f s u c h a n i n t e r a c t i v erelationship.

Personally. i do not have any solutionsto tha t problem. i a m convinced, however,that an interaction between visual anthropologyand ethnographic museums is possible - and iknow that it is desirable and could be mutuallyprof i table. W h a t w e need i s t o devise amethodology that st i l l doesn't exist W h e n ,introducing the Seminar that took place afterthe screenings a t the "P igo r in i ' M u s e u m . Iemphasized that the search fo r a methodologyis the cha l lenge w h i c h l i es be fo re u s T h e

experience i n assist ing v a r i o u s p r o f e s s o r susing d i f fe ren t teaching approaches, I haveobserved tha t the tendencies, the patterns o fresponse, out l ined here, do no t change v e r ymuch; they may in degree, bu t not very muchin k ind7. I n fu tu re articles, I w i l l elaboratemore on issues concerning the pragmatics o fethnographic film.

O u r analysis suggests some alternativesthat instructors can adopt in their use o f f i lm.As mass med ia researchers have counsel ledcommunication professionals regarding generalaudiences ( C o n d i t , 1 9 8 9 ) , a n t h r o p o l o g yprofessors can contr ibute t o b r i ng ing abou t'positive' social change by:- f am i l i a r i z i ng s t u d e n t s w i t h t h e h i s t o r y,content, and issues of ethnographic fi lm and itsrelat ion t o the mass media a n d the 'cu l tureindus t ry ' ( i n c r e a s i n g t h e i r l eve l s o f f i l mliteracy);-dealing w i th students' emotional reactions tof i lms, h e l p i n g t o l i b e r a t e e n e r g i e s t h a totherwise wou ld be t ransformed in to re i f ieddominant stereotypes;-teaching s tuden ts t h e r a n g e o f po ten t i a ldecodings f o r texts, t h e r e b y h e l p i n g t h e mincrease their ideological range;-ana lyz ing t h e ' s ymp toma t i c ' r e a d i n g s o fparticular audiences (students, general viewers,others);-teaching students decoding alternatives, whichwou ld d e m a n d e f fo r t , b u t w h i c h m a y alsobecome b o t h ' p l e a s u r a b l e ' a n d e d i f y i n gresources that they can draw upon in the f u m e .

List o f f i lms inc luded i n sampleSpring 1 9 8 7I. Trans & Dance in Bali (TDB)L Dead Birds (DB)3. The Az Fight (AP')4. The Feast ( iT)5. The Nuer (TN)6. km Tapakan senes (IT)7. Nairn& tabor (Nird)8. Number Our Days (NOD)9. In Her Own Time (11107)M. Exilio (Es)1 I. Ongka's Big Moka (0BM)12.Three Worlds of Bali (NIB)13. Coming of Age (COA)14. Maaal Women (MW)15. Witchcraft Among the Annie (WAA)16. Southeast Nuba (SN)17. Dervishes of Kurdistan (DK)18. Last of the Guva (LC)

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19. Afghan Exodus (AL)20. The Pathata ( I ' )

NotesWilton Martinez is a Fulbright fellow and

doctoral student in social anthropology at USC. H isfields of interest are symbolism and communication,visual anthropology and critical studies.

Acknowledgements. I would like to thankSteven D. Grossman and Nancy Lutkehaus for theircritical reading of this article and for their valuablecontribution to improve its style and organization-I. This three year research was partly designed andsupervised with Dr. Nancy Iutkehaus. The project wasfunded by the Spencer Foundation, the FulbrightCommission and the Center for Visual Anthropology atthe University of Southern California. Preliminaryreports have been presented in the form of papers at theAmerican Anthropological Association meetings in1987, 1988 and 1989, and as a research report to theSpencer Foundation. T h e project also included theproduction of a video series depicting the major findingsof the study. A first video entitled 'Viewing Cultures'has already been completed-2. The introductory course entitled 'Exploring Culturethrough Film' is a general education requirement thatmakes extensive use of film/video. A total of 250students registered in Spring 1987, and were organizedinto three sections. The study sample corresponds toone of the sections in which 1 worked as a teachingassistant.3 On average, 40" of the course time was spent inlecture and discussion and 60% was dedicated tofilm/video screenings. T h e instructor introducedanthropological theory in the context of contemporarycross-cultural media presentations, and emphasized thedevelopment of students' critical analysis of a largenumber of films. Although films differed slightly intheir contextualization, all films were preceded by anintroductory lecture, and followed by some divvssion.Written materials wem available for almost all films, aswell as transcripts of the lectures.4. I n particular, 'Trance and Dance in Bali' waspresented with little background information. Althoughthe instructor introduced the film and lectured on Mead'sand Batman's work in Bali. no related written materialswere made available.5- The similarity with the results of Hearne and DeVorehere is patent. After watching the films, students sawthe Yanotnamo not merely as another 'naked peoplerunning around, but as 'the primitivé par e.rcellenee6. In my presentation, of these results in meetings andconferences, I have heard professors from manyuniversities in the United States agreeing with myoverall findings, and commenting on the strikingsimilarite, found in the way their students react toparticular ethnographic films.

non anthropologue et les anthropologues noninitiés ont apprécié le films, pour peu que laprojection ait été perspicacement dosée entemps, i l n'empêche, les spectateurs n'enrestent pas moins frustrés en sortie de salle parun manque difficilement identifiable. C'étaitcertes «ethnologique», «concis», «intéressant»,«de qualité», niais l'anthropologie visuelle est-elle véritablement réductible à ce genre deproduction?

Dans les trois rubriques présentéesjusqu'ici («stylo-caméra», «documentairesculturels», «filmographie») ne passe-t-on passystématiquement à côté d'un paramètreessentiel qu i pourtant est au coeur duproblème? L 'a r t du spectacle, puisque nousscannes en anthropologie visuelle, fait partie defaçon intégrante de la question. O r , trèssouvent, le plaisir, l'esthétique, l'équilibre et lerythme des images et du son, sont des aspectstotalement évacués de la réalisation. Lespectateur se trouve alors face à des reportages,face à des rituels d'une aridité excessive, quin'a d'ailleurs pas d'égale dans la réalité. L adernière catégorie de cette classification estconstituée par l'ensemble des montages qui ontsu associer à la rigueur scientifique de leurproblématique une dimension «arts duspectacle» incontestable. Cela sous-entend bienentendu des productions à gros budgets,souvent en 16 min ou en vidéo professionnelle,mais pas toujours. Aux grands noms, aux grosmoyens, se mêlent petits matériels et petitstitres. Par exemple, Le voilier d'écaille deChristine Matignon; douze minutes trente deréalisation qui nous transporte dans le Marais, àParis, chez un des derniers tabletiers écaillistes.La qualité de ce filin est due à une «thématique»rigoureuse qui structure la réalisation de lapremière image à la dernière. La problématiqueest constituée de cinq clefs principales; uneconcernant l a gestuelle, le matériel, l atechnologie propre au métier d'écailliste, uneautre soulignant l'évolution de l'atelier dans letemps (vie du groupe, importance du travail),une autre encore concentrée sur la nansinissiondu savoir et des biens, puis sur la passion etl'implication de l'artisan face à son travail(réalisation d'un voilier d'écaille après lesheures de «travail»), et enfin le traitement dumythe des grands espaces, de l'exotisme(voilier, tortue) versus la réalité immobile àhuis clos (atelier, ville, hivers). Le «fond» est

de qualité (luminosité, son, éclairage, montage)et le tempo idéal pour informer sans jamaislasser. I l s'agit là d'une illustration possible, etmodeste, de ce que l'on potinait qualifier: «filmanthropologique». Parmi les personnalités ettoujours selon les mêmes critères de sélection àsavoir une problématique bien définie et unesthétisme irréprochable, nous pouvons citer lacompilation des Sigui de Jean Rouch etGermaine Dieterlen6, Vivre avec les Dieux:Prophètes en leur pays de J.P. Colleyn, M.Augé, J.P. Donon, Journal d'un ethnologue enChine de Fava ou encore, peut-être avec un peumoins de notoriété, Low is better de RobertBoonzager-Flaes et on en oublie certainementLa caractéristique de la finalité propre à cesfilms anthropologiques est de se vouloirscientifiques de par la rigueur de leurs thèmeset du traitement qui s'ensuit tout en aspirant àune large diffusion. Aussi, ces réalisationspeuvent être qualifiées de «tout public »7. Lesspécialistes trouveront Ici des faits qu'ilsconnaissent déjà dans Ethnie présentée ou parcomparaison et seront d'autant plus attentifsque l'oeuvre présentée sera scientifiquementcrédible. L e s spectateurs vierges de toutelecture anthropologique institutionnelle, quant àeux, apprécieront un instant d'exotisme certain,se régalant des images e t du caractèreauthentique qui ne manquera pas de se dégagerde lui-même au cours de la diffusion

Cette d e u x i è m e r e n c o n t r ed'anthropologie visuelle a donc proposé unpanorama élargi de la production actuelle.Aussi, le but de ce compte-rendu n'est pas tantd'exposer l'organisation logistique de l amanifestation ou encore de définir ce quedevrait être le film anthropologique de façonthéorique mais de présenter l'identité que laproduction audiovisuelle dans cette discipline alaissée paraître lors de l'atelier de la VieilleCharité. La typologie cl-dessus est une mise enévidence des différentes caractéristiquespossibles auxquelles se rattachent lesproductions. «Stylo-caméra», «documentairesculturels», « f i lmograph ie» , « f i l m santhropologiques», sont des zones déterminéesà partir de paramètres rues tels que laproblématique, l'esthétisme et l'objectifs de ladiffusion. Une grille d'analyse axée sur desparamètres différents (pédagogiques,politiqua...) donnerait lieu à une tout autrerépartition. Toutefois, relever la subjectivité

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renewal of ethnographic museums (as well asof visual anthropology , as far as its 'uses' areconcerned) will only be possible if we realizethe urgency of a cooperative program: asGiovanni Scichilone argues, 'as well as theconservation of its collections, the duty of amuseum must be to promote all forms ofknowledge that are in any way pertinent to itssphere of activity, and also to contribute to theprogress of research I t is within this contextthat our collaboration with the Festival deiPopoli stresses once more the extraordinarycontribution that photography and film (andtoday video) have given and continue to giveto Anthropology, and indeed to History... Al lthis will undoubtedly contribute to make thecultural presence of the museum richer andmore relevant, but it will also make societymore interested and aware of the problems ofvisual anthropology, emphasizing once againthe close interrelation between the world of themuseum and scholarly research. O u rcollaboration wi l l also bring about newdevelopments more specifically in the field ofthe presentation of data and materials in ourpermanent exhibits, and we are very muchlooking forward to these innovations'.

The meeting held in Rome served toprovide a preliminary discussion betweenscholars who share common interests. Its aimwas to pose specific questions in view ofpromoting further reflections on the topic. TheDavid Turton from the Granada Centre forVisuel Anthropology (Manchester), MagdaVasillov from New York University who isworking on 19th century anthropologicalphotography, Allison Jablonko, AntonioMarazzi, Franz Haller who is activelyconcerned with production o f films b yethnographic museums, were kindly invited toparticipate at the debate, which of course wasintroduced by Giovanni Scichilone. directorof the ethnographic museum.

i won't g i ve a repor t o f t h ediscussions, as it was only a 'beginning', butt would like to stress that everybody did agreethat we must keep working and that we shouldtry to involve both visual anthropologists andmuseums. Thus, my short 'commentary' is,in fact, a call for help let's join forces»

For more information contact:

Dr. Giovanni Scichilone, DirectorMuseo preistoriw c etnografico'L. Pigorini'Piazza Marconi, 1400144 Rome, Italy

Paolo ChiozziInst(tuto di AntropologiaUniversita di FirenzeVia del Proconsolo, 1250122 Florence, Italy

L'AUDIOVISUEL EN ANTHROPOLOGIELE DEUXIEME ATELIER INTERNATIONAL.DE LA VIEILLE CHARITÉ A MARSEILLE

Valérie FESCHErUniversité de Provence, Marseille

Du 14 au 18 juin 1989 a eu lieu à lavieille Charité de Marseille le deuxième atelierinternational d'anthropologie visuelle. Cettemanifestation était organisée par l'InstitutMéditerranéen de recherche et de création(IMEREC) en collaboration avec le centre derecherche en Ecologie Sociale (EHESS etCNRS). En quatre jours, une cinquantaine defilms de «maîtres» ou d'apprentis furentprésentes par leurs réalisateurs respectifsL'objectif était de mêler les grands noms del'audiovisuel anthropologique aux simplescoups d'essai et celui-ci fut pleinement réalisé.Mais ce «melting pot» d'images, tout Justestructuré selon l'appartenance nationale desréalisateurs, donna à la «révolution vidéo»annoncée en introduction par Pierre Jordan uncachet ambigu et désemparant Toutefois, lesmontages proposés, par leur nombre et leurhétérogénéité, ont permis aux spectateurs de sefaire une juste idée de l a productionaudiovisuelle en ce domaine. Une typologiegrossière des différents genres qui se sontdessinés au fl1 de cette rencontre va être

1exposée Au préalable, il convient de soulignerque la communauté scientifique disposeaujourd'hui d'une masse considérabled'oeuvres anthropologiques filmées dont lecaractère assez récent et l'expansion rapiderendent toutes entreprises classificatoiresextrêmement délicates Déterminer l'essence,

d'une telle organisation ne veut pas dires'interdire toutes définitions de ce que peutêtre, ou plutôt de ce que ne peut pas être,l'anthropologie visuelle. To u s les filmsdiffusés et projetés ne sont pas qualifiablesd'«ethnologiques» sans danger pour lanotoriété et l'intégrité de cette discipline dessciences humaines, i l convient de reconnaîtreque tout n'est pas à prendre, qu'une interviewreste une interview, qu'un documentaireculturel se situe plutôt dans la sphère dujournalisme alternatif que dans celle del'anthropologie. Mais cela ne veut pas direqu'il n'y a qu'une seule anthropologie visuellepossible. Comme pour l'anthropologie écrite,la pluralité des grilles d'analyse, des objectifs,des courants de pensées, des sensibilités,empêche de cantonner cet art à une formeparticulières.

Les chercheurs qui se lancent dans levidéo semblent ne pas avoir conscience del'exigence temporelle, matérielle et conceptuelleque cela implique. i l en résulte ainsi unsentiment de non-fiction, de «bâclage» qui nepeut porter que préjudice à la reconnaissancescientifique de cette pratique. U n premiertournage ne peut suffire à échafauder et réaliserun film anthropologique. Pour Jean-PaulColleyn, réalisateur professionnel d'oeuvresd'anthropologie visuelle destinées à unediffusion télévisée, deux tournages auminimum sont nécessaires. Une première prise«test» permet de déterminer les exigencesmatérielles propres au terrain d'un point de vuepurement technique. Suivra un tournage«optimalisé» qui pourra être véritablementexploité par la suite à des fins de diffusion. Laréutilisation des données enregistrées lors de cesecond tournage est également fonction de lapertinence des options thématiques définies àl'avance selon la lecture désirée. Ce dernieraspect implique donc une connaissance préciseet préalable des questions anthropologiques àtraiter. Ainsi, l'auteur peut être distinct duréalisateur si le film est directement inspiréd'une oeuvre écrite antérieure. Mais toutes lesréalisations audiovisuelles ne sont pas inspiréesde monographies préexistantes i l est possiblede se lancer dans une création tout à faitpersonnelle. L e processus de réalisation estalors similaire à celui présenté par Colleyn saufqu'à la première prise «test» devra être associéeimpérativement une enquête de terrain

traditionnelle afin de mettre au point u neproblématique précise La vidéo, prise commeun moyen d'enregistrement audiovisuelpratique et économique9, sera un auxiliaireprécieux d'enregistrement.

Tout au long des présentations, chaquefilm a donné lieu à un débat tourné sur soncontenu même afin de rectifier des contre-sensperçus, des manques à la compréhension. Cettecaractéristique systématique des discussionslaisse penser que jusqu'à présent l'audiovisuelen anthropologie ne se suffit que très rarementà lui-même. Peu nombreuses sont les oeuvresqui donnent aux spectateurs l'impression d'une«totalité». Cette sensation est due, pour unepart, au regard biaisé que nous portons sur lesproduits présentés. Nous sommes imprégnésdu traitement anthropologique graphique sanspouvoir véritablement nous en dégager, ce quinous pousse à appliquer, de façon plus oumoins consciente, une vision dualistecatégorique des modalités de traitementsanthropologiques. Ainsi, sommes nous portésà croire que nous avons l'«intelligence» d'unesituation ethnique avec le livre, ou la couleur etle rythme avec l'audiovisuel et que jamais cedernier mode d'expression n e pourrarevendiquer la même qualité scientifique quel'écriture alphabétique. Mais ce serait âtre dansl'erreur la plus totale que de penser qu'il s'agitici de concurrencer l'encre et le papier. Le déficonsiste plus simplement à faire admettrel'audiovisuel comme aussi une «écriture» avecsa grammaire propret, qu'il s'agit d'unemodalité d'exploitation spécifique constituanten elle-même un champ d'investigation total.L'auto-suffisance de cette science est doncconcomitante d'une dissociation claire d'objetset de finalités avec sa référence mère. Mais ilreste encore à définir, dans les faits, les objetset les finalités propres à l'anthropologievisuelle. Faut-i l penser comme Jean-PaulColleyn à savoir que l'audiovisuel dans cettediscipline ne peut prétendre qu'à une finalitésuggestive, évoquant aux uns et alléchant lesautres?

Avec l'anthropologie visuelle nousabordons systématiquement les grandesquestions épistémologiques et méthodologiquesde l'anthropologie en général et là plusqu'ailleurs lorsqu'il s'agit de considérer sil'anthropologie relève de l'art ou de la science,se l'interprétation à laquelle s e l i v re

la logique intrinsèque, les articulationsprincipales, de ce corps singulier de réalisationsaudiovisuelles ne sont pas des objectifsévidents à atteindre. A l'instabilité de l'objetd'étude propre à la mouvance actuelle des faits,à la naissance de la discipline, se mêlent lescontraintes spécifiques aux usages d etypologies. Contraignantes par certains deleurs cotés, elles n'en restent pas moinsnécessaires à la clarification des phénomènescomplexes. Aussi, afin de contrer le danger desgrilles interprétatives rigoureuses, fau t - i lconsidérer les ensembles suivants comme desespaces aux frontières fluctuantes et noncomme définitions univoques et réductricesauxquelles seraient irrémédiablement attachéeschacune des oeuvres.

Quatre grands courants se sont dessinésderrière les relations interdépendantes e tconstantes qui se jouent entre la problématiquede base, le traitement filmique et la finalité dediffusion. L e premier courant consiste àutiliser la caméra comme un stylo, comme uncarnet de note. L e camescope revêt alors lamême fonction qu'un magnétophone de travailà savoir l'enregistrement de données brutes quiseront par la suite dépouillées et analysées pourrépondre à des recherches destinées, la plupartdu temps, à être publiées par écrit S i on encroit les adeptes de cette technique, celle-cipermettrait de véritablement libérer le chercheurdes contraintes d'enregistrement tout enmultipliant la richesse de la saisie par uncoefficient infiniment supérieur P o u r lesethnomusicologues présents à l'atelier, l'équipede Arom Simha2, le camescope fut la conditionmôme de la réussite de leurs expérimentationsIls purent se concentrer pleinement sur leurobjet d'analyse, aussi pointu soit-il, tout enayant par la suite un aperçu plus général de leurtravail de terrain. I l convient toutefois deremarquer que Arom Simha et ses collèguesn'ont octroyé à l'audiovisuel qu'un rôle«mineur» de témoin oculaire, Certes, celarépondait à leurs besoins et une méthode en soin'est pas critiquable indépendamment de sonobjet. Cependant, il est aisé d'imaginer quel'audiovisuel en anthropologie puisse êtreexploité dès ce premier stade d'utilisation enfonction d e ses capacités r é e l l e sd'enregistrement. Si la qualité esthétique n'estque peu pertinente dans ce premier genre, i lserait erroné de penser toutefois qu'un tournage

sauvage et tout azimut puisse convenir auxobjectifs du «stylo-caméra», la réussite del'entreprise dépendant d'une connaissancepréalable de la problématique de base,condition nécessaire à l'exploitation optimale decette nouvelle modalité d'enquête.

La deuxième catégorie qu i s'estdessinée lors des projections peut êtrerassemblée sous le terme générique d e«documentaires culturels». D s'agit parfois deproduits de qualité, esthétiquement agréables,rigoureusement filmés et montés. Mais laproblématique sous-jacente, elle, ne relève quetris rarement d'investigations anthropologiquesou ethnologiques au sens strict. Bien qu'il y aiten filigrane un particularisme ethnique, celui-dne suffit pas à hisser la production sur le palierde l'anthropologie visuelle. L a questionprincipale étant trop vague dans la majorité descas, il s'ensuit pour le spectateur un désarroiquant aux enseignements, aux messages, quel'on aura voulu lui faire passer. De plus, degros problèmes techniques et esthétiquestrahissent un amateurisme très généralisé. Cesmultiples imperfections relatives à l aproblématique ou à la technique ne permettentpas de voir en ces films une finalité clairementdéfinie. En ce qui concerne le «stylo-caméra»présenté ci-dessus, il est clair que l'objectif viséest avant tout scientifique et que la réalisationest destinée à un public très restreint d'initiés,id, le caractère trop flou de la question centraleannihile l'éventualité d'une uti l isationscientifique et contrarie une diffusion à spectreplus large.

La «filmographie» consisterait quant àelle en u n tournage focalisé su r uneproblématique très pointue relevant depréoccupations purement ethnographiques Onenregistre alors, à des fins de diffusion, lachaîne opératoire concernant la réalisation ducharbon dans le Piémont italien, on filme lerituel thérapeutique appliqué à un enfantsouffrant chez les pygmées', le r i tueld'initiation des jeunes hommes en Papouasie4Ce type de production pourrait 'être considérécomme le type «maitre» de l'utilisation del'audiovisuel en anthropologie par sa rigueurconceptuelle Mais si ce genre se distinguepositivement du précédent, le spectateur qui n'apas d'attente particulière face à ces descriptionsa tendance à trouver ces oeuvres fort longues.il convient également de noter que si le public

non anthropologue et les anthropologues noninitiés ont apprécié le films, pour peu que laprojection ait été perspicacement dosée entemps, i l n'empêche, les spectateurs n'enrestent pas moins frustrés en sortie de salle parun manque difficilement identifiable. C'étaitcertes «ethnologique», «concis», «intéressant»,«de qualité», niais l'anthropologie visuelle est-elle véritablement réductible à ce genre deproduction?

Dans les trois rubriques présentéesjusqu'ici («stylo-caméra», «documentairesculturels», «filmographie») ne passe-t-on passystématiquement à côté d'un paramètreessentiel qu i pourtant est au coeur duproblème? L 'a r t du spectacle, puisque nousscannes en anthropologie visuelle, fait partie defaçon intégrante de la question. O r , trèssouvent, le plaisir, l'esthétique, l'équilibre et lerythme des images et du son, sont des aspectstotalement évacués de la réalisation. Lespectateur se trouve alors face à des reportages,face à des rituels d'une aridité excessive, quin'a d'ailleurs pas d'égale dans la réalité. L adernière catégorie de cette classification estconstituée par l'ensemble des montages qui ontsu associer à la rigueur scientifique de leurproblématique une dimension «arts duspectacle» incontestable. Cela sous-entend bienentendu des productions à gros budgets,souvent en 16 min ou en vidéo professionnelle,mais pas toujours. Aux grands noms, aux grosmoyens, se mêlent petits matériels et petitstitres. Par exemple, Le voilier d'écaille deChristine Matignon; douze minutes trente deréalisation qui nous transporte dans le Marais, àParis, chez un des derniers tabletiers écaillistes.La qualité de ce filin est due à une «thématique»rigoureuse qui structure la réalisation de lapremière image à la dernière. La problématiqueest constituée de cinq clefs principales; uneconcernant l a gestuelle, le matériel, l atechnologie propre au métier d'écailliste, uneautre soulignant l'évolution de l'atelier dans letemps (vie du groupe, importance du travail),une autre encore concentrée sur la nansinissiondu savoir et des biens, puis sur la passion etl'implication de l'artisan face à son travail(réalisation d'un voilier d'écaille après lesheures de «travail»), et enfin le traitement dumythe des grands espaces, de l'exotisme(voilier, tortue) versus la réalité immobile àhuis clos (atelier, ville, hivers). Le «fond» est

de qualité (luminosité, son, éclairage, montage)et le tempo idéal pour informer sans jamaislasser. I l s'agit là d'une illustration possible, etmodeste, de ce que l'on potinait qualifier: «filmanthropologique». Parmi les personnalités ettoujours selon les mêmes critères de sélection àsavoir une problématique bien définie et unesthétisme irréprochable, nous pouvons citer lacompilation des Sigui de Jean Rouch etGermaine Dieterlen6, Vivre avec les Dieux:Prophètes en leur pays de J.P. Colleyn, M.Augé, J.P. Donon, Journal d'un ethnologue enChine de Fava ou encore, peut-être avec un peumoins de notoriété, Low is better de RobertBoonzager-Flaes et on en oublie certainementLa caractéristique de la finalité propre à cesfilms anthropologiques est de se vouloirscientifiques de par la rigueur de leurs thèmeset du traitement qui s'ensuit tout en aspirant àune large diffusion. Aussi, ces réalisationspeuvent être qualifiées de «tout public »7. Lesspécialistes trouveront Ici des faits qu'ilsconnaissent déjà dans Ethnie présentée ou parcomparaison et seront d'autant plus attentifsque l'oeuvre présentée sera scientifiquementcrédible. L e s spectateurs vierges de toutelecture anthropologique institutionnelle, quant àeux, apprécieront un instant d'exotisme certain,se régalant des images e t du caractèreauthentique qui ne manquera pas de se dégagerde lui-même au cours de la diffusion

Cette d e u x i è m e r e n c o n t r ed'anthropologie visuelle a donc proposé unpanorama élargi de la production actuelle.Aussi, le but de ce compte-rendu n'est pas tantd'exposer l'organisation logistique de l amanifestation ou encore de définir ce quedevrait être le film anthropologique de façonthéorique mais de présenter l'identité que laproduction audiovisuelle dans cette discipline alaissée paraître lors de l'atelier de la VieilleCharité. La typologie cl-dessus est une mise enévidence des différentes caractéristiquespossibles auxquelles se rattachent lesproductions. «Stylo-caméra», «documentairesculturels», « f i lmograph ie» , « f i l m santhropologiques», sont des zones déterminéesà partir de paramètres rues tels que laproblématique, l'esthétisme et l'objectifs de ladiffusion. Une grille d'analyse axée sur desparamètres différents (pédagogiques,politiqua...) donnerait lieu à une tout autrerépartition. Toutefois, relever la subjectivité

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renewal of ethnographic museums (as well asof visual anthropology , as far as its 'uses' areconcerned) will only be possible if we realizethe urgency of a cooperative program: asGiovanni Scichilone argues, 'as well as theconservation of its collections, the duty of amuseum must be to promote all forms ofknowledge that are in any way pertinent to itssphere of activity, and also to contribute to theprogress of research I t is within this contextthat our collaboration with the Festival deiPopoli stresses once more the extraordinarycontribution that photography and film (andtoday video) have given and continue to giveto Anthropology, and indeed to History... Al lthis will undoubtedly contribute to make thecultural presence of the museum richer andmore relevant, but it will also make societymore interested and aware of the problems ofvisual anthropology, emphasizing once againthe close interrelation between the world of themuseum and scholarly research. O u rcollaboration wi l l also bring about newdevelopments more specifically in the field ofthe presentation of data and materials in ourpermanent exhibits, and we are very muchlooking forward to these innovations'.

The meeting held in Rome served toprovide a preliminary discussion betweenscholars who share common interests. Its aimwas to pose specific questions in view ofpromoting further reflections on the topic. TheDavid Turton from the Granada Centre forVisuel Anthropology (Manchester), MagdaVasillov from New York University who isworking on 19th century anthropologicalphotography, Allison Jablonko, AntonioMarazzi, Franz Haller who is activelyconcerned with production o f films b yethnographic museums, were kindly invited toparticipate at the debate, which of course wasintroduced by Giovanni Scichilone. directorof the ethnographic museum.

i won't g i ve a repor t o f t h ediscussions, as it was only a 'beginning', butt would like to stress that everybody did agreethat we must keep working and that we shouldtry to involve both visual anthropologists andmuseums. Thus, my short 'commentary' is,in fact, a call for help let's join forces»

For more information contact:

Dr. Giovanni Scichilone, DirectorMuseo preistoriw c etnografico'L. Pigorini'Piazza Marconi, 1400144 Rome, Italy

Paolo ChiozziInst(tuto di AntropologiaUniversita di FirenzeVia del Proconsolo, 1250122 Florence, Italy

L'AUDIOVISUEL EN ANTHROPOLOGIELE DEUXIEME ATELIER INTERNATIONAL.DE LA VIEILLE CHARITÉ A MARSEILLE

Valérie FESCHErUniversité de Provence, Marseille

Du 14 au 18 juin 1989 a eu lieu à lavieille Charité de Marseille le deuxième atelierinternational d'anthropologie visuelle. Cettemanifestation était organisée par l'InstitutMéditerranéen de recherche et de création(IMEREC) en collaboration avec le centre derecherche en Ecologie Sociale (EHESS etCNRS). En quatre jours, une cinquantaine defilms de «maîtres» ou d'apprentis furentprésentes par leurs réalisateurs respectifsL'objectif était de mêler les grands noms del'audiovisuel anthropologique aux simplescoups d'essai et celui-ci fut pleinement réalisé.Mais ce «melting pot» d'images, tout Justestructuré selon l'appartenance nationale desréalisateurs, donna à la «révolution vidéo»annoncée en introduction par Pierre Jordan uncachet ambigu et désemparant Toutefois, lesmontages proposés, par leur nombre et leurhétérogénéité, ont permis aux spectateurs de sefaire une juste idée de l a productionaudiovisuelle en ce domaine. Une typologiegrossière des différents genres qui se sontdessinés au fl1 de cette rencontre va être

1exposée Au préalable, il convient de soulignerque la communauté scientifique disposeaujourd'hui d'une masse considérabled'oeuvres anthropologiques filmées dont lecaractère assez récent et l'expansion rapiderendent toutes entreprises classificatoiresextrêmement délicates Déterminer l'essence,

d'une telle organisation ne veut pas dires'interdire toutes définitions de ce que peutêtre, ou plutôt de ce que ne peut pas être,l'anthropologie visuelle. To u s les filmsdiffusés et projetés ne sont pas qualifiablesd'«ethnologiques» sans danger pour lanotoriété et l'intégrité de cette discipline dessciences humaines, i l convient de reconnaîtreque tout n'est pas à prendre, qu'une interviewreste une interview, qu'un documentaireculturel se situe plutôt dans la sphère dujournalisme alternatif que dans celle del'anthropologie. Mais cela ne veut pas direqu'il n'y a qu'une seule anthropologie visuellepossible. Comme pour l'anthropologie écrite,la pluralité des grilles d'analyse, des objectifs,des courants de pensées, des sensibilités,empêche de cantonner cet art à une formeparticulières.

Les chercheurs qui se lancent dans levidéo semblent ne pas avoir conscience del'exigence temporelle, matérielle et conceptuelleque cela implique. i l en résulte ainsi unsentiment de non-fiction, de «bâclage» qui nepeut porter que préjudice à la reconnaissancescientifique de cette pratique. U n premiertournage ne peut suffire à échafauder et réaliserun film anthropologique. Pour Jean-PaulColleyn, réalisateur professionnel d'oeuvresd'anthropologie visuelle destinées à unediffusion télévisée, deux tournages auminimum sont nécessaires. Une première prise«test» permet de déterminer les exigencesmatérielles propres au terrain d'un point de vuepurement technique. Suivra un tournage«optimalisé» qui pourra être véritablementexploité par la suite à des fins de diffusion. Laréutilisation des données enregistrées lors de cesecond tournage est également fonction de lapertinence des options thématiques définies àl'avance selon la lecture désirée. Ce dernieraspect implique donc une connaissance préciseet préalable des questions anthropologiques àtraiter. Ainsi, l'auteur peut être distinct duréalisateur si le film est directement inspiréd'une oeuvre écrite antérieure. Mais toutes lesréalisations audiovisuelles ne sont pas inspiréesde monographies préexistantes i l est possiblede se lancer dans une création tout à faitpersonnelle. L e processus de réalisation estalors similaire à celui présenté par Colleyn saufqu'à la première prise «test» devra être associéeimpérativement une enquête de terrain

traditionnelle afin de mettre au point u neproblématique précise La vidéo, prise commeun moyen d'enregistrement audiovisuelpratique et économique9, sera un auxiliaireprécieux d'enregistrement.

Tout au long des présentations, chaquefilm a donné lieu à un débat tourné sur soncontenu même afin de rectifier des contre-sensperçus, des manques à la compréhension. Cettecaractéristique systématique des discussionslaisse penser que jusqu'à présent l'audiovisuelen anthropologie ne se suffit que très rarementà lui-même. Peu nombreuses sont les oeuvresqui donnent aux spectateurs l'impression d'une«totalité». Cette sensation est due, pour unepart, au regard biaisé que nous portons sur lesproduits présentés. Nous sommes imprégnésdu traitement anthropologique graphique sanspouvoir véritablement nous en dégager, ce quinous pousse à appliquer, de façon plus oumoins consciente, une vision dualistecatégorique des modalités de traitementsanthropologiques. Ainsi, sommes nous portésà croire que nous avons l'«intelligence» d'unesituation ethnique avec le livre, ou la couleur etle rythme avec l'audiovisuel et que jamais cedernier mode d'expression n e pourrarevendiquer la même qualité scientifique quel'écriture alphabétique. Mais ce serait âtre dansl'erreur la plus totale que de penser qu'il s'agitici de concurrencer l'encre et le papier. Le déficonsiste plus simplement à faire admettrel'audiovisuel comme aussi une «écriture» avecsa grammaire propret, qu'il s'agit d'unemodalité d'exploitation spécifique constituanten elle-même un champ d'investigation total.L'auto-suffisance de cette science est doncconcomitante d'une dissociation claire d'objetset de finalités avec sa référence mère. Mais ilreste encore à définir, dans les faits, les objetset les finalités propres à l'anthropologievisuelle. Faut-i l penser comme Jean-PaulColleyn à savoir que l'audiovisuel dans cettediscipline ne peut prétendre qu'à une finalitésuggestive, évoquant aux uns et alléchant lesautres?

Avec l'anthropologie visuelle nousabordons systématiquement les grandesquestions épistémologiques et méthodologiquesde l'anthropologie en général et là plusqu'ailleurs lorsqu'il s'agit de considérer sil'anthropologie relève de l'art ou de la science,se l'interprétation à laquelle s e l i v re

la logique intrinsèque, les articulationsprincipales, de ce corps singulier de réalisationsaudiovisuelles ne sont pas des objectifsévidents à atteindre. A l'instabilité de l'objetd'étude propre à la mouvance actuelle des faits,à la naissance de la discipline, se mêlent lescontraintes spécifiques aux usages d etypologies. Contraignantes par certains deleurs cotés, elles n'en restent pas moinsnécessaires à la clarification des phénomènescomplexes. Aussi, afin de contrer le danger desgrilles interprétatives rigoureuses, fau t - i lconsidérer les ensembles suivants comme desespaces aux frontières fluctuantes et noncomme définitions univoques et réductricesauxquelles seraient irrémédiablement attachéeschacune des oeuvres.

Quatre grands courants se sont dessinésderrière les relations interdépendantes e tconstantes qui se jouent entre la problématiquede base, le traitement filmique et la finalité dediffusion. L e premier courant consiste àutiliser la caméra comme un stylo, comme uncarnet de note. L e camescope revêt alors lamême fonction qu'un magnétophone de travailà savoir l'enregistrement de données brutes quiseront par la suite dépouillées et analysées pourrépondre à des recherches destinées, la plupartdu temps, à être publiées par écrit S i on encroit les adeptes de cette technique, celle-cipermettrait de véritablement libérer le chercheurdes contraintes d'enregistrement tout enmultipliant la richesse de la saisie par uncoefficient infiniment supérieur P o u r lesethnomusicologues présents à l'atelier, l'équipede Arom Simha2, le camescope fut la conditionmôme de la réussite de leurs expérimentationsIls purent se concentrer pleinement sur leurobjet d'analyse, aussi pointu soit-il, tout enayant par la suite un aperçu plus général de leurtravail de terrain. I l convient toutefois deremarquer que Arom Simha et ses collèguesn'ont octroyé à l'audiovisuel qu'un rôle«mineur» de témoin oculaire, Certes, celarépondait à leurs besoins et une méthode en soin'est pas critiquable indépendamment de sonobjet. Cependant, il est aisé d'imaginer quel'audiovisuel en anthropologie puisse êtreexploité dès ce premier stade d'utilisation enfonction d e ses capacités r é e l l e sd'enregistrement. Si la qualité esthétique n'estque peu pertinente dans ce premier genre, i lserait erroné de penser toutefois qu'un tournage

sauvage et tout azimut puisse convenir auxobjectifs du «stylo-caméra», la réussite del'entreprise dépendant d'une connaissancepréalable de la problématique de base,condition nécessaire à l'exploitation optimale decette nouvelle modalité d'enquête.

La deuxième catégorie qu i s'estdessinée lors des projections peut êtrerassemblée sous le terme générique d e«documentaires culturels». D s'agit parfois deproduits de qualité, esthétiquement agréables,rigoureusement filmés et montés. Mais laproblématique sous-jacente, elle, ne relève quetris rarement d'investigations anthropologiquesou ethnologiques au sens strict. Bien qu'il y aiten filigrane un particularisme ethnique, celui-dne suffit pas à hisser la production sur le palierde l'anthropologie visuelle. L a questionprincipale étant trop vague dans la majorité descas, il s'ensuit pour le spectateur un désarroiquant aux enseignements, aux messages, quel'on aura voulu lui faire passer. De plus, degros problèmes techniques et esthétiquestrahissent un amateurisme très généralisé. Cesmultiples imperfections relatives à l aproblématique ou à la technique ne permettentpas de voir en ces films une finalité clairementdéfinie. En ce qui concerne le «stylo-caméra»présenté ci-dessus, il est clair que l'objectif viséest avant tout scientifique et que la réalisationest destinée à un public très restreint d'initiés,id, le caractère trop flou de la question centraleannihile l'éventualité d'une uti l isationscientifique et contrarie une diffusion à spectreplus large.

La «filmographie» consisterait quant àelle en u n tournage focalisé su r uneproblématique très pointue relevant depréoccupations purement ethnographiques Onenregistre alors, à des fins de diffusion, lachaîne opératoire concernant la réalisation ducharbon dans le Piémont italien, on filme lerituel thérapeutique appliqué à un enfantsouffrant chez les pygmées', le r i tueld'initiation des jeunes hommes en Papouasie4Ce type de production pourrait 'être considérécomme le type «maitre» de l'utilisation del'audiovisuel en anthropologie par sa rigueurconceptuelle Mais si ce genre se distinguepositivement du précédent, le spectateur qui n'apas d'attente particulière face à ces descriptionsa tendance à trouver ces oeuvres fort longues.il convient également de noter que si le public

entitled The Illegitimate Art and Science ofEthnographic Film claiming that in significantways all observation reflects the observer'ssubjectivity. A very considered case for thecapacity of ethnographic film to serve as aconduit for the subjective voice of the object -the person filmed - was made by DavidMacDougall, film-maker of the AustralianInstitute o f Aboriginal Studies and HRCVisiting Fellow, in his paper, The SubjectiveVoice in Ethnographic Film. Representing aperson, already a strength of cinematic codes,may allow an ethnographic film-maker richly toconvey an aspect of a different culturalexperience in its context, and partially to escapethe generalizing tendencies of exposition.Throughout the conference pointed debate onobjectivity and information was kept alive byPeter Loizos, anthropologist, film-maker, andHRC Visiting Fellow, who had stirred upmany good discussions during the regularscreenings through the winter.

Marc Piault, of CNRS in Paris, talkedof ritual and films of ritual in terms of the rolethey play in the creation and maintenance ofsocial memory - as he termed it, Ritual: a WayOut of Eternity. Many participants were able toget a sense of what he meant by viewing hisown filin o f a ritual event in which newelements and previously enacted aspects weremingled in a comptez political moment.

Otherness and the Representation ofCultur.e raised the paradox o f visualanthropology Peter Crawford o f AarhusUniversity in Denmark presented a theoreticalschema for the objective apprehension of theother M y own paper, Notes on PresentingExperience outlined the possibilities for anexperiential ethnography, and suggested thatcertain movements in film go much farthertoward this union of subject and object thanwritten ethnography has done M y initialquery over the moral status of representationsof others in anthropology was transformed intoa strong political critique by Madhu Bhusan,film critic from Bombay, who eloquentlypointed out that the audience for suchrepresentation now includes the others, whocan represent themselves without need for ananthropological discourse about them. Thispoint had emerged in a different way whenFaye Ginsburg, of New York University andHRC Conference Visitor, spoke about theindigenous media productions in central

Australia, and the Faustian Contract into whichthey inevitably entered with the dominantmainstream television conventions. H e rconcerns that these conventions can erode thevery possibility o f cultural self-definitionwhich Aboriginal communities are aimingtoward was echoed b y Wol Saunders,Aboriginal media producer, who went on,however, to suggest that the real issue was theactual survival of the indigenous media itself.

One of the special occasions during theconference was the screening on the firstevening of Zula's Story, a film collaborationbetween Jorge Preloran, an Argentinian film-maker (Theatre, Film and TV School, UCLA),Mabel Preloran, anthropologist, and the youngOtavaleno woman who was initially theirassistant in a proposed film about the Otavaloculture. Jorge spoke about the many years inwhich Zulay's life was transformed by herconnection with the Prelorans and thedifficulties this led to for her, now finding aform of absolution for all of them in makingthis film which has come to be about this veryprocess. Both the virtues and the dangers ofthe ethnographic impulse were manifest in thisfilm and in the discussion which followed; so,too, were t h e crit ical issues o f t h econsequences of form in representation whichwere to arise throughout the week.

Another event of the early days of theconference which 1 have left to last was thetalk, Novel into Filin: The Name of the Roseby Gino Moliterno, o f Modern EuropeanLanguages, ANU. G i n o elegantly andinterestingly raised a series of issues whichcome from the attempt to make a visual versionof a book which is quintessentially aboutbooks and words. His respondent, DavidBoyd, (English, Newcastle) was able to setthis within modern film theory. The paper andresponse together beautifully demonstrated theessential connections between film criticismand both literature and cultural studies. I tsignalled the central relevance of cinemastudies to any arts education in the late 20thcentury.

_i5-

Leslie Devereaux, HRCThe Australian National UniversityGPO Box 4, Canberra City, ACT 2601Australia

irrémédiablement le réalisateur annihile ou pastoute «objectivité»? Mais ces débats rejoignenttrop ceux qui ont déjà été posés pour lestravaux rédigés pour être à nouveaudéveloppés. Aussi la notion de «révolution»évoquée par les organisateurs, à savoir «vidéo»versus «16 mm», conclura ce compte-rendu.Certes, la démocratisation «technique» esteffective et les possibles audiovisuelsd'enregistrement et de traitement se trouventdepuis quelques années plusieurs fo isdéculpésl I. Mais la question ne se situe pastant entre la vidéo ouverte à presque tous et le16 mm ouvert à presque personne que sur desquestions d'essence de l'audiovisuel qu'il soitmagnétique ou chimique. Ainsi, la révolutionvidéo ne sera effective non pas lorsque chaqueanthropologue possédera une caméra et/oulorsque les contraintes d'archivage serontrésolues, mais quand la discipline aura pris letemps d e réfléchir sur ses échecs et sesavancées. L a prise de conscience deschercheurs relative à l'acte de création danslequel ils s'engouffrent aux côtés de leurcamescope a i n s i q u ' a u x ex igencesdisciplinaires ne peut qu'aller de pair avec lareconnaissance scientifique de ce champd'investigations audiovisuelles.

Notes1. Les catégories présentées dans le corps de texte sontdes entités relatives aux projections qui ont eu lieu lorsde l'atelier d'anthropologie visuelle de la Vieille Charitéen juin 1989. La construction de cette typologie faitexclusivement référence à l'ensemble des oeuvresdiffusée lors de cette manifestation, ce qui ne permetpas d'entrevoir en elle un caractère généralisable.2. Sihma Mom, Directeur des recherches au CNRS,Ethnomusicologie et vidéo, Erpérinwntation sur leséchelles nisicales d'Afilque Centrale.3. A. Epelboin, F. Gaulier, Yakpata, guérisseurpygmée h fumigation deBayangi.4. 'Somain Nunjia. Sinmia, Papouasie NouvelleGuinée.5. Exemple de film appreesé par le publia A. Epelboin,F. Cmolier, Chimique pygmée: Berxuse AKA6. Invités d'honneur de aie deuxième rencontre.7. Tout est relatif: il serait erroné de croire quel'audiovisuel est un moyen de démocratisation du savoirscientifique. L'image et le son proposant des messagestout aussi distanciés que aux de l'écrit. Voir sur cethème Anthropologie de la gestuelle. Anthropologie rirl'image Actes de l'atelier 8 du Colloque «La pratique del'anthropologie aujourd'hui».8. Comme exemple de la diversité des approches et de satolérance, nom notons une réalisation qui a suscité un

débat effectif quant à la mobilité des marges relativeaux problématiques anthropologiques. Il s'agit du filmde Robert Boonrager-Flan (Université d'Amsterdam),Low is fretter. Nous sommes ici au coeur d'uneapproche comparative de la technique du cor au Népal eten Suisse reflétant un courant d'investigation focalisésur la particularité des relations entre l'anthropologue etses hâtes, sur l'amitié, l a complicité, l acommunication. Quelques critique à l'égard de a filmont porté sur la participation du réalisateur à l'actionfilmée, laquelle biaiserait la nature de l'objetanthropologique.9. Relativement à l'enregistrement sur oeillade.10. Voir J.P. Olivier de Sardan dans Anthopologic dela gestuelle. Anthropologie de 1 Ymagq déjà cité.11. Cependant, la vidéo ne renferme pas que desqualités; les difficultés nés i la conversation des bandessont extrêmement préocorpantes. En effet, la pelliculegarantit une cotrversation à long terme que ne peut offrirla bande magiétique Ibur éviter une perte dWnformationtrop importante, celles-ci doivent être repiquées enmoyenne tous les cinq am.

Humanities Research CentreThe Australian National University

FILM AND THE HUMANITIES 1989CONFERENCE REPORT:

FILM AND REPRESENTATIONS OFCULTURE

25-28 September 1989

Leslie DEVEREAUX

This, the last of the year's major eventsabout Film and the Humanities, was heldin the HRC reading room from 25 to 28September. For the visitors as well as localscholars and film-makers who participatedthrough the winter in the full round of filmscreenings and talks the conference was in mayways a culmination of debates and ideas whichhad been developing for months. One of theunique qualities of the year and of this themewas that it went far beyond interdisciplinarymeetings to bring together people from insideand outside the academy, and also to includefilm-makers whose ch ie f medium o fexpression is the image rather than the word.The final conference continued in this project,and perhaps its greatest success was that manyparticipants expressed their satisfaction in thismeeting of minds. ( I t must be confessed thatthere were also the mrasional instances ofbewilderment and exasperation )

VISUAL DOCUMENTATION AND THECOMMENTARY

Conference in Ljubljana. Yugoslavia4-5 October 1989

Nasko KRIL*lAR

Attempts to create a systematic analysisof film in Yugoslavia dates back to 1957, whenethnographer Milvan Gavazzi founded theYugoslav Committee for Ethnographic Film inZagreb. This was the ninth national committeeof CIFE, or the Comité International du FilinEthnographique, within UNESCO.

In the same y e a r t h e S l o v e n eCommittee for Ethnographic Film was set up inLjubljana. I t began encouraging f i l mproducers to show select works on folkloristicand ethnographic subjects in documentaryfilms.

During the 1950s and 1960s , t h eCommittees activities generated a greatlyincreased interest i n f i lm as a means o fdocumentation, especially among Sloveneethnologists, some of whom made contact withthe Goettingen Insti tute, t h e Musée d el'Homme, and organizers of the contemporaryFestival dei Popoli in Florence. The Institutefor Slovene Ethnography had already started amodest production of I6mm and l8mm filmsin the mid-fifties. These systematic endeavorswere interrupted b y t h e expansion o ftelevision, an exponent of the ruling ideologyof the time, which limited the ethnographicsubjects which could be put on the air. I t wasonly in 1983 that more notable progress wasmade in the field of visual documentation withthe establishment o f t h e A u d i o - v i s u a lLaboratory within the Slovene Academy o fSciences and Arts T h e laboratory expandedits activity by shooting video films all overYugoslavia, from Macedonia to Slovenia. W edecided, therefore. to organize a conference ofall Yugoslav "visualists", regardless of theirscientific disciplines. I t was high time webegan t o learn w h o w a s u s i n g v i sua ltechnology i n Yugoslavia. what had beenachieved and what directions we were takingWe wanted to exchange experiences and passon our knowledge o f similar activities i nEurope a n d wor ldwide t o everyone i nYugoslavia -

We c h o s e t h e t i t l e ' V i s u a lDocumentation and the Commentary' becauseit offers wide possibilities of deliberation and abroad network o f cooperation. T h e word'commentary' here refers to an interpretation ofvisual material, b u t may also stand f o radditional information filling the gap that mayexist between visual information and ' total 'information about an event.

The conference was attended by 22participants f r om Belgrade, K lagen fu r t ,Sarajevo, Trieste and Zagreb. T h e y weremostly ethnologists, b u t there were alsoexperts in the fields of medicine, psychology,history o f art and sociology, archivists and,naturally, T V peop le a n d f i lmmakers.Although this was the first large meeting ofevisualists" in Yugoslavia, it fully served thepurpose of the organizers. T h e conferencestarted w i t h numerous t e r m i n o l o g i c a lmisunderstandings resulting from the fact thateach sc ient i f i c d isc ip l ine h a s i t s o w nconception of what the form and purpose ofvisual documentation should be. i t turned outthat we differed greatly in the area of practiceas wel l , o n b o t h methodo log ica l a n dtechnological levels. T h e r e was a lot o fdiscussion regarding the issue of objectivity inthe use of visual media, i n the context of itsrelationship to representational forms of reality.In short, theoretical issues which the fields offilm and visual anthropology have long sincedebated and resolved, hut which continue to bea recurring problem with each new entry intothe area of visual information. T h e need totake up issues which have already been dealtwith and resolved elsewhere shows that we arelagging behind world developments in thisfield due to a lack of professional contacts andwant of literature.

Rather than serving as a spring-boardto new horizons, the conference was importantin that it made possible the initial contactsnecessary to create a network and delineate asort of 'who's who' in Yugoslavia, in f ieldswhere there is an application o f the visualmedia to science and education. I t was alsovaluable because the participants did not limitthemselves t o theoret ical debates b u taccompanied t he i r papers w i t h practicalexamples, mainly videos.

Perhaps the most interesting paper ofall was one which dealt with the impossibilityof a simultaneous perception of the image and

Professor M i h a l y Hoppal , o f theHungarian Academy of Sciences, and newlyarrived Visiting Fellow, opened the conferencewith an overview of the history of Hungariancinema which offered a particularly interestingperspective o f how the notion o f culture isunderstood i n the context o f political andcultural hegemony in the Eastern Europeanregion. Th is was the first signal of the manyconflicting and intersecting ways in which theidea of culture was to be deployed through theensuing four days. Over and over, the politicalimplications of this notion were reflected eitherin the papers presented, or in their critics'spleas fo r considering what had been l e f tunsaid.

This issue was clearly expressed in thecurrent work of Paul Willemen, of the BritishFilm Institute, which explores how culturaldifferences intersect with the heavily capitalizedconditions of film production, leading him onto query whether there is any possibility of atrue alternative to accepting cinema as anhomogenizing tool of cultural domination. Hispaper, ent i t led T t f e N a t i o n a l , took u pdifferences in national cinematic traditions andasked what degree of critical understandingwas possible across cul tural boundaries,setting these concerns not only wi th in thecritical practices of cinema studies but withinthe relations o f minorities to the dominantcultures in nation states H i s paper set a pointof reference for the entire conference andcarried all our subsequent discussions into anew register.

Several papers throughout the weekreverberated with this theme- Sylvia Lawson,author, essayist and columnist now working asan independent scholar, treated u s to amarvelously illustrated talk around her scriptfor a film to be titled The Outside Story whichsets the building of the Sydney Opera House inits complex cultural and political context. Herpaper, ref lect ing perhaps t h e part icularsensibility o f Australians t o questions o fcultural domination, provided a keen exampleof how public agendas selectively grant aforum to some issues and thereby obfuscateother important issues and struggles ProfessorE A n n Kaplan, Director of The institute forthe Humanities at the State University of NewYork in Stony Brook, accepted the challenge toreserve a space for cross-cultural criticism inher paper Theorizing the Politics o f Sexual

ReFesentation in Three Recent Chinese Film,which draws on some modem Chinese filmsabout woman's p lace and sexuality a n ddiscusses this in the light of Western feministfilm theory. A n d some of Professor Kaplan'squeries about cultural meanings were set for usin a Chinese context by Merrilyn Fitzpatrick,historian and active distributor o f modernChinese film.

Barbara Cieel, of Cinema Studies at LaTrobe, challenged us all with a very cinematicpresentation of aspects of horror genres andhow they work to bring our unconsciousbeliefs abou t t h e b o d y i n t o consciousrepresentation J u s t before the conferenceBarbara had presented a series of very lucidoutlines of the uses of various psychoanalyticschools o f thought In modern f i lm theory,which prepared us well for Barrvmore t h eBody and Bliss: M a l e Representation andeejaade Specfatorship o f the 20e. G a y l y nStudlar, assistant professor in Theatre and FilmStudies at Emory University, presented a denseand l i v e l y t r e a t m e n t o f t h e c u l t u r a lcontradictions involved i n the attempt byHollywood to use the male body as a lure forfemale audiences, and In passing dealt withmuch of the currently vexed thinking about themale gaze and the possibility of a female gazein cinema theory.

The issue of the gaze and that of theaudience's identity, both in psychological andsociological terms, was one which preoccupiedconference participants at many levels. T h epolitics of subjectivity and objectification asthey a r e embedded i n convent ions o frepresentation i n cinema (and i n writ ing)continued to be scrutinized In the papersdealing wi th the ethnographic enterprise.Anthropology, which has specialized in writingabout cultural difference in a scientific genre,has only recently begun to consider its ownconventions of representation and audience.But i t is also the only scholarly disciplinewhich has made consistent use o f film as amedium o f exposition T h e conventions o fexposition i n f i lm, however, a re set b ytelevision as much as narrative fictions aredetermined by Hollywood cinematic practices,anthropologists often disavow ethnographicfilm and its difficulties

Gary Kildea, independent film-makerand HRC Visiting Fellow, made a strong pleafor the place of film in anthropology in his talk

- 5 4 -

entitled The Illegitimate Art and Science ofEthnographic Film claiming that in significantways all observation reflects the observer'ssubjectivity. A very considered case for thecapacity of ethnographic film to serve as aconduit for the subjective voice of the object -the person filmed - was made by DavidMacDougall, film-maker of the AustralianInstitute o f Aboriginal Studies and HRCVisiting Fellow, in his paper, The SubjectiveVoice in Ethnographic Film. Representing aperson, already a strength of cinematic codes,may allow an ethnographic film-maker richly toconvey an aspect of a different culturalexperience in its context, and partially to escapethe generalizing tendencies of exposition.Throughout the conference pointed debate onobjectivity and information was kept alive byPeter Loizos, anthropologist, film-maker, andHRC Visiting Fellow, who had stirred upmany good discussions during the regularscreenings through the winter.

Marc Piault, of CNRS in Paris, talkedof ritual and films of ritual in terms of the rolethey play in the creation and maintenance ofsocial memory - as he termed it, Ritual: a WayOut of Eternity. Many participants were able toget a sense of what he meant by viewing hisown filin o f a ritual event in which newelements and previously enacted aspects weremingled in a comptez political moment.

Otherness and the Representation ofCultur.e raised the paradox o f visualanthropology Peter Crawford o f AarhusUniversity in Denmark presented a theoreticalschema for the objective apprehension of theother M y own paper, Notes on PresentingExperience outlined the possibilities for anexperiential ethnography, and suggested thatcertain movements in film go much farthertoward this union of subject and object thanwritten ethnography has done M y initialquery over the moral status of representationsof others in anthropology was transformed intoa strong political critique by Madhu Bhusan,film critic from Bombay, who eloquentlypointed out that the audience for suchrepresentation now includes the others, whocan represent themselves without need for ananthropological discourse about them. Thispoint had emerged in a different way whenFaye Ginsburg, of New York University andHRC Conference Visitor, spoke about theindigenous media productions in central

Australia, and the Faustian Contract into whichthey inevitably entered with the dominantmainstream television conventions. H e rconcerns that these conventions can erode thevery possibility o f cultural self-definitionwhich Aboriginal communities are aimingtoward was echoed b y Wol Saunders,Aboriginal media producer, who went on,however, to suggest that the real issue was theactual survival of the indigenous media itself.

One of the special occasions during theconference was the screening on the firstevening of Zula's Story, a film collaborationbetween Jorge Preloran, an Argentinian film-maker (Theatre, Film and TV School, UCLA),Mabel Preloran, anthropologist, and the youngOtavaleno woman who was initially theirassistant in a proposed film about the Otavaloculture. Jorge spoke about the many years inwhich Zulay's life was transformed by herconnection with the Prelorans and thedifficulties this led to for her, now finding aform of absolution for all of them in makingthis film which has come to be about this veryprocess. Both the virtues and the dangers ofthe ethnographic impulse were manifest in thisfilm and in the discussion which followed; so,too, were t h e crit ical issues o f t h econsequences of form in representation whichwere to arise throughout the week.

Another event of the early days of theconference which 1 have left to last was thetalk, Novel into Filin: The Name of the Roseby Gino Moliterno, o f Modern EuropeanLanguages, ANU. G i n o elegantly andinterestingly raised a series of issues whichcome from the attempt to make a visual versionof a book which is quintessentially aboutbooks and words. His respondent, DavidBoyd, (English, Newcastle) was able to setthis within modern film theory. The paper andresponse together beautifully demonstrated theessential connections between film criticismand both literature and cultural studies. I tsignalled the central relevance of cinemastudies to any arts education in the late 20thcentury.

_i5-

Leslie Devereaux, HRCThe Australian National UniversityGPO Box 4, Canberra City, ACT 2601Australia

irrémédiablement le réalisateur annihile ou pastoute «objectivité»? Mais ces débats rejoignenttrop ceux qui ont déjà été posés pour lestravaux rédigés pour être à nouveaudéveloppés. Aussi la notion de «révolution»évoquée par les organisateurs, à savoir «vidéo»versus «16 mm», conclura ce compte-rendu.Certes, la démocratisation «technique» esteffective et les possibles audiovisuelsd'enregistrement et de traitement se trouventdepuis quelques années plusieurs fo isdéculpésl I. Mais la question ne se situe pastant entre la vidéo ouverte à presque tous et le16 mm ouvert à presque personne que sur desquestions d'essence de l'audiovisuel qu'il soitmagnétique ou chimique. Ainsi, la révolutionvidéo ne sera effective non pas lorsque chaqueanthropologue possédera une caméra et/oulorsque les contraintes d'archivage serontrésolues, mais quand la discipline aura pris letemps d e réfléchir sur ses échecs et sesavancées. L a prise de conscience deschercheurs relative à l'acte de création danslequel ils s'engouffrent aux côtés de leurcamescope a i n s i q u ' a u x ex igencesdisciplinaires ne peut qu'aller de pair avec lareconnaissance scientifique de ce champd'investigations audiovisuelles.

Notes1. Les catégories présentées dans le corps de texte sontdes entités relatives aux projections qui ont eu lieu lorsde l'atelier d'anthropologie visuelle de la Vieille Charitéen juin 1989. La construction de cette typologie faitexclusivement référence à l'ensemble des oeuvresdiffusée lors de cette manifestation, ce qui ne permetpas d'entrevoir en elle un caractère généralisable.2. Sihma Mom, Directeur des recherches au CNRS,Ethnomusicologie et vidéo, Erpérinwntation sur leséchelles nisicales d'Afilque Centrale.3. A. Epelboin, F. Gaulier, Yakpata, guérisseurpygmée h fumigation deBayangi.4. 'Somain Nunjia. Sinmia, Papouasie NouvelleGuinée.5. Exemple de film appreesé par le publia A. Epelboin,F. Cmolier, Chimique pygmée: Berxuse AKA6. Invités d'honneur de aie deuxième rencontre.7. Tout est relatif: il serait erroné de croire quel'audiovisuel est un moyen de démocratisation du savoirscientifique. L'image et le son proposant des messagestout aussi distanciés que aux de l'écrit. Voir sur cethème Anthropologie de la gestuelle. Anthropologie rirl'image Actes de l'atelier 8 du Colloque «La pratique del'anthropologie aujourd'hui».8. Comme exemple de la diversité des approches et de satolérance, nom notons une réalisation qui a suscité un

débat effectif quant à la mobilité des marges relativeaux problématiques anthropologiques. Il s'agit du filmde Robert Boonrager-Flan (Université d'Amsterdam),Low is fretter. Nous sommes ici au coeur d'uneapproche comparative de la technique du cor au Népal eten Suisse reflétant un courant d'investigation focalisésur la particularité des relations entre l'anthropologue etses hâtes, sur l'amitié, l a complicité, l acommunication. Quelques critique à l'égard de a filmont porté sur la participation du réalisateur à l'actionfilmée, laquelle biaiserait la nature de l'objetanthropologique.9. Relativement à l'enregistrement sur oeillade.10. Voir J.P. Olivier de Sardan dans Anthopologic dela gestuelle. Anthropologie de 1 Ymagq déjà cité.11. Cependant, la vidéo ne renferme pas que desqualités; les difficultés nés i la conversation des bandessont extrêmement préocorpantes. En effet, la pelliculegarantit une cotrversation à long terme que ne peut offrirla bande magiétique Ibur éviter une perte dWnformationtrop importante, celles-ci doivent être repiquées enmoyenne tous les cinq am.

Humanities Research CentreThe Australian National University

FILM AND THE HUMANITIES 1989CONFERENCE REPORT:

FILM AND REPRESENTATIONS OFCULTURE

25-28 September 1989

Leslie DEVEREAUX

This, the last of the year's major eventsabout Film and the Humanities, was heldin the HRC reading room from 25 to 28September. For the visitors as well as localscholars and film-makers who participatedthrough the winter in the full round of filmscreenings and talks the conference was in mayways a culmination of debates and ideas whichhad been developing for months. One of theunique qualities of the year and of this themewas that it went far beyond interdisciplinarymeetings to bring together people from insideand outside the academy, and also to includefilm-makers whose ch ie f medium o fexpression is the image rather than the word.The final conference continued in this project,and perhaps its greatest success was that manyparticipants expressed their satisfaction in thismeeting of minds. ( I t must be confessed thatthere were also the mrasional instances ofbewilderment and exasperation )

VISUAL DOCUMENTATION AND THECOMMENTARY

Conference in Ljubljana. Yugoslavia4-5 October 1989

Nasko KRIL*lAR

Attempts to create a systematic analysisof film in Yugoslavia dates back to 1957, whenethnographer Milvan Gavazzi founded theYugoslav Committee for Ethnographic Film inZagreb. This was the ninth national committeeof CIFE, or the Comité International du FilinEthnographique, within UNESCO.

In the same y e a r t h e S l o v e n eCommittee for Ethnographic Film was set up inLjubljana. I t began encouraging f i l mproducers to show select works on folkloristicand ethnographic subjects in documentaryfilms.

During the 1950s and 1960s , t h eCommittees activities generated a greatlyincreased interest i n f i lm as a means o fdocumentation, especially among Sloveneethnologists, some of whom made contact withthe Goettingen Insti tute, t h e Musée d el'Homme, and organizers of the contemporaryFestival dei Popoli in Florence. The Institutefor Slovene Ethnography had already started amodest production of I6mm and l8mm filmsin the mid-fifties. These systematic endeavorswere interrupted b y t h e expansion o ftelevision, an exponent of the ruling ideologyof the time, which limited the ethnographicsubjects which could be put on the air. I t wasonly in 1983 that more notable progress wasmade in the field of visual documentation withthe establishment o f t h e A u d i o - v i s u a lLaboratory within the Slovene Academy o fSciences and Arts T h e laboratory expandedits activity by shooting video films all overYugoslavia, from Macedonia to Slovenia. W edecided, therefore. to organize a conference ofall Yugoslav "visualists", regardless of theirscientific disciplines. I t was high time webegan t o learn w h o w a s u s i n g v i sua ltechnology i n Yugoslavia. what had beenachieved and what directions we were takingWe wanted to exchange experiences and passon our knowledge o f similar activities i nEurope a n d wor ldwide t o everyone i nYugoslavia -

We c h o s e t h e t i t l e ' V i s u a lDocumentation and the Commentary' becauseit offers wide possibilities of deliberation and abroad network o f cooperation. T h e word'commentary' here refers to an interpretation ofvisual material, b u t may also stand f o radditional information filling the gap that mayexist between visual information and ' total 'information about an event.

The conference was attended by 22participants f r om Belgrade, K lagen fu r t ,Sarajevo, Trieste and Zagreb. T h e y weremostly ethnologists, b u t there were alsoexperts in the fields of medicine, psychology,history o f art and sociology, archivists and,naturally, T V peop le a n d f i lmmakers.Although this was the first large meeting ofevisualists" in Yugoslavia, it fully served thepurpose of the organizers. T h e conferencestarted w i t h numerous t e r m i n o l o g i c a lmisunderstandings resulting from the fact thateach sc ient i f i c d isc ip l ine h a s i t s o w nconception of what the form and purpose ofvisual documentation should be. i t turned outthat we differed greatly in the area of practiceas wel l , o n b o t h methodo log ica l a n dtechnological levels. T h e r e was a lot o fdiscussion regarding the issue of objectivity inthe use of visual media, i n the context of itsrelationship to representational forms of reality.In short, theoretical issues which the fields offilm and visual anthropology have long sincedebated and resolved, hut which continue to bea recurring problem with each new entry intothe area of visual information. T h e need totake up issues which have already been dealtwith and resolved elsewhere shows that we arelagging behind world developments in thisfield due to a lack of professional contacts andwant of literature.

Rather than serving as a spring-boardto new horizons, the conference was importantin that it made possible the initial contactsnecessary to create a network and delineate asort of 'who's who' in Yugoslavia, in f ieldswhere there is an application o f the visualmedia to science and education. I t was alsovaluable because the participants did not limitthemselves t o theoret ical debates b u taccompanied t he i r papers w i t h practicalexamples, mainly videos.

Perhaps the most interesting paper ofall was one which dealt with the impossibilityof a simultaneous perception of the image and

Professor M i h a l y Hoppal , o f theHungarian Academy of Sciences, and newlyarrived Visiting Fellow, opened the conferencewith an overview of the history of Hungariancinema which offered a particularly interestingperspective o f how the notion o f culture isunderstood i n the context o f political andcultural hegemony in the Eastern Europeanregion. Th is was the first signal of the manyconflicting and intersecting ways in which theidea of culture was to be deployed through theensuing four days. Over and over, the politicalimplications of this notion were reflected eitherin the papers presented, or in their critics'spleas fo r considering what had been l e f tunsaid.

This issue was clearly expressed in thecurrent work of Paul Willemen, of the BritishFilm Institute, which explores how culturaldifferences intersect with the heavily capitalizedconditions of film production, leading him onto query whether there is any possibility of atrue alternative to accepting cinema as anhomogenizing tool of cultural domination. Hispaper, ent i t led T t f e N a t i o n a l , took u pdifferences in national cinematic traditions andasked what degree of critical understandingwas possible across cul tural boundaries,setting these concerns not only wi th in thecritical practices of cinema studies but withinthe relations o f minorities to the dominantcultures in nation states H i s paper set a pointof reference for the entire conference andcarried all our subsequent discussions into anew register.

Several papers throughout the weekreverberated with this theme- Sylvia Lawson,author, essayist and columnist now working asan independent scholar, treated u s to amarvelously illustrated talk around her scriptfor a film to be titled The Outside Story whichsets the building of the Sydney Opera House inits complex cultural and political context. Herpaper, ref lect ing perhaps t h e part icularsensibility o f Australians t o questions o fcultural domination, provided a keen exampleof how public agendas selectively grant aforum to some issues and thereby obfuscateother important issues and struggles ProfessorE A n n Kaplan, Director of The institute forthe Humanities at the State University of NewYork in Stony Brook, accepted the challenge toreserve a space for cross-cultural criticism inher paper Theorizing the Politics o f Sexual

ReFesentation in Three Recent Chinese Film,which draws on some modem Chinese filmsabout woman's p lace and sexuality a n ddiscusses this in the light of Western feministfilm theory. A n d some of Professor Kaplan'squeries about cultural meanings were set for usin a Chinese context by Merrilyn Fitzpatrick,historian and active distributor o f modernChinese film.

Barbara Cieel, of Cinema Studies at LaTrobe, challenged us all with a very cinematicpresentation of aspects of horror genres andhow they work to bring our unconsciousbeliefs abou t t h e b o d y i n t o consciousrepresentation J u s t before the conferenceBarbara had presented a series of very lucidoutlines of the uses of various psychoanalyticschools o f thought In modern f i lm theory,which prepared us well for Barrvmore t h eBody and Bliss: M a l e Representation andeejaade Specfatorship o f the 20e. G a y l y nStudlar, assistant professor in Theatre and FilmStudies at Emory University, presented a denseand l i v e l y t r e a t m e n t o f t h e c u l t u r a lcontradictions involved i n the attempt byHollywood to use the male body as a lure forfemale audiences, and In passing dealt withmuch of the currently vexed thinking about themale gaze and the possibility of a female gazein cinema theory.

The issue of the gaze and that of theaudience's identity, both in psychological andsociological terms, was one which preoccupiedconference participants at many levels. T h epolitics of subjectivity and objectification asthey a r e embedded i n convent ions o frepresentation i n cinema (and i n writ ing)continued to be scrutinized In the papersdealing wi th the ethnographic enterprise.Anthropology, which has specialized in writingabout cultural difference in a scientific genre,has only recently begun to consider its ownconventions of representation and audience.But i t is also the only scholarly disciplinewhich has made consistent use o f film as amedium o f exposition T h e conventions o fexposition i n f i lm, however, a re set b ytelevision as much as narrative fictions aredetermined by Hollywood cinematic practices,anthropologists often disavow ethnographicfilm and its difficulties

Gary Kildea, independent film-makerand HRC Visiting Fellow, made a strong pleafor the place of film in anthropology in his talk

- 5 4 -

of Sting's painted face with the KayapoIndians in The Kavapo: Ou t of the Forestdoes. The reason this film does not fall intothe trap of exploiting a passing interest in apreviously obscure artist is due to the dynamicpresence of Howard Finger himself.

In Forbidden C i ty the cuts frominterview to interview provide a pleasantmemory of a time long gone. Howard Finsterjuxtaposes incongruous interviews of NewYork art critics, gallery owners, rock stars andagents, all supporting actors to the main manhimself. The interview here is a performance.les not a reference onto a remembered past butis an event into itself. Howard Finster is apreacher and a painter and what he does mainlyis preach. H i s practice in art is so firmlyembedded in his preaching that to discuss oneis to discuss the other. A n d this is what hedoes at full volume, gesticulating wildly andcombining his visions, his belief in God, faithin the modern world and love of humanity in apowerful and original view of life.

The f i lm t h a t excited the mostdiscussion at the festival was Joe Leahy'sNeighbors by Robin Anderson and BobConnolly. Joe Leahy, son of a white fatherand New Guinean mother straddles bothcommunities and provides the link between thebanks and outside capital and the New Guineacommunity he is trying to modernize. To dothis he takes a position reminiscent of the 'bigmen' of New Guinea only this time powerresides with wealth and access to the whiteworld, cutting across traditional politicalauthority.

The film charts the conflict in thecommunities between Joe Leahy, those whooppose him and those who oppose and supporthim depending on their interests at thatparticular moment. T h e controversy cameafterwards in the discussion between thexmbassadnr f o r N e w Guinea whosesympathies lay with the frustrated Joe Leahy,and certain sections of the audience who sawJoe Leahy as exploiting those whose interestshe pretended to serve. Both sides claimed theintentions of the filmmakers for their own. Forone, they delivered a devastating attack oncapitalism in developing countries, for theother, they were concerned with highlightingthe problems inherent in trying to modernize atraditional workforce.

What this debate highlights is the factthat the meaning of a text cannot be guaranteed,and this is especially true of the unobtrusiveobservational form of Anderson and Connolly.This style of cinema provides a space for openinterpretations that manifested itself in thearguments after the film and that remains aconcern for those frlrnniakers with a specificargument to convey.

Brian LarkinGraduate Student in Ethnographic filmNew York University

1989 VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYPRE-CONFERENCE

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICALASSOCIATION

November 15-19 1989, Washington D.C.

Pamela Blakely (U. Pennsylvania)presented 'Ethnoaesthetics of Women's DanceRitual in African Funerals', in the first sessionof the Visual Pre-Conference during the pastfall's American Anthropological AssociationMeetings. Blakely utilized videotape segmentsand still slides as documentation o f anindigenous East African ritual. The audiencewas able to interact actively with her to discussother performances embedded within thisfuneral ritual. H e r methods inc ludedparticipant observation coupled with aninterlocutor-guided analysis of the event. Theanalysis of the ritual's dance component(musuusa) was the central focus.

Blakely followed a traditional visualanthropology approach by the use of video todocument and record in the field. She does notbelieve that the presence of the camera had asignificant affect on the participants's behaviorsince it was preceded by a long history of herpresence within the community - she had donefield work among the Bahemba since the1970s. Pamela and Thomas Blakely'sprevious field work included the use of stillphotography and this, combined with theirhistory among the Bahemba, was consideredmore influential o n behavior than theintroduction of the video technology in and ofit elf. Blakely explained that the camera wasmerely considered an extension of her body

commentary: According to the author, thisphenomenon is related to the physiologicalbase of perception.

One participant pu t forward a ninteresting suggestion, namely that the fictionfilm should also be considered a subject ofvisual research. H e pointed out that theassessment of fiction film has varied accordingto different historical periods and socialcircumstances.

The subject of keeping film records asresource for research into national history wasalso discussed in one of the papers.

In another paper, a consideration ofphotography as a phenomenon of credibility ordeception was illustrated by presenting the caseof Soviet bolshevist practices of removingpeople from photographs - and consequentlyfrom history - by means of retouching. Suchideological retouching is synonymous with theabuse of visual documentation carried out bythe media, a problem which can also createundesirable results in anthropological film.This paper was followed by a long discussionwhereupon it was concluded that 'ethnologicaltruth' does not suffer significantly i f theintervention is reasonable. On the contrary, ifmedia conventions are properly applied, we aremore likely to make the truth available to thespectator than i f he Is made to view the so-called crude footage, even though it may beaccompanied by a commentary The televisionpeople a l so m a d e v e r y interest ingpresentations. The editors of documentariesand programmes on science expressed theirastonishment at the fact that the scientists theyhad worked with knew so little about the rulesand conventions regarding the media and attheir unwillingness to follow these rules W ewere all surprised at this counter-attack, for weare accustomed to a very different perspective,one in which television was accused of notaccomodating scientists, However, we wereable to find some common ground, namely.that television excels a t generating a nawareness among i ts viewership o f theproblems a n d issues w h i c h scienceoccasionally wants to rouse. These issuesinclude, for example, reviv ing forgottenknowledge, suggesting appropriate solutions toecological problems, demystifying social andcultural phenomena i n such cases the visualmedium is more powerful than the writtenword.

No resolution was adopted or signed atthe conference as we felt this would onlyencumber any future cooperation, however,were able to identify a shared willingness,among the participants, to work on a commonmethodology for visual documentation in thefuture. Our decision was based on the simplerealization that even in Yugoslavia the use ofvisual documentation is an accepted fact, sothat we no longer needed to ask ourselveswhether it was necessary or why. We decidedto concentrate our future efforts on creatingappropriate conditions for the production ofvarious forms of visual documentation. Thisraised the issue of the strategy o f visualresearch, which actually brought us back to themotto o f t h e Symposium o n Visua lAnthropology took during the XII ICAES,held in Zagreb in 1989.

Representatives o f a te lev is ioncompany declared they were ready to includemore visual materials produced by scientificinstitutions into their programmes, o n thecondition that it was adequately prepared foruse by the media. The other condition to bemet was that of technical standardizationwhether in producing cinematographic orelectronic pictures, scientists should build uptheir technical equipment in accordance withinternational television standards.

It is our wish to enrich the existingnational network of Yugoslav producers ofvisual documentation by expanding our contactwithin an international network. Towards thisend, I am taking the liberty to list the followingYugoslav institutions:

Nasko Krimar, Andrej ZupancicAVDIOVISUAL LABORATORY ZRCSAZUNovi trg 5, 61000 Ljubljana

Dragan AntonicErNOGRAFSKI INSTITUT SANUKneza Mihaila 35, 11000 Beograd

Vesna DruskovicETNOGRAFSKI MUSEJ BEOGRADStudentski trg 13, 11000 Beograd

Darko BratinaSLORI Slovene Research InstituteWm Grallina 534122 Trieste, Italy

One of Blakely's key points was that throughfeedback interviews, she was able to discoveraesthetic terms the Bahemba themselves use todescribe and evaluate their own performers'skills.

Wilton M a r t i n e z ( U . S o u t h e r nCalifornia), discussed his work in progress onthe impact o f showing documentary a n dethnographic films to students of introductoryanthropology courses at USC. He argued thatsome instructors ignore the power o f thesefilms t o affect viewers on emotional a n dideological levels. A l t h o u g h Mar t i nezdocumented ways in which these films mayreinforce ethnocentric opinions and negativestereotypes o f ' t h e O t h e r ' , h e l ackedsubstantial recommendations of pedagogicalmethods to reduce this phenomenon.

Martinez proposed a series of threeinteractive video prototypes entitled, T h eVisual Translation of Culture'. The objectivesof this series include instruction of the teachingof anthropology w i th f i lm, a n d t o betterunderstand how representations of culture areinterpreted and otherwise processed b yundergraduate students. The concepts vital toteaching anthropology w i t h f i l m include:I) instructor presence dur ing screening;2) provision of written literature and reviewsof the film, 3 ) instructor directed interactivediscussions; and 4) assignment of backgroundethnographic readings on the people aboutwhom the film has been made.

Martinez' w o r k emphasizes t h eimportance of the classroom environment inmaking students aware of human diversity andperhaps also Western ethnocentrism a n dpaternalism toward other cultures M o r eresearch needs to be done in this direction todiscover measures anthropologists and teacherscan take to teach more effectively with films bynot contributing t o students's n e g a t i v eperceptions of others

This review was contr ibuted b y WendyLeighton a student in Visual Anthropology atTemple University.

The Visua l A n t h r o p o l o g y P r e -Conference will be remembered by participantsfor the lively discussions and the workshopatmosphere stimulated b y the presenters.Audience participation was encouraged by

presenters a n d sustained w i t h m u c henthusiasm throughout. T w o studies i nparticular, those of Fred Erickson and MarjorieHarness Goodwin a n d Charles Goodwingenerated a lively response. Both shared workin discourse analysis through the use o fvideotaped dinner table conversation. T h eGoodwins and Wrickson highl ighted t h emultidimensional aspects of conversation byillustrating the importance of communicationthrough gesture and facial cueing in relation toconversational topic shifts, gaining control ofthe floor, context, cueing, and rhythm. T h eaudience response ind i ca ted a sustainedinterest in the fundamenttal constructs o fcommunication theory.

Both the Goodwins' and Erickson'suse of videotaped data emphasize the need forincreased r igor i n the discipline o f visualanthropology. Both presentations would havebenefited from higher quality videotape, morespecificically, improving image resolution, andincreasing the diversity of camera angle andfocal length

Taking Fe ld a n d Wi l l iams' I 9 7 4recommendations into consideration, the eventon tape should represent the observations asseen by the 'skilled observer" at the time of theevent, without the camera, such that the tapeddata augments what was seen by the informedresearcher t T h e single position camera in thestatic wide angle shot ( the 'Locked O f fCamera') which the Goodwin's and Ericksonused, cannot replicate the richness and fullnessof the event, as seen by either the informedobserver o r the participants. W i t h i n theresearch objectives of both the Goodwins andErickson, these views are important A s theyrightly assert, the cueing and facial expressionsarc relevant but the videotape presented did notreflect this.

To facilitate the representation of theparticipants' views, multiple cameras aided bysynchronized time coding are needed. T h einterplay between conversants could then beanalyzed together to provide the researcher witha m o r e reveal ing reco rd o f t h e f ac ia lexpressions and gestures. I n this manner the

'Feld Steve and Carroll Willams To w a r dA Researchable Film Language, h u s h e sen t h e A n t h r o p o t o i y o f V e stealCommunication 1974

- 6 0 -

Zlatko Mileusnic, Miroslav NiskanovicVelibor StojakovicZRtAllSKl MtfZFJVojvode Puutika 771000 Sarajevo

MARGARET MEAD FILM FESTIVALAmerican Museum of Natural History

4-7 December 1989

December saw the appearance of theMargaret Mead Fi l in Festival, now in i tsthirteenth year, and again the programmingstood testimony to how nebulous the categoryof ethnographic film actually is.

Visual anthropology was this t imestretched and pulled to take in autobiographicaldocumentaries such as lames BaldN'°II� thePrice of the Ticket and Howard Fulmer: Manof Visions. T h e boundaries of film becameblurred enough to include Forbidden C i t yUSA, a rather straight PBS-style documentary,and Watunna. Stacy Steers' excellent animationof creation myths from the Yekuana Indians ofVenezuela. A l l this reflects the differingconceptions among bo th fi lmmakers a n daudiences, about what the term ethnographicactually means and what is the best way torepresent what visually is

If it becomes harder to tell which filmsare not ethnographic these days, it still remainseasy to know what films are Z u l a y, shot bythe husband and wife team of Jorge and MabelPreloran uses the famil iar e thnographicconventions o f long term immersion i n aculture and shows concerns for the everydayrituals and l i fe o f the Otavalo I n d i a n o fEcuador. Besides these traditional concernsthe films traces the journey of one inhabitant -Zulay - between her native Ecuador and LosAngeles. S h e returns to America with thefilmmakers with whom she lives while tryingto set up a business selling Ecuadorian folkcrafts.

Zulay takes on many issues canent invisual anthropology including the unpact of thefilmmakers on the subjects' life and the attemptto see the Otavalo Indians as a contemporaryliving society linked to the world economy bythe trade that Zulay is helping to establish.Through Mabel Preloran's questioning o f

Zulay we are shown also how the main issuesof the filin are established by the filmmaker'sinquiries. Ye t for all this the fi lm exhibits aproblem common in ethnographic fi lm thatpresent in other films at the festival such asDodd and Orori's The Beaten and the Starand Anderson and Connolly's Joe Le ; y ' sNeighbors.

Taking a camera into the field without apreconceived idea of what to shoot, waiting tosee what situations develop, w h a t issuespresent themselves and what the subjectsthemselves see as important often means thefilmmaker is le f t wi th a large amount o famorphous footage that only takes shape later,in the editing room I n the case of Zulay thefootage lay fallow for years while Preloransearched for a narrative principle to structure itand this is manifest in the disjointed, rathermeandering nature of the filin. The narrativestructure turned out to be Mabel Preloran'squestioning of Zulay as to her feelings towardsEcuador and America, her old and new life andthis seemed a fairly weak attempt to tell thestory of Zulay's life and still include the hoursof footage Preloran had shot of Ecuador,

This problem o f lack o f structurecertainly doesn't occur in the tried and trustedformula of cutting from well-lit interview towell- l i t interview, interspersed with archivestills and footage that has been worked so wellrecently in the Eyes on the Prize series. A t theMargaret Mead Festival this year, A r t h u rDong's Forbidden C i ty USA and HowardFinster- M a n of Visions by Julie Desrobert,Randy Parkal and Dave Carr exemplified thistrend.

it is interesting. however, to comparethe di fferent uses o f these techn iquesForbidden City was the recollection throughinterviews o f an Asian-American, (mainlyChinese), nightclub that entertained whi teaudiences in San Francisco's Chinatown in thethirties and forties. Performers reminisced onissues such as racism i n the entertainmentindustry and the license that such a careeroffered to dancers and singers and how thesewere at odds with the expectations of middle-class Asian-American life. T h i s comparesrather badly to the celebratory film of HowardFinster. M a n o f Visions H o w a r d Finster.darling of bands like the Talking Heads andREM c a n i n s p i r e d i s t r u s t i n v i s u a lanthropology in the same way the appearance

- 5 8 -

of Sting's painted face with the KayapoIndians in The Kavapo: Ou t of the Forestdoes. The reason this film does not fall intothe trap of exploiting a passing interest in apreviously obscure artist is due to the dynamicpresence of Howard Finger himself.

In Forbidden C i ty the cuts frominterview to interview provide a pleasantmemory of a time long gone. Howard Finsterjuxtaposes incongruous interviews of NewYork art critics, gallery owners, rock stars andagents, all supporting actors to the main manhimself. The interview here is a performance.les not a reference onto a remembered past butis an event into itself. Howard Finster is apreacher and a painter and what he does mainlyis preach. H i s practice in art is so firmlyembedded in his preaching that to discuss oneis to discuss the other. A n d this is what hedoes at full volume, gesticulating wildly andcombining his visions, his belief in God, faithin the modern world and love of humanity in apowerful and original view of life.

The f i lm t h a t excited the mostdiscussion at the festival was Joe Leahy'sNeighbors by Robin Anderson and BobConnolly. Joe Leahy, son of a white fatherand New Guinean mother straddles bothcommunities and provides the link between thebanks and outside capital and the New Guineacommunity he is trying to modernize. To dothis he takes a position reminiscent of the 'bigmen' of New Guinea only this time powerresides with wealth and access to the whiteworld, cutting across traditional politicalauthority.

The film charts the conflict in thecommunities between Joe Leahy, those whooppose him and those who oppose and supporthim depending on their interests at thatparticular moment. T h e controversy cameafterwards in the discussion between thexmbassadnr f o r N e w Guinea whosesympathies lay with the frustrated Joe Leahy,and certain sections of the audience who sawJoe Leahy as exploiting those whose interestshe pretended to serve. Both sides claimed theintentions of the filmmakers for their own. Forone, they delivered a devastating attack oncapitalism in developing countries, for theother, they were concerned with highlightingthe problems inherent in trying to modernize atraditional workforce.

What this debate highlights is the factthat the meaning of a text cannot be guaranteed,and this is especially true of the unobtrusiveobservational form of Anderson and Connolly.This style of cinema provides a space for openinterpretations that manifested itself in thearguments after the film and that remains aconcern for those frlrnniakers with a specificargument to convey.

Brian LarkinGraduate Student in Ethnographic filmNew York University

1989 VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYPRE-CONFERENCE

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICALASSOCIATION

November 15-19 1989, Washington D.C.

Pamela Blakely (U. Pennsylvania)presented 'Ethnoaesthetics of Women's DanceRitual in African Funerals', in the first sessionof the Visual Pre-Conference during the pastfall's American Anthropological AssociationMeetings. Blakely utilized videotape segmentsand still slides as documentation o f anindigenous East African ritual. The audiencewas able to interact actively with her to discussother performances embedded within thisfuneral ritual. H e r methods inc ludedparticipant observation coupled with aninterlocutor-guided analysis of the event. Theanalysis of the ritual's dance component(musuusa) was the central focus.

Blakely followed a traditional visualanthropology approach by the use of video todocument and record in the field. She does notbelieve that the presence of the camera had asignificant affect on the participants's behaviorsince it was preceded by a long history of herpresence within the community - she had donefield work among the Bahemba since the1970s. Pamela and Thomas Blakely'sprevious field work included the use of stillphotography and this, combined with theirhistory among the Bahemba, was consideredmore influential o n behavior than theintroduction of the video technology in and ofit elf. Blakely explained that the camera wasmerely considered an extension of her body

commentary: According to the author, thisphenomenon is related to the physiologicalbase of perception.

One participant pu t forward a ninteresting suggestion, namely that the fictionfilm should also be considered a subject ofvisual research. H e pointed out that theassessment of fiction film has varied accordingto different historical periods and socialcircumstances.

The subject of keeping film records asresource for research into national history wasalso discussed in one of the papers.

In another paper, a consideration ofphotography as a phenomenon of credibility ordeception was illustrated by presenting the caseof Soviet bolshevist practices of removingpeople from photographs - and consequentlyfrom history - by means of retouching. Suchideological retouching is synonymous with theabuse of visual documentation carried out bythe media, a problem which can also createundesirable results in anthropological film.This paper was followed by a long discussionwhereupon it was concluded that 'ethnologicaltruth' does not suffer significantly i f theintervention is reasonable. On the contrary, ifmedia conventions are properly applied, we aremore likely to make the truth available to thespectator than i f he Is made to view the so-called crude footage, even though it may beaccompanied by a commentary The televisionpeople a l so m a d e v e r y interest ingpresentations. The editors of documentariesand programmes on science expressed theirastonishment at the fact that the scientists theyhad worked with knew so little about the rulesand conventions regarding the media and attheir unwillingness to follow these rules W ewere all surprised at this counter-attack, for weare accustomed to a very different perspective,one in which television was accused of notaccomodating scientists, However, we wereable to find some common ground, namely.that television excels a t generating a nawareness among i ts viewership o f theproblems a n d issues w h i c h scienceoccasionally wants to rouse. These issuesinclude, for example, reviv ing forgottenknowledge, suggesting appropriate solutions toecological problems, demystifying social andcultural phenomena i n such cases the visualmedium is more powerful than the writtenword.

No resolution was adopted or signed atthe conference as we felt this would onlyencumber any future cooperation, however,were able to identify a shared willingness,among the participants, to work on a commonmethodology for visual documentation in thefuture. Our decision was based on the simplerealization that even in Yugoslavia the use ofvisual documentation is an accepted fact, sothat we no longer needed to ask ourselveswhether it was necessary or why. We decidedto concentrate our future efforts on creatingappropriate conditions for the production ofvarious forms of visual documentation. Thisraised the issue of the strategy o f visualresearch, which actually brought us back to themotto o f t h e Symposium o n Visua lAnthropology took during the XII ICAES,held in Zagreb in 1989.

Representatives o f a te lev is ioncompany declared they were ready to includemore visual materials produced by scientificinstitutions into their programmes, o n thecondition that it was adequately prepared foruse by the media. The other condition to bemet was that of technical standardizationwhether in producing cinematographic orelectronic pictures, scientists should build uptheir technical equipment in accordance withinternational television standards.

It is our wish to enrich the existingnational network of Yugoslav producers ofvisual documentation by expanding our contactwithin an international network. Towards thisend, I am taking the liberty to list the followingYugoslav institutions:

Nasko Krimar, Andrej ZupancicAVDIOVISUAL LABORATORY ZRCSAZUNovi trg 5, 61000 Ljubljana

Dragan AntonicErNOGRAFSKI INSTITUT SANUKneza Mihaila 35, 11000 Beograd

Vesna DruskovicETNOGRAFSKI MUSEJ BEOGRADStudentski trg 13, 11000 Beograd

Darko BratinaSLORI Slovene Research InstituteWm Grallina 534122 Trieste, Italy

One of Blakely's key points was that throughfeedback interviews, she was able to discoveraesthetic terms the Bahemba themselves use todescribe and evaluate their own performers'skills.

Wilton M a r t i n e z ( U . S o u t h e r nCalifornia), discussed his work in progress onthe impact o f showing documentary a n dethnographic films to students of introductoryanthropology courses at USC. He argued thatsome instructors ignore the power o f thesefilms t o affect viewers on emotional a n dideological levels. A l t h o u g h Mar t i nezdocumented ways in which these films mayreinforce ethnocentric opinions and negativestereotypes o f ' t h e O t h e r ' , h e l ackedsubstantial recommendations of pedagogicalmethods to reduce this phenomenon.

Martinez proposed a series of threeinteractive video prototypes entitled, T h eVisual Translation of Culture'. The objectivesof this series include instruction of the teachingof anthropology w i th f i lm, a n d t o betterunderstand how representations of culture areinterpreted and otherwise processed b yundergraduate students. The concepts vital toteaching anthropology w i t h f i l m include:I) instructor presence dur ing screening;2) provision of written literature and reviewsof the film, 3 ) instructor directed interactivediscussions; and 4) assignment of backgroundethnographic readings on the people aboutwhom the film has been made.

Martinez' w o r k emphasizes t h eimportance of the classroom environment inmaking students aware of human diversity andperhaps also Western ethnocentrism a n dpaternalism toward other cultures M o r eresearch needs to be done in this direction todiscover measures anthropologists and teacherscan take to teach more effectively with films bynot contributing t o students's n e g a t i v eperceptions of others

This review was contr ibuted b y WendyLeighton a student in Visual Anthropology atTemple University.

The Visua l A n t h r o p o l o g y P r e -Conference will be remembered by participantsfor the lively discussions and the workshopatmosphere stimulated b y the presenters.Audience participation was encouraged by

presenters a n d sustained w i t h m u c henthusiasm throughout. T w o studies i nparticular, those of Fred Erickson and MarjorieHarness Goodwin a n d Charles Goodwingenerated a lively response. Both shared workin discourse analysis through the use o fvideotaped dinner table conversation. T h eGoodwins and Wrickson highl ighted t h emultidimensional aspects of conversation byillustrating the importance of communicationthrough gesture and facial cueing in relation toconversational topic shifts, gaining control ofthe floor, context, cueing, and rhythm. T h eaudience response ind i ca ted a sustainedinterest in the fundamenttal constructs o fcommunication theory.

Both the Goodwins' and Erickson'suse of videotaped data emphasize the need forincreased r igor i n the discipline o f visualanthropology. Both presentations would havebenefited from higher quality videotape, morespecificically, improving image resolution, andincreasing the diversity of camera angle andfocal length

Taking Fe ld a n d Wi l l iams' I 9 7 4recommendations into consideration, the eventon tape should represent the observations asseen by the 'skilled observer" at the time of theevent, without the camera, such that the tapeddata augments what was seen by the informedresearcher t T h e single position camera in thestatic wide angle shot ( the 'Locked O f fCamera') which the Goodwin's and Ericksonused, cannot replicate the richness and fullnessof the event, as seen by either the informedobserver o r the participants. W i t h i n theresearch objectives of both the Goodwins andErickson, these views are important A s theyrightly assert, the cueing and facial expressionsarc relevant but the videotape presented did notreflect this.

To facilitate the representation of theparticipants' views, multiple cameras aided bysynchronized time coding are needed. T h einterplay between conversants could then beanalyzed together to provide the researcher witha m o r e reveal ing reco rd o f t h e f ac ia lexpressions and gestures. I n this manner the

'Feld Steve and Carroll Willams To w a r dA Researchable Film Language, h u s h e sen t h e A n t h r o p o t o i y o f V e stealCommunication 1974

- 6 0 -

Zlatko Mileusnic, Miroslav NiskanovicVelibor StojakovicZRtAllSKl MtfZFJVojvode Puutika 771000 Sarajevo

MARGARET MEAD FILM FESTIVALAmerican Museum of Natural History

4-7 December 1989

December saw the appearance of theMargaret Mead Fi l in Festival, now in i tsthirteenth year, and again the programmingstood testimony to how nebulous the categoryof ethnographic film actually is.

Visual anthropology was this t imestretched and pulled to take in autobiographicaldocumentaries such as lames BaldN'°II� thePrice of the Ticket and Howard Fulmer: Manof Visions. T h e boundaries of film becameblurred enough to include Forbidden C i t yUSA, a rather straight PBS-style documentary,and Watunna. Stacy Steers' excellent animationof creation myths from the Yekuana Indians ofVenezuela. A l l this reflects the differingconceptions among bo th fi lmmakers a n daudiences, about what the term ethnographicactually means and what is the best way torepresent what visually is

If it becomes harder to tell which filmsare not ethnographic these days, it still remainseasy to know what films are Z u l a y, shot bythe husband and wife team of Jorge and MabelPreloran uses the famil iar e thnographicconventions o f long term immersion i n aculture and shows concerns for the everydayrituals and l i fe o f the Otavalo I n d i a n o fEcuador. Besides these traditional concernsthe films traces the journey of one inhabitant -Zulay - between her native Ecuador and LosAngeles. S h e returns to America with thefilmmakers with whom she lives while tryingto set up a business selling Ecuadorian folkcrafts.

Zulay takes on many issues canent invisual anthropology including the unpact of thefilmmakers on the subjects' life and the attemptto see the Otavalo Indians as a contemporaryliving society linked to the world economy bythe trade that Zulay is helping to establish.Through Mabel Preloran's questioning o f

Zulay we are shown also how the main issuesof the filin are established by the filmmaker'sinquiries. Ye t for all this the fi lm exhibits aproblem common in ethnographic fi lm thatpresent in other films at the festival such asDodd and Orori's The Beaten and the Starand Anderson and Connolly's Joe Le ; y ' sNeighbors.

Taking a camera into the field without apreconceived idea of what to shoot, waiting tosee what situations develop, w h a t issuespresent themselves and what the subjectsthemselves see as important often means thefilmmaker is le f t wi th a large amount o famorphous footage that only takes shape later,in the editing room I n the case of Zulay thefootage lay fallow for years while Preloransearched for a narrative principle to structure itand this is manifest in the disjointed, rathermeandering nature of the filin. The narrativestructure turned out to be Mabel Preloran'squestioning of Zulay as to her feelings towardsEcuador and America, her old and new life andthis seemed a fairly weak attempt to tell thestory of Zulay's life and still include the hoursof footage Preloran had shot of Ecuador,

This problem o f lack o f structurecertainly doesn't occur in the tried and trustedformula of cutting from well-lit interview towell- l i t interview, interspersed with archivestills and footage that has been worked so wellrecently in the Eyes on the Prize series. A t theMargaret Mead Festival this year, A r t h u rDong's Forbidden C i ty USA and HowardFinster- M a n of Visions by Julie Desrobert,Randy Parkal and Dave Carr exemplified thistrend.

it is interesting. however, to comparethe di fferent uses o f these techn iquesForbidden City was the recollection throughinterviews o f an Asian-American, (mainlyChinese), nightclub that entertained whi teaudiences in San Francisco's Chinatown in thethirties and forties. Performers reminisced onissues such as racism i n the entertainmentindustry and the license that such a careeroffered to dancers and singers and how thesewere at odds with the expectations of middle-class Asian-American life. T h i s comparesrather badly to the celebratory film of HowardFinster. M a n o f Visions H o w a r d Finster.darling of bands like the Talking Heads andREM c a n i n s p i r e d i s t r u s t i n v i s u a lanthropology in the same way the appearance

- 5 8 -

The Festival will incorporate• Screening of entries for the Institute's twobiennial Mtn prizes, the RAI Filin Prize and theBasil Wright Film Prize. The films submittedwill be organized into themes; e.g., socialchange, change and development, life aises,ethnic minorities and the state, using film tochallenge stereotypes, etc. The deadline forentries for the prizes will be 15 May 1990.The rules were summarized in the December1989 Anthropology Today (p. 28) and areavailable in full on request. Films may also besubmitted in the non-competitive category, bythe same deadline.• Screenings of videos submitted for a StudentVideo Prize, for the most outstanding film inthe ethnographic tradition made by a student inan approved educational institution. (To beawarded for the first lime in 1990.)• 'Film as ethnography', a conference jointlyorganized by the Granada Centre, Universityof Manchester, and the Center for VisualAnthropology, University o f SouthernCalifornia, to consider the place of film withinanthropological teaching and research. I t willconsist o f three hal f -day sessions, eachcomprising a keynote address followed by'break-out' groups. I t is intended that aselection of papers will be published. A callfor papers (abstracts by end of Jan. 1990) andfurther details were printed inside the backcover of the Dec. 1989 issue of AnthropologyToday.Additional highlights will include.• Specialized programmes or retrospectives ofdocumentary films (not eligible for prizes).• The Forman Lecture 1990 given by PeterLoizos.• Workshop sessions exploring issues such as:the relevance of film to specialized topics (e.g.the analysis of ritual, spirit mediumship,dispute settlement, patron-client relations, etc.)or to particular sub-disciplines and fields ofinterest (e.g ethnomusicology, micro-culturalevents, development communication, etc.).strategies for student training in the use ofaudio-visual resources; the application withinanthropology o f recent technologicaldevelopments (e.g. latest camcorders andediting systems, videodisks. cable television,satellites, etc.).• Demonstrations of recent developments infilm a n d v ideo equipment b y t h emanufacturers.

All these events will take place in GranadaStudios, Quay Street, Manchester, or in theRoscoe Building, University of Manchester.in addition, a complementary programme isproposed at the Comerhouse Cinema, OxfordRoad, Manchester, in which distinguishedfilm-makers will introduce anthropologicalclassics.Registration fee

A registration fee o f 49 Pounds(including VAT) will be charged. There willbe a concessionary rate o f 29 Pounds(ncluding VAT) for registered students, oldage pensioners and disabled persons. This feewill cover the main sessions, including theconference, but there will be an entrance chargefor supporting screenings at the ComerhouseCinema and possibly elsewhere. There will beno fee for entering a film for the Festival's non-competitive category. A nominal fee of 10Pounds is charged for film% entered for theFilm Prizes (25 Pounds for Student VideoPrize).Accommodation

Accommodation is being reserved forparticipants at the Dalton Hall and Ellis LiwydJones Hall, University of Manchester, at acharge of 15.70 Pounds per night includingbreakfast, for the tights of Monday 24 throughFriday 28 September. Hotel accommodationwill be available for those who prefer.Travel funding

The Institute has no funds of its own topay for travel from overseas to the conference,but some strictly limited funds are likely to beavailable for selected qualified persons fromLess Developed Countries, and for members ofindigenous minorities within industrializedcountries. Persons so qualified are invited towrite to the RAI's Director, especially (but notonly) nationals of the following countries.Angola. India, Mozambique. Papua NewGuinea, Western Samoa, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe.Preference will be given to those who haveacquired skills in both anthropology and film.Anyone overseas may enquire about thepossibility of travel funding at the BritishCouncil Office in their own country. Nationalsof Eastern European countries are advised tomake prompt application to the British CouncilOffice in their country. Royal AnthropologicalInstitute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W I ?SHS. (Tel. 01-387-0455, fax 01-383-4235)

-63-

simultaneous or overlapping nature of the manylayers of conversation can be analyzed.

The second recommendation, that forhigher image resolution, is necessary in thistype of micro-level analysis. Using videotaperather than film, one must be concerned withthe limitations of particular video standards.Standard VHS does not provide the necessarydegree of image resolution. This point wasmade clear when one of the tapes presentedbrought about a debate over the significance ofa gesture which some saw as possibly only the'swiping away of an unwanted fly', whileothers understood it to be a request for 'morepotatoes'.

At this time there are constantinnovations being made in video technology.Rather than making investments in temporarystandards which will soon be outmoded, manyprofessionals support a commitment to the 3/4inch format in combination with at least anindustrial standard camera. This choice is amore secure investment since the standard isestablished and wi l l not be repeatedlyoverturned with every new improvement inVHS formats. Some will argue that thisrecommendation is i n conflict with theeconomic constraints under which visualanthropology has been traditionally conducted.However, these recommendations are intendedto raise the standard of visual research to thelevel which we require in other anthropologicalsubdisciplines. A s it Is unrealistic to expectone working with statistics to do so without theaid of sophisticated and expensive computers,it is equally unrealistic fo r the v isualanthropologist to conduct research without theproper tools of the chosen documentarymedium.

This review was submitted by Karen Vered, astudent in Visual Anthropology at TempleUniversity.

-51-

UPCOMING MEETINGSROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL I N S T i T U USUBMISSION OF FILMS FOR THE COMPETITIVEAND NONCOMPETITIVE CATEGORIES

The Festival organizers inv i te t h esubmission of films by 15th May 1990. Filmssubmitted may be considered f o r prizes,provided they were first screened on or after1st January 1988.

All films submitted in the competitivecategory must have received their first publicscreening on or after 1stJanuary 1991.

For further information / al l f i lmsshould be sent to: R A I Fi lm Festival, c/oGranada Centre fo r Visual Anthropology,Roscoe Building, University o f Manchester,Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom. (Sel.0621-275-399, fax 061-275-4023)

' I S L A N D S '

5th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OFETHNOGRAPHICAL &

ANTHROPOLOGICAL FILMS

Nuoro, Sardinia, ItalyOctober 1-5, 1990

The Fif th International Festival o fethnographical & anthropological f i l m sorganized by the Istituto Superiore RegionaleEtnografico of Sardinia (Italy), wi l l be heldfrom October 1st to October 5th 1990.

This event, which takes place everytwo years, focuses on a particular theme eachtime: Shepherds & Their Image (1982); TheWorld in Reverse: Carnival & TransgressionControl (1984); Marriage in Traditional Society(1986); Women & work in traditional society(1988).

The theme for the 5th internationalFestival will be 'ISLANDS'.

Its aim is to present an overview ofanthropological films dealing with both thecondition of people living on islands -in a strictgeographical sense -and of those peoples ofsocial groups who are 'isolated'. Films whichmay be included in the Festival program are:• F i l m s w h i c h f o c u s o n t h e s o c i a lorganization, economy and outlook of islandinhabitants, related to anthropological andethnographical studies and research

• F i lms analysing, i n a w ider territorialcontext, the manner of subsistence of peoplesof social groups who, due to language, socio-family organization or norms and values, forma world apart and as such can be considered'cultural istands'. A long with the screeningsthere will also be discussions and debates withthe participation o f cinema and televisionexperts f rom I ta ly as wel l as f rom othercountries.I. Participation i n the Festival is open todocumentaries dea l i ng w i t h t h e theme'ISLANDS', i n bo th the aforementionedacceptations, produced on 16 or 35 mm films(optical o r magnetic sound track or doubletrack for the 16 mm; optical sound track for the35 mm) or tapes (video: 3 / 4 UMATiC, Pal,Secam, NTSC).2. In order to be included i n the Festivalprogram, the documentaries will be selected bya Committee composed o f Asen Bal ikci ,Chairman o f the Commission o n V isua lAnthropology, Montreal; the anthropologistAntonio Marazzi, Padua University; ColettePiault, Directeur de Recherche at C.N.R.S.,Paris, Paolo Piquereddu, C o o r d i n a t o r eGenerale of 1.S.R.E., Nuoro.3. In order to take part in the selection, copiesof the documentaries must be sent on tape(video: U-Matic or VHS, Pal, Secam, NTSC)to the following address: Is t i tu to SuperioreRegionale Etnografico. ' I S O L E ' RassegnaIntemazionale di Documentari Etnografici, ViaMereu, 56 - 08100 Nuoro - I taly. T h r e ephotos c o n c e r n i n g t h e f i l m , abiography/filmography of the fitrnmaker and, ifpossible, information materials on the f i lmmust also be enclosed4. Documentaries i n languages other thanItalian, English or French must bear subtitlesor their script be translated into one o f theabove-mentioned languages.5. Throughout the Festival, the filmmakers ofthe films selected will get board and lodgingcourtesy of the Festival Organizers6. A t the close of the Festival, a special Jurywill award a prize of 10,000,000 litas (about7,400 US$) to the best documentary film andof 6,000,000 liras (about 4,400 USS) to thebest tape. I.S.R E reserves the right to awardfurther prizes or distinctions on the suggestionof the Jury.

- 6 6 -

IUAES INTERCONGRESS:

Lisbon, PortugalSeptember 5th - 12th, 1990

The 1990 IUAES intercongress w i l ltake place at the Faculdade de Ciencias Socialse Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa,Avenida de Berna 24, 1000 Lisbon, Portugal.The dates are: September 5th-121h, 1990. The150 US$ registration fee is inclusive of I dailymeal plus courtesy dinner but exclusive of hotelcost The general theme of the intercongresshas been established as: The Social Roles ofAnthropology.

The C o m m i s s i o n o n V i s u a lAnthropology has decided to focus on onespecific issue within this broad general theme.

This centra l issue f o r L isbon i s :Anthr000lozv on the Air.

Relations between public broadcastsystems and visual anthropology have notalways been as cordial as they should be. Anumber o f e x c e l l e n t an th ropo log i ca ldocumentaries have never been shown ontelevision (or only in an abridged and oftenmutilated form), and on the other hand a greatnumber o f films within the broad f ield o fanthropology have been produced without anyassistance of professional anthropologists, letalone visual anthropologists.

On the other hand, the number of TVoutlets has increased dramatically over the pastfew years - in many countries we suddenly findcable networks outside the strict public T Vsystem, college networks, brat and educationalTV, commercial television and Pay-TV. Someof these might provide new outlets for visualanthropological work

It is suggested, that in Anthropology enthe A i r we discuss this issue front a practicalpoint of view - to get insight into the scope ofcooperation with the broadcasting system, bothin its more traditional and newer forms. T h eCommission would highly value reports andpapers on- experiences with cooperation (bothsuccessful and abortive), new broadcastingoutlets per country or region, work currently inprogress, financial arrangements, division ofresponsibilities and control, the use o f new

- 6 2 -

technology a n d prospects f o r f u t u r edevelopments. T h i s is not a !imitative l is thowever; any th ing that can be considereduseful for the general theme will be consideredfor inclusion in the session.

Also, the Commission wou ld value(excerpts of) films and videos related to thesematters, preferably i n the presence o f thefilmmaker or cooperating antia apologist

The Commission w i l l publ ish t h eproceedings of the session in a way yet to bedecided, and reserves the first tight to publishthe contributions.

As there is no local organizer for thissession yet, please send a 100 word abstractbefore June 1990 to:

Dr. Robert BoonzajerAmsterdam UniversityOudeziJds Achterburgwal 1851012 DK Amsterdam - HOLLANDPhone: 31 20 5252626Fax: 3 1 20 5252086

Sending a n abs t rac t d o e s n o tautomatically register one for the conference -registration forms will be published in all majorjournals and newsletters, and Amsterdam willforward any new information immediately toanyone who has sent in an abstract. F o rquestions relating to the practical aspects of theIntercongress, please contact Prof. Dr. A.C.Mesquitela Lima at the Universidade Nova inLisbon.

RAI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OFETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

Manchester, EnglandSeptember 24-28, 1990

The Royal Anthropological Instituteannounces its Second International Festival ofEthnographic Film in Manchester, England,from 24-28 September 1990. T h i s secondFestival w i l l be organized locally b y theGranada Centre for Visual Anthropology,University of Manchester.

UPCOMING MEETINGSROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL I N S T i T U USUBMISSION OF FILMS FOR THE COMPETITIVEAND NONCOMPETITIVE CATEGORIES

The Festival organizers inv i te t h esubmission of films by 15th May 1990. Filmssubmitted may be considered f o r prizes,provided they were first screened on or after1st January 1988.

All films submitted in the competitivecategory must have received their first publicscreening on or after 1stJanuary 1991.

For further information / al l f i lmsshould be sent to: R A I Fi lm Festival, c/oGranada Centre fo r Visual Anthropology,Roscoe Building, University o f Manchester,Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom. (Sel.0621-275-399, fax 061-275-4023)

' I S L A N D S '

5th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OFETHNOGRAPHICAL &

ANTHROPOLOGICAL FILMS

Nuoro, Sardinia, ItalyOctober 1-5, 1990

The Fif th International Festival o fethnographical & anthropological f i l m sorganized by the Istituto Superiore RegionaleEtnografico of Sardinia (Italy), wi l l be heldfrom October 1st to October 5th 1990.

This event, which takes place everytwo years, focuses on a particular theme eachtime: Shepherds & Their Image (1982); TheWorld in Reverse: Carnival & TransgressionControl (1984); Marriage in Traditional Society(1986); Women & work in traditional society(1988).

The theme for the 5th internationalFestival will be 'ISLANDS'.

Its aim is to present an overview ofanthropological films dealing with both thecondition of people living on islands -in a strictgeographical sense -and of those peoples ofsocial groups who are 'isolated'. Films whichmay be included in the Festival program are:• F i l m s w h i c h f o c u s o n t h e s o c i a lorganization, economy and outlook of islandinhabitants, related to anthropological andethnographical studies and research

• F i lms analysing, i n a w ider territorialcontext, the manner of subsistence of peoplesof social groups who, due to language, socio-family organization or norms and values, forma world apart and as such can be considered'cultural istands'. A long with the screeningsthere will also be discussions and debates withthe participation o f cinema and televisionexperts f rom I ta ly as wel l as f rom othercountries.I. Participation i n the Festival is open todocumentaries dea l i ng w i t h t h e theme'ISLANDS', i n bo th the aforementionedacceptations, produced on 16 or 35 mm films(optical o r magnetic sound track or doubletrack for the 16 mm; optical sound track for the35 mm) or tapes (video: 3 / 4 UMATiC, Pal,Secam, NTSC).2. In order to be included i n the Festivalprogram, the documentaries will be selected bya Committee composed o f Asen Bal ikci ,Chairman o f the Commission o n V isua lAnthropology, Montreal; the anthropologistAntonio Marazzi, Padua University; ColettePiault, Directeur de Recherche at C.N.R.S.,Paris, Paolo Piquereddu, C o o r d i n a t o r eGenerale of 1.S.R.E., Nuoro.3. In order to take part in the selection, copiesof the documentaries must be sent on tape(video: U-Matic or VHS, Pal, Secam, NTSC)to the following address: Is t i tu to SuperioreRegionale Etnografico. ' I S O L E ' RassegnaIntemazionale di Documentari Etnografici, ViaMereu, 56 - 08100 Nuoro - I taly. T h r e ephotos c o n c e r n i n g t h e f i l m , abiography/filmography of the fitrnmaker and, ifpossible, information materials on the f i lmmust also be enclosed4. Documentaries i n languages other thanItalian, English or French must bear subtitlesor their script be translated into one o f theabove-mentioned languages.5. Throughout the Festival, the filmmakers ofthe films selected will get board and lodgingcourtesy of the Festival Organizers6. A t the close of the Festival, a special Jurywill award a prize of 10,000,000 litas (about7,400 US$) to the best documentary film andof 6,000,000 liras (about 4,400 USS) to thebest tape. I.S.R E reserves the right to awardfurther prizes or distinctions on the suggestionof the Jury.

- 6 6 -

IUAES INTERCONGRESS:

Lisbon, PortugalSeptember 5th - 12th, 1990

The 1990 IUAES intercongress w i l ltake place at the Faculdade de Ciencias Socialse Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa,Avenida de Berna 24, 1000 Lisbon, Portugal.The dates are: September 5th-121h, 1990. The150 US$ registration fee is inclusive of I dailymeal plus courtesy dinner but exclusive of hotelcost The general theme of the intercongresshas been established as: The Social Roles ofAnthropology.

The C o m m i s s i o n o n V i s u a lAnthropology has decided to focus on onespecific issue within this broad general theme.

This centra l issue f o r L isbon i s :Anthr000lozv on the Air.

Relations between public broadcastsystems and visual anthropology have notalways been as cordial as they should be. Anumber o f e x c e l l e n t an th ropo log i ca ldocumentaries have never been shown ontelevision (or only in an abridged and oftenmutilated form), and on the other hand a greatnumber o f films within the broad f ield o fanthropology have been produced without anyassistance of professional anthropologists, letalone visual anthropologists.

On the other hand, the number of TVoutlets has increased dramatically over the pastfew years - in many countries we suddenly findcable networks outside the strict public T Vsystem, college networks, brat and educationalTV, commercial television and Pay-TV. Someof these might provide new outlets for visualanthropological work

It is suggested, that in Anthropology enthe A i r we discuss this issue front a practicalpoint of view - to get insight into the scope ofcooperation with the broadcasting system, bothin its more traditional and newer forms. T h eCommission would highly value reports andpapers on- experiences with cooperation (bothsuccessful and abortive), new broadcastingoutlets per country or region, work currently inprogress, financial arrangements, division ofresponsibilities and control, the use o f new

- 6 2 -

technology a n d prospects f o r f u t u r edevelopments. T h i s is not a !imitative l is thowever; any th ing that can be considereduseful for the general theme will be consideredfor inclusion in the session.

Also, the Commission wou ld value(excerpts of) films and videos related to thesematters, preferably i n the presence o f thefilmmaker or cooperating antia apologist

The Commission w i l l publ ish t h eproceedings of the session in a way yet to bedecided, and reserves the first tight to publishthe contributions.

As there is no local organizer for thissession yet, please send a 100 word abstractbefore June 1990 to:

Dr. Robert BoonzajerAmsterdam UniversityOudeziJds Achterburgwal 1851012 DK Amsterdam - HOLLANDPhone: 31 20 5252626Fax: 3 1 20 5252086

Sending a n abs t rac t d o e s n o tautomatically register one for the conference -registration forms will be published in all majorjournals and newsletters, and Amsterdam willforward any new information immediately toanyone who has sent in an abstract. F o rquestions relating to the practical aspects of theIntercongress, please contact Prof. Dr. A.C.Mesquitela Lima at the Universidade Nova inLisbon.

RAI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OFETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

Manchester, EnglandSeptember 24-28, 1990

The Royal Anthropological Instituteannounces its Second International Festival ofEthnographic Film in Manchester, England,from 24-28 September 1990. T h i s secondFestival w i l l be organized locally b y theGranada Centre for Visual Anthropology,University of Manchester.

The Festival will incorporate• Screening of entries for the Institute's twobiennial Mtn prizes, the RAI Filin Prize and theBasil Wright Film Prize. The films submittedwill be organized into themes; e.g., socialchange, change and development, life aises,ethnic minorities and the state, using film tochallenge stereotypes, etc. The deadline forentries for the prizes will be 15 May 1990.The rules were summarized in the December1989 Anthropology Today (p. 28) and areavailable in full on request. Films may also besubmitted in the non-competitive category, bythe same deadline.• Screenings of videos submitted for a StudentVideo Prize, for the most outstanding film inthe ethnographic tradition made by a student inan approved educational institution. (To beawarded for the first lime in 1990.)• 'Film as ethnography', a conference jointlyorganized by the Granada Centre, Universityof Manchester, and the Center for VisualAnthropology, University o f SouthernCalifornia, to consider the place of film withinanthropological teaching and research. I t willconsist o f three hal f -day sessions, eachcomprising a keynote address followed by'break-out' groups. I t is intended that aselection of papers will be published. A callfor papers (abstracts by end of Jan. 1990) andfurther details were printed inside the backcover of the Dec. 1989 issue of AnthropologyToday.Additional highlights will include.• Specialized programmes or retrospectives ofdocumentary films (not eligible for prizes).• The Forman Lecture 1990 given by PeterLoizos.• Workshop sessions exploring issues such as:the relevance of film to specialized topics (e.g.the analysis of ritual, spirit mediumship,dispute settlement, patron-client relations, etc.)or to particular sub-disciplines and fields ofinterest (e.g ethnomusicology, micro-culturalevents, development communication, etc.).strategies for student training in the use ofaudio-visual resources; the application withinanthropology o f recent technologicaldevelopments (e.g. latest camcorders andediting systems, videodisks. cable television,satellites, etc.).• Demonstrations of recent developments infilm a n d v ideo equipment b y t h emanufacturers.

All these events will take place in GranadaStudios, Quay Street, Manchester, or in theRoscoe Building, University of Manchester.in addition, a complementary programme isproposed at the Comerhouse Cinema, OxfordRoad, Manchester, in which distinguishedfilm-makers will introduce anthropologicalclassics.Registration fee

A registration fee o f 49 Pounds(including VAT) will be charged. There willbe a concessionary rate o f 29 Pounds(ncluding VAT) for registered students, oldage pensioners and disabled persons. This feewill cover the main sessions, including theconference, but there will be an entrance chargefor supporting screenings at the ComerhouseCinema and possibly elsewhere. There will beno fee for entering a film for the Festival's non-competitive category. A nominal fee of 10Pounds is charged for film% entered for theFilm Prizes (25 Pounds for Student VideoPrize).Accommodation

Accommodation is being reserved forparticipants at the Dalton Hall and Ellis LiwydJones Hall, University of Manchester, at acharge of 15.70 Pounds per night includingbreakfast, for the tights of Monday 24 throughFriday 28 September. Hotel accommodationwill be available for those who prefer.Travel funding

The Institute has no funds of its own topay for travel from overseas to the conference,but some strictly limited funds are likely to beavailable for selected qualified persons fromLess Developed Countries, and for members ofindigenous minorities within industrializedcountries. Persons so qualified are invited towrite to the RAI's Director, especially (but notonly) nationals of the following countries.Angola. India, Mozambique. Papua NewGuinea, Western Samoa, Vanuatu, Zimbabwe.Preference will be given to those who haveacquired skills in both anthropology and film.Anyone overseas may enquire about thepossibility of travel funding at the BritishCouncil Office in their own country. Nationalsof Eastern European countries are advised tomake prompt application to the British CouncilOffice in their country. Royal AnthropologicalInstitute, 50 Fitzroy Street, London W I ?SHS. (Tel. 01-387-0455, fax 01-383-4235)

-63-

simultaneous or overlapping nature of the manylayers of conversation can be analyzed.

The second recommendation, that forhigher image resolution, is necessary in thistype of micro-level analysis. Using videotaperather than film, one must be concerned withthe limitations of particular video standards.Standard VHS does not provide the necessarydegree of image resolution. This point wasmade clear when one of the tapes presentedbrought about a debate over the significance ofa gesture which some saw as possibly only the'swiping away of an unwanted fly', whileothers understood it to be a request for 'morepotatoes'.

At this time there are constantinnovations being made in video technology.Rather than making investments in temporarystandards which will soon be outmoded, manyprofessionals support a commitment to the 3/4inch format in combination with at least anindustrial standard camera. This choice is amore secure investment since the standard isestablished and wi l l not be repeatedlyoverturned with every new improvement inVHS formats. Some will argue that thisrecommendation is i n conflict with theeconomic constraints under which visualanthropology has been traditionally conducted.However, these recommendations are intendedto raise the standard of visual research to thelevel which we require in other anthropologicalsubdisciplines. A s it Is unrealistic to expectone working with statistics to do so without theaid of sophisticated and expensive computers,it is equally unrealistic fo r the v isualanthropologist to conduct research without theproper tools of the chosen documentarymedium.

This review was submitted by Karen Vered, astudent in Visual Anthropology at TempleUniversity.

-51-

UPCOMING MEETINGSROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL I N S T i T U USUBMISSION OF FILMS FOR THE COMPETITIVEAND NONCOMPETITIVE CATEGORIES

The Festival organizers inv i te t h esubmission of films by 15th May 1990. Filmssubmitted may be considered f o r prizes,provided they were first screened on or after1st January 1988.

All films submitted in the competitivecategory must have received their first publicscreening on or after 1stJanuary 1991.

For further information / al l f i lmsshould be sent to: R A I Fi lm Festival, c/oGranada Centre fo r Visual Anthropology,Roscoe Building, University o f Manchester,Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom. (Sel.0621-275-399, fax 061-275-4023)

' I S L A N D S '

5th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OFETHNOGRAPHICAL &

ANTHROPOLOGICAL FILMS

Nuoro, Sardinia, ItalyOctober 1-5, 1990

The Fif th International Festival o fethnographical & anthropological f i l m sorganized by the Istituto Superiore RegionaleEtnografico of Sardinia (Italy), wi l l be heldfrom October 1st to October 5th 1990.

This event, which takes place everytwo years, focuses on a particular theme eachtime: Shepherds & Their Image (1982); TheWorld in Reverse: Carnival & TransgressionControl (1984); Marriage in Traditional Society(1986); Women & work in traditional society(1988).

The theme for the 5th internationalFestival will be 'ISLANDS'.

Its aim is to present an overview ofanthropological films dealing with both thecondition of people living on islands -in a strictgeographical sense -and of those peoples ofsocial groups who are 'isolated'. Films whichmay be included in the Festival program are:• F i l m s w h i c h f o c u s o n t h e s o c i a lorganization, economy and outlook of islandinhabitants, related to anthropological andethnographical studies and research

• F i lms analysing, i n a w ider territorialcontext, the manner of subsistence of peoplesof social groups who, due to language, socio-family organization or norms and values, forma world apart and as such can be considered'cultural istands'. A long with the screeningsthere will also be discussions and debates withthe participation o f cinema and televisionexperts f rom I ta ly as wel l as f rom othercountries.I. Participation i n the Festival is open todocumentaries dea l i ng w i t h t h e theme'ISLANDS', i n bo th the aforementionedacceptations, produced on 16 or 35 mm films(optical o r magnetic sound track or doubletrack for the 16 mm; optical sound track for the35 mm) or tapes (video: 3 / 4 UMATiC, Pal,Secam, NTSC).2. In order to be included i n the Festivalprogram, the documentaries will be selected bya Committee composed o f Asen Bal ikci ,Chairman o f the Commission o n V isua lAnthropology, Montreal; the anthropologistAntonio Marazzi, Padua University; ColettePiault, Directeur de Recherche at C.N.R.S.,Paris, Paolo Piquereddu, C o o r d i n a t o r eGenerale of 1.S.R.E., Nuoro.3. In order to take part in the selection, copiesof the documentaries must be sent on tape(video: U-Matic or VHS, Pal, Secam, NTSC)to the following address: Is t i tu to SuperioreRegionale Etnografico. ' I S O L E ' RassegnaIntemazionale di Documentari Etnografici, ViaMereu, 56 - 08100 Nuoro - I taly. T h r e ephotos c o n c e r n i n g t h e f i l m , abiography/filmography of the fitrnmaker and, ifpossible, information materials on the f i lmmust also be enclosed4. Documentaries i n languages other thanItalian, English or French must bear subtitlesor their script be translated into one o f theabove-mentioned languages.5. Throughout the Festival, the filmmakers ofthe films selected will get board and lodgingcourtesy of the Festival Organizers6. A t the close of the Festival, a special Jurywill award a prize of 10,000,000 litas (about7,400 US$) to the best documentary film andof 6,000,000 liras (about 4,400 USS) to thebest tape. I.S.R E reserves the right to awardfurther prizes or distinctions on the suggestionof the Jury.

- 6 6 -

IUAES INTERCONGRESS:

Lisbon, PortugalSeptember 5th - 12th, 1990

The 1990 IUAES intercongress w i l ltake place at the Faculdade de Ciencias Socialse Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa,Avenida de Berna 24, 1000 Lisbon, Portugal.The dates are: September 5th-121h, 1990. The150 US$ registration fee is inclusive of I dailymeal plus courtesy dinner but exclusive of hotelcost The general theme of the intercongresshas been established as: The Social Roles ofAnthropology.

The C o m m i s s i o n o n V i s u a lAnthropology has decided to focus on onespecific issue within this broad general theme.

This centra l issue f o r L isbon i s :Anthr000lozv on the Air.

Relations between public broadcastsystems and visual anthropology have notalways been as cordial as they should be. Anumber o f e x c e l l e n t an th ropo log i ca ldocumentaries have never been shown ontelevision (or only in an abridged and oftenmutilated form), and on the other hand a greatnumber o f films within the broad f ield o fanthropology have been produced without anyassistance of professional anthropologists, letalone visual anthropologists.

On the other hand, the number of TVoutlets has increased dramatically over the pastfew years - in many countries we suddenly findcable networks outside the strict public T Vsystem, college networks, brat and educationalTV, commercial television and Pay-TV. Someof these might provide new outlets for visualanthropological work

It is suggested, that in Anthropology enthe A i r we discuss this issue front a practicalpoint of view - to get insight into the scope ofcooperation with the broadcasting system, bothin its more traditional and newer forms. T h eCommission would highly value reports andpapers on- experiences with cooperation (bothsuccessful and abortive), new broadcastingoutlets per country or region, work currently inprogress, financial arrangements, division ofresponsibilities and control, the use o f new

- 6 2 -

technology a n d prospects f o r f u t u r edevelopments. T h i s is not a !imitative l is thowever; any th ing that can be considereduseful for the general theme will be consideredfor inclusion in the session.

Also, the Commission wou ld value(excerpts of) films and videos related to thesematters, preferably i n the presence o f thefilmmaker or cooperating antia apologist

The Commission w i l l publ ish t h eproceedings of the session in a way yet to bedecided, and reserves the first tight to publishthe contributions.

As there is no local organizer for thissession yet, please send a 100 word abstractbefore June 1990 to:

Dr. Robert BoonzajerAmsterdam UniversityOudeziJds Achterburgwal 1851012 DK Amsterdam - HOLLANDPhone: 31 20 5252626Fax: 3 1 20 5252086

Sending a n abs t rac t d o e s n o tautomatically register one for the conference -registration forms will be published in all majorjournals and newsletters, and Amsterdam willforward any new information immediately toanyone who has sent in an abstract. F o rquestions relating to the practical aspects of theIntercongress, please contact Prof. Dr. A.C.Mesquitela Lima at the Universidade Nova inLisbon.

RAI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OFETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

Manchester, EnglandSeptember 24-28, 1990

The Royal Anthropological Instituteannounces its Second International Festival ofEthnographic Film in Manchester, England,from 24-28 September 1990. T h i s secondFestival w i l l be organized locally b y theGranada Centre for Visual Anthropology,University of Manchester.

'Memory', however, t h e f i lms o f al lparticipants will be screened, regardless of thesubject.

Films can be projected in optical ordouble track 16mm or 3/4 Umatic or VHS Palor Secam video formats. T h e v ideoprogramming, however, will be limited tofilms shot in video, and not video transfersfrom 16mm films. This is in the filmmakers'own interest

Video-cassettes recorders wi l l b eavailable to anyone wishing to view videocassettes in their free time. Please bringcassettes of your other films.

Because simultaneous 'live' translationof foreign-language sound tracks interfereswith viewer appreciation, the last GeneralAssembly, (Budapest, 1987), voted to nolonger accept such films, (except for works inprogress). Films and videos must therefore bespoken, dubbed or subtitled in English, thelanguage in which the Seminar wi l l beconducted.

This year, we have the pleasure ofwelcoming David and Judith MacDougall.

Since 1985, the scope of the Seminar,despite its official title, is no longer limited toEurope, but has been extended to include aninternational network

Please complete and return thenecessary forms and replies by the deadline or- if possible - before the date due.

It is important that you reply as soonas possible as the number of participants islimited, and so that other filmmakers can becontacted.

JUNE 1st Deadline for registration(Send confirmation & registration fees - 25$per person)

Wi th your collaboration, Budapest '90will be as great a success as '87... perhapsbetter!

For further information.Dr. Colette PiaultResearch Direct/a, CNRS, FranceChairman, 'Looking at EuropeanSocieties'5, rue des Saints-Pères • 75006 ParisTelephone: (1) 42-60-25-76Fax: ( I ) 42 61 67 92

INTERNATIONAL VISUAL SOCIOLOGYASSOCIATION

ANNUAL MEETING 1990

THEME VISUAL SOCIOLOGY IN THE 19973Whittier College, Los Angeles County

California, June 21-23, 1990

1VSA meet ings m a i n t a i n a ninterdisciplinary approach and encouragedialogue. D o r m -style accommodations,complete with meals, will be available for $30per day.

meeting wil l feature a visualsociology exhibition at the Mendenhal Galleryon the Whittier College campus. The showwill be curated by Scott Ward of the DowneyMuseum o f Art . T o have you r workconsidered for inclusion, send 35mm slidesand a statement to the following address:

Send inquiries and/o _proposals byApp 15 199010-Steve Gold, iVSA PresidentDepartment of Sociology,Whittier CollegeWhittier, CA 90608, USA(213) 693-0771

36th ANNUAL ROBERT FLAHERTYSEMINAR

Wells College - AuroraNew York, June 9-16, 1990

'All art is exploring. To discover and reveal isthe way every artist sets about his business.'

The 36th Annual Seminar will look atparticular ways i n w h i c h p e r s o n a ldocumentaries can challenge conventionalapproaches and expand the boundaries of thegenre. Nonfiction films and videotapes thatemploy techniques most often associated withthe dramatic feature film will be examined, andwe will explore the ways in which innovativedocumentary techniques h a v e b e e nincorporated into mainstream f i lm andtelevision.

7. The tapes sent for selection will be placed inthe Archives of I.S.R.E. free of charge, forinternal non-commercial use only.8. I.S.R.E. will acquire a copy of the winningfilm.9. Directors will be informed of the inclusionof their documentaries in the Festival programby July 31st, 1990.Selected documentaries must arrive in theiroriginal format and standard by September20th, 1990, at the following addresses:

For films coming from abroad,a) Agenda Espressi Internazionali Aerei(A.E.i.A.) s.r.!., 00055 Aeroporto d iFiumicino (Roma), to notify: i.S.R.E., viaMereu, 56 - 08100 Nuoro,

For tapes and films coming from I , y'b) istituto Superiore Regionale Etnografico,Via Mereu 56 - 08100 Nuoro,10. All expenses incurred for the forwarding offilms for selection shall be borne by senders;the expenses incurred for the sending back ofthe films must be born by I.S.R.E.I I . The expenses incurred for the forwardingand sending back of selected films shall beborne by I.S.R.E.

For further information, please write ortelephone'Institute Superiore RegionaleEtnograficoVia Mereu 56 - 08100 Nuoro (Italy)Telephone: (0784) 35561 - 31474 -37484 - Fax 0784 - 37484

INDIAN SUMMER WORLD FESTIVAL OFABORIGINAL MOTION PICTURES

Pincher Creek, AlbertaSeptember 19-23, 1990

The Indian Summer World Festival ofAboriginal Motion Pictures is now seekingentries for this year's Festival to be held fromSeptember 19-23, 1990 in Pincher Creek,Alberta, Canada.

This is a non-juried festival for filmsand videos made by and about Aboriginalpeoples of the world. Each year we choose atheme on which to base our Festival. T h e

theme for this year is 'Protecting MotherEarth', a subject that is close to all Aboriginalpeople. The theme however does not meanthat al l filins entered must contain t h eEnvironment as the subject matter. Althoughthis theme wil l be considered - we w i l lconsider all types of Aboriginal films madefrom September 1988 to September 1990.

This year we arc limiting our entries to50 films and/or videos so that we can havebetter screenings for more producers to a largeraudience. W e reserve the right to selectproductions in order to represent as manycountries as possible within our limitations.

Entries should be In English or withEnglish subtitles. I f it is not possible, pleasecontact us to make appropriate arrangements.Video tapes MUST be 3/4' NTSC U-maticformat for screening - no other formats will beaccepted. (VHS tapes will be screened only asan on-demand request and w i l l not bescheduled for public viewing.) To ensure thebest quality screening of your video tape,please submit only first or second generationdubs.

In order to help delegates make contactwith buyers a n d fac i l i ta te businesstransactions, we are making available four on-demand screening suites for registered festivalparticipants. These suites will be available on abooking system throughout the festival. A l lcatalogued entries will be available for suchscreenings at times other than scheduledscreenings. The facilities will also be open todelegates who have brought additional non-catalogued material I n order for this system,as well as scheduled screenings to work thisyear, entrants MUST meet the entry deadlinefor promotional material of July 16, 1990.Any entries received after this date will not bescheduled or included in the Film and Videodirectory

Promotional materials inc ludingproduction credits, black and white publicitystills, posters, and a typewritten narrative ofeach entry, not exceeding 100 words, shouldbe included and forwarded with your entryforms

The entry form deadline for the 4thIndian Summer World Festival of AboriginalMotion Pictures is July 16, 1990. T h edeadline for receipt of chosen entries is August17, 1990. Each entry must include: 1 ) acompleted entry form, 2) a signed regulations

UPCOMING MEETINGSROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL I N S T i T U USUBMISSION OF FILMS FOR THE COMPETITIVEAND NONCOMPETITIVE CATEGORIES

The Festival organizers inv i te t h esubmission of films by 15th May 1990. Filmssubmitted may be considered f o r prizes,provided they were first screened on or after1st January 1988.

All films submitted in the competitivecategory must have received their first publicscreening on or after 1stJanuary 1991.

For further information / al l f i lmsshould be sent to: R A I Fi lm Festival, c/oGranada Centre fo r Visual Anthropology,Roscoe Building, University o f Manchester,Manchester M13 9PL, United Kingdom. (Sel.0621-275-399, fax 061-275-4023)

' I S L A N D S '

5th INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OFETHNOGRAPHICAL &

ANTHROPOLOGICAL FILMS

Nuoro, Sardinia, ItalyOctober 1-5, 1990

The Fif th International Festival o fethnographical & anthropological f i l m sorganized by the Istituto Superiore RegionaleEtnografico of Sardinia (Italy), wi l l be heldfrom October 1st to October 5th 1990.

This event, which takes place everytwo years, focuses on a particular theme eachtime: Shepherds & Their Image (1982); TheWorld in Reverse: Carnival & TransgressionControl (1984); Marriage in Traditional Society(1986); Women & work in traditional society(1988).

The theme for the 5th internationalFestival will be 'ISLANDS'.

Its aim is to present an overview ofanthropological films dealing with both thecondition of people living on islands -in a strictgeographical sense -and of those peoples ofsocial groups who are 'isolated'. Films whichmay be included in the Festival program are:• F i l m s w h i c h f o c u s o n t h e s o c i a lorganization, economy and outlook of islandinhabitants, related to anthropological andethnographical studies and research

• F i lms analysing, i n a w ider territorialcontext, the manner of subsistence of peoplesof social groups who, due to language, socio-family organization or norms and values, forma world apart and as such can be considered'cultural istands'. A long with the screeningsthere will also be discussions and debates withthe participation o f cinema and televisionexperts f rom I ta ly as wel l as f rom othercountries.I. Participation i n the Festival is open todocumentaries dea l i ng w i t h t h e theme'ISLANDS', i n bo th the aforementionedacceptations, produced on 16 or 35 mm films(optical o r magnetic sound track or doubletrack for the 16 mm; optical sound track for the35 mm) or tapes (video: 3 / 4 UMATiC, Pal,Secam, NTSC).2. In order to be included i n the Festivalprogram, the documentaries will be selected bya Committee composed o f Asen Bal ikci ,Chairman o f the Commission o n V isua lAnthropology, Montreal; the anthropologistAntonio Marazzi, Padua University; ColettePiault, Directeur de Recherche at C.N.R.S.,Paris, Paolo Piquereddu, C o o r d i n a t o r eGenerale of 1.S.R.E., Nuoro.3. In order to take part in the selection, copiesof the documentaries must be sent on tape(video: U-Matic or VHS, Pal, Secam, NTSC)to the following address: Is t i tu to SuperioreRegionale Etnografico. ' I S O L E ' RassegnaIntemazionale di Documentari Etnografici, ViaMereu, 56 - 08100 Nuoro - I taly. T h r e ephotos c o n c e r n i n g t h e f i l m , abiography/filmography of the fitrnmaker and, ifpossible, information materials on the f i lmmust also be enclosed4. Documentaries i n languages other thanItalian, English or French must bear subtitlesor their script be translated into one o f theabove-mentioned languages.5. Throughout the Festival, the filmmakers ofthe films selected will get board and lodgingcourtesy of the Festival Organizers6. A t the close of the Festival, a special Jurywill award a prize of 10,000,000 litas (about7,400 US$) to the best documentary film andof 6,000,000 liras (about 4,400 USS) to thebest tape. I.S.R E reserves the right to awardfurther prizes or distinctions on the suggestionof the Jury.

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IUAES INTERCONGRESS:

Lisbon, PortugalSeptember 5th - 12th, 1990

The 1990 IUAES intercongress w i l ltake place at the Faculdade de Ciencias Socialse Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa,Avenida de Berna 24, 1000 Lisbon, Portugal.The dates are: September 5th-121h, 1990. The150 US$ registration fee is inclusive of I dailymeal plus courtesy dinner but exclusive of hotelcost The general theme of the intercongresshas been established as: The Social Roles ofAnthropology.

The C o m m i s s i o n o n V i s u a lAnthropology has decided to focus on onespecific issue within this broad general theme.

This centra l issue f o r L isbon i s :Anthr000lozv on the Air.

Relations between public broadcastsystems and visual anthropology have notalways been as cordial as they should be. Anumber o f e x c e l l e n t an th ropo log i ca ldocumentaries have never been shown ontelevision (or only in an abridged and oftenmutilated form), and on the other hand a greatnumber o f films within the broad f ield o fanthropology have been produced without anyassistance of professional anthropologists, letalone visual anthropologists.

On the other hand, the number of TVoutlets has increased dramatically over the pastfew years - in many countries we suddenly findcable networks outside the strict public T Vsystem, college networks, brat and educationalTV, commercial television and Pay-TV. Someof these might provide new outlets for visualanthropological work

It is suggested, that in Anthropology enthe A i r we discuss this issue front a practicalpoint of view - to get insight into the scope ofcooperation with the broadcasting system, bothin its more traditional and newer forms. T h eCommission would highly value reports andpapers on- experiences with cooperation (bothsuccessful and abortive), new broadcastingoutlets per country or region, work currently inprogress, financial arrangements, division ofresponsibilities and control, the use o f new

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technology a n d prospects f o r f u t u r edevelopments. T h i s is not a !imitative l is thowever; any th ing that can be considereduseful for the general theme will be consideredfor inclusion in the session.

Also, the Commission wou ld value(excerpts of) films and videos related to thesematters, preferably i n the presence o f thefilmmaker or cooperating antia apologist

The Commission w i l l publ ish t h eproceedings of the session in a way yet to bedecided, and reserves the first tight to publishthe contributions.

As there is no local organizer for thissession yet, please send a 100 word abstractbefore June 1990 to:

Dr. Robert BoonzajerAmsterdam UniversityOudeziJds Achterburgwal 1851012 DK Amsterdam - HOLLANDPhone: 31 20 5252626Fax: 3 1 20 5252086

Sending a n abs t rac t d o e s n o tautomatically register one for the conference -registration forms will be published in all majorjournals and newsletters, and Amsterdam willforward any new information immediately toanyone who has sent in an abstract. F o rquestions relating to the practical aspects of theIntercongress, please contact Prof. Dr. A.C.Mesquitela Lima at the Universidade Nova inLisbon.

RAI INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OFETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

Manchester, EnglandSeptember 24-28, 1990

The Royal Anthropological Instituteannounces its Second International Festival ofEthnographic Film in Manchester, England,from 24-28 September 1990. T h i s secondFestival w i l l be organized locally b y theGranada Centre for Visual Anthropology,University of Manchester.

'Memory', however, t h e f i lms o f al lparticipants will be screened, regardless of thesubject.

Films can be projected in optical ordouble track 16mm or 3/4 Umatic or VHS Palor Secam video formats. T h e v ideoprogramming, however, will be limited tofilms shot in video, and not video transfersfrom 16mm films. This is in the filmmakers'own interest

Video-cassettes recorders wi l l b eavailable to anyone wishing to view videocassettes in their free time. Please bringcassettes of your other films.

Because simultaneous 'live' translationof foreign-language sound tracks interfereswith viewer appreciation, the last GeneralAssembly, (Budapest, 1987), voted to nolonger accept such films, (except for works inprogress). Films and videos must therefore bespoken, dubbed or subtitled in English, thelanguage in which the Seminar wi l l beconducted.

This year, we have the pleasure ofwelcoming David and Judith MacDougall.

Since 1985, the scope of the Seminar,despite its official title, is no longer limited toEurope, but has been extended to include aninternational network

Please complete and return thenecessary forms and replies by the deadline or- if possible - before the date due.

It is important that you reply as soonas possible as the number of participants islimited, and so that other filmmakers can becontacted.

JUNE 1st Deadline for registration(Send confirmation & registration fees - 25$per person)

Wi th your collaboration, Budapest '90will be as great a success as '87... perhapsbetter!

For further information.Dr. Colette PiaultResearch Direct/a, CNRS, FranceChairman, 'Looking at EuropeanSocieties'5, rue des Saints-Pères • 75006 ParisTelephone: (1) 42-60-25-76Fax: ( I ) 42 61 67 92

INTERNATIONAL VISUAL SOCIOLOGYASSOCIATION

ANNUAL MEETING 1990

THEME VISUAL SOCIOLOGY IN THE 19973Whittier College, Los Angeles County

California, June 21-23, 1990

1VSA meet ings m a i n t a i n a ninterdisciplinary approach and encouragedialogue. D o r m -style accommodations,complete with meals, will be available for $30per day.

meeting wil l feature a visualsociology exhibition at the Mendenhal Galleryon the Whittier College campus. The showwill be curated by Scott Ward of the DowneyMuseum o f Art . T o have you r workconsidered for inclusion, send 35mm slidesand a statement to the following address:

Send inquiries and/o _proposals byApp 15 199010-Steve Gold, iVSA PresidentDepartment of Sociology,Whittier CollegeWhittier, CA 90608, USA(213) 693-0771

36th ANNUAL ROBERT FLAHERTYSEMINAR

Wells College - AuroraNew York, June 9-16, 1990

'All art is exploring. To discover and reveal isthe way every artist sets about his business.'

The 36th Annual Seminar will look atparticular ways i n w h i c h p e r s o n a ldocumentaries can challenge conventionalapproaches and expand the boundaries of thegenre. Nonfiction films and videotapes thatemploy techniques most often associated withthe dramatic feature film will be examined, andwe will explore the ways in which innovativedocumentary techniques h a v e b e e nincorporated into mainstream f i lm andtelevision.

7. The tapes sent for selection will be placed inthe Archives of I.S.R.E. free of charge, forinternal non-commercial use only.8. I.S.R.E. will acquire a copy of the winningfilm.9. Directors will be informed of the inclusionof their documentaries in the Festival programby July 31st, 1990.Selected documentaries must arrive in theiroriginal format and standard by September20th, 1990, at the following addresses:

For films coming from abroad,a) Agenda Espressi Internazionali Aerei(A.E.i.A.) s.r.!., 00055 Aeroporto d iFiumicino (Roma), to notify: i.S.R.E., viaMereu, 56 - 08100 Nuoro,

For tapes and films coming from I , y'b) istituto Superiore Regionale Etnografico,Via Mereu 56 - 08100 Nuoro,10. All expenses incurred for the forwarding offilms for selection shall be borne by senders;the expenses incurred for the sending back ofthe films must be born by I.S.R.E.I I . The expenses incurred for the forwardingand sending back of selected films shall beborne by I.S.R.E.

For further information, please write ortelephone'Institute Superiore RegionaleEtnograficoVia Mereu 56 - 08100 Nuoro (Italy)Telephone: (0784) 35561 - 31474 -37484 - Fax 0784 - 37484

INDIAN SUMMER WORLD FESTIVAL OFABORIGINAL MOTION PICTURES

Pincher Creek, AlbertaSeptember 19-23, 1990

The Indian Summer World Festival ofAboriginal Motion Pictures is now seekingentries for this year's Festival to be held fromSeptember 19-23, 1990 in Pincher Creek,Alberta, Canada.

This is a non-juried festival for filmsand videos made by and about Aboriginalpeoples of the world. Each year we choose atheme on which to base our Festival. T h e

theme for this year is 'Protecting MotherEarth', a subject that is close to all Aboriginalpeople. The theme however does not meanthat al l filins entered must contain t h eEnvironment as the subject matter. Althoughthis theme wil l be considered - we w i l lconsider all types of Aboriginal films madefrom September 1988 to September 1990.

This year we arc limiting our entries to50 films and/or videos so that we can havebetter screenings for more producers to a largeraudience. W e reserve the right to selectproductions in order to represent as manycountries as possible within our limitations.

Entries should be In English or withEnglish subtitles. I f it is not possible, pleasecontact us to make appropriate arrangements.Video tapes MUST be 3/4' NTSC U-maticformat for screening - no other formats will beaccepted. (VHS tapes will be screened only asan on-demand request and w i l l not bescheduled for public viewing.) To ensure thebest quality screening of your video tape,please submit only first or second generationdubs.

In order to help delegates make contactwith buyers a n d fac i l i ta te businesstransactions, we are making available four on-demand screening suites for registered festivalparticipants. These suites will be available on abooking system throughout the festival. A l lcatalogued entries will be available for suchscreenings at times other than scheduledscreenings. The facilities will also be open todelegates who have brought additional non-catalogued material I n order for this system,as well as scheduled screenings to work thisyear, entrants MUST meet the entry deadlinefor promotional material of July 16, 1990.Any entries received after this date will not bescheduled or included in the Film and Videodirectory

Promotional materials inc ludingproduction credits, black and white publicitystills, posters, and a typewritten narrative ofeach entry, not exceeding 100 words, shouldbe included and forwarded with your entryforms

The entry form deadline for the 4thIndian Summer World Festival of AboriginalMotion Pictures is July 16, 1990. T h edeadline for receipt of chosen entries is August17, 1990. Each entry must include: 1 ) acompleted entry form, 2) a signed regulations

Particular emphasis will be placed oncontemporary cinéma vérité in the context of itsthirty-year history; the use and manipulation offound footage and archival film in nonfictionwork; and a special survey of humor as a toolin reshaping the documentary or in making thegenre more accessible to a wider audience.The programmers emphasize that selectionswill reflect a diversity of cultural perspectivesand subject matter.

The Robert Flaherty Seminars are aboutthe creative process, about what it is to behuman. T h e y take as their inspirationFlaherty's insistence on seeing what is in frontof the lens, his profound understanding offilm, and the goal of seeing and depicting thehuman condition. They seek to broaden anddeepen the potential of film and video foreveryone.

For a week, a hundred filmmakers,video artists, scholars, and students committedto independent film and video production willshare an intense experience dedicated solely toenriching their own work. The participantswill study specific films and tapes thatilluminate the human spirit. With many of theartists who made the works - and with oneanother - they will discuss values and goals,how the works came into being, and what canbe learned from them

The Flaherty Seminar is not a marketplace, a competition, or a festival There is acommon text for all participants. everyone secsevery piece For most it is a significant retreatproviding a sense of renewal and regenerationIt is an occasion on which voices from manycultures are heard both in the works shown andin the roster of participants The program willinclude experimental, narrative, a n ddocumentary films and tapes

LocationWells College is situated on the shore

of Finger Lake Cayuga, in the small town ofAurora, New York. The lake, tennis courtsswimming pool, and other recreational facilitiesare available to provide relaxation and exerciseThe Seminar site is accessible by train or air toSyracuse Transportation information will besent with notification of acceptance

RegistrationIntended primarily for video and

filmmakers, the Robert Flaherty Seminar is

open to all who have a professional interest inthe field. T h e full registration fee for theSeminar if $650. This includes the program,housing and meals, and use o f campusrecreational facilities. A deposit of $300 isrequired with all applications. The balance isdue on arrival a t the Seminar. O n l yapplications for full-tinte registration areaccepted. They are to be submitted on orbefore May 9. Refunds will be made onapplications cancelled before that date, minus a$25 processing fee. The Seminar opens with areception at 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 9, andcloses after lunch on Saturday, June 16.

Grants-in-aidSome financial assistance is available to

qualified candidates. Appl icat ions a r econsidered without regard for race, color, sex,or national origin. Those interested shouldrequest an application blank as soon aspossible from International Film SeminarsInc„ 305 West 21st Street, New York, NY10011. T h e deadline f o r submittingapplications is April 16, 1990. Grants arcgenerally limited to $500.

English is the official language of theSeminar. Discussions are conducted in thatlanguage.

MiteThis year there will be two Robert

Flaherty Seminars, one in upstate New York,June 9-16, and one near Riga, Latvia, theSoviet Union, September 13-27.

Please fi l l out the form below andreturn with check of money order for $300deposit in U.S. funds, payable to internationalFilm Seminars, inc. Mail to International FilmSeminars, Inc., 305 West 21st Street, NewYork, NY 10011.

Registration for the 1990 Robert FlahertyS.,rtirtar (abbreviated format)Name T e l e p h o n e (home)Address B u s i n e s s addressTelephone (work) _ Title or affiliation orcredits (as you wish to appear o n theparticipant's list) _ A m o u n t enclosed

$650 full payment $ 3 0 0 depositI would like to add a contribution of $ t oIFS Years of attendance at previous FlahertySeminars I f this is the first time youplan to attend a Flaherty Seminar, please

agreement; and 3) a $40 CDN entry fee foreach entry submitted. Entry fee payable to-'Indian Summer World Festival'.

A separate entry form must b ecompleted for each film or video entered.Entry forms and promotional material shouldbe mailed to:

Indian Summer World Festival ofAboriginal Motion PicturesBox 2800, Pincher Creek, Alberta,Canada TOK IWOTel.: 403/627-4813Fax: 403/627-5039

If you prefer to use a courier service,entries should be shipped prepaid to our streetaddress:

Indian Summer World Festival ofAboriginal Motion Pictures696 Kettles Street, Pincher Creek.Alberta, Canada TOK IWOTel.: 403/627-4813

Films shipped from outside Canadashould have the following information clearlydisplayed on the outside of the shippingcontainer.• A description of the contents of thecontainer listing the title and the number ofreels or cassettes for each entry.• T h e value of the contents.• A declaration that the contents arc notfor sale (for temporary import only) and are tobe returned after the completion of the Festival.

Films and videos shipped from pointsOUTSIDE CANADA should be addressed to:

Emery Customs BrokersAttention: Indian Summer WorldFestivalCalgary International AirportTel: 403/293-4526 Fax. 403/221-1988

Entries will be insured from the time ofdelivery to the Festival to the time they arereturned. The greatest possible care will betaken to prevent loss or damage f r o moccurring, but in the event of mishaps, theobligation of Festival organizers is limited toreplacement of the physical medium.

Entries must be shipped prepaid to theFestival and will be returned by rust-class mail

unless other arrangements are made in advanceand at the entrant's expense.

All entry forms, accompanied b ypromotional material and appropriate fees inCanadian funds must be received no later thanJuly 16. 1990. The deadline for the arrival ofall filins and videos entered is August 17,1990

INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OFDOCUMENTARY FILMS

Vilnius, Lithuania

The Lithuanian Ministry of Cultureannounces the International Symposium ofDocumentary Films in Kaunas (Lithuania), onMay 22 to 29. 1990

For mom information contact.J. KoskusDeputy Minister of Culture of LithuaniaInternational Symposium ofDocumentary Films232 683 Lithuania, Vilnius, SLJ.Basanaviciaus 5Telegraph: Vilnius 261 616 PEGASTelex: 261168 MUZA

REGARDS SUR LES SOCIÉTÉSEUROPBENNES

Budapest, July 8-15, 1990

The 5th International AnthropologicalCinema Encounters 'Looking at EuropeanSocieties' will take place in Budapest, on July8-15, 1990

Registration involves the obligation tobe present during the entire week

Between 30 to 35 people have beeninvited to participate. A l l are active, creativefilmmakers, anthropologists or documentarianwho will be showing their latest work whetherfinished or in progress.

As in the past, the program will beequally divided between projections anddiscussions. This year, the central theme is

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WORLD NEWS A N D REPORTS

VIDIANTNROP

Fondé en 1975, Vidéanthrop produit,sur demande, des documents audio-visuelstouchant principalement l e domaine d el'anthropologie (archéologie, ethnologie) etservant d'outils pédagogiques ou d'informationà différents niveaux- I l finance également sapropre production de documents audio-visuels(diaporamas, vidéos) sur la préhistoire e tl'histoire des Amérindiens et des Inuit. I lréalise aussi, à l'occasion, des montages audio-visuels en langue autochtone.

Vidéanthrop dispose en outre d'une trèsimportante banque spécialisée de photographies(diapositives) de plusieurs photographes nuanthropologues (Marc Laberge, C lo t i l dePelletier, Colin Scott, Adrian Tanner, RémiSavart) couvrant les sujets suivants:• l e Nord- l e s Amérindiens et les Inuit- l 'histoire de la terre (glaciation, volcanisme,

géologie, etc.)l'archéologie (sites, artefacts).

A cette banque de photographiess'ajoute une collection d'illustrations originales(tableaux, dessins) élaborées à par t i r dedonnées anthropologiques et reconstituant parexemple:- l a vie quotidienne des Amérindiens et des

Inuit à différentes époques- l a traite des fourrures- l e s techniques préhistoriques de chasse et de

pêche• l e s formes d'habitation traditionnelles, etc.

Cette entreprise de reconstruction,appuyée sur des informations précises, est l'undes principaux objectifs du travail poursuivi parVidéanthrop et constitue une documentationunique et originale pouvant répondre à desbesoins variés, que ce soit en éducation ou enédition, ou pour des expositions dans desmusées ou des centres d'interprétation, o uencore pour des productions audio-visuelles.Une n o u v e l l e i c o n o g r a p h i e d e sAmérindiens

Généralement t irée des documentsd'époque (principalement les oeuvres deChamplain et de Latium) et abondammentimplantée dans nos manuels d'histoire et dansdes pub l ica t ions s u r l a p r é h i s t o i r e ,

l'iconographie actuelle des Amérindiens recèledes inexactitudes, v o i r e des erreurs, e tcontribue a ins i à propager u n e i m a g einadéquate de ces cultures. O r les chercheursdoutent que ces images représentent avecjustesse la réalité ethnographique. Présentéscomme toile de fond des activités européennesen Amérique, les Amérindiens y constituentplutôt le révélateur de notre identité (Gagnon1984; Vincent e t A rcand 1979) qu 'unereprésentation objective de leur véri tablespeci licité.

Notre travail de recherche ne vise pas àanalyser les biais et les travers de l'imagerieexistante. l l se situe plutôt du côté de lacreation d'une nouvelle iconographie desAmérindiens par des reconstitutions exécutées àpartir des données ethnohistoriques antérieuresà 1760 e t des résultats des recherchesarchéologiques et ethnologiques. Notre activitécomprend deux principales opérations: l edépouillement systématique des sources et laproduction d e nouveau matér ie l v isue l .Jusqu'à présent, aucune démarche constanten'a permis d'accomplir cette tâche.

Il existe, e n effet , u n e l i t tératured'époque relativement abondante que nousdépouillons systématiquement afin d'en extrairedes informations détaillées sur une foule desujets tels les vêtements, les coiffures, lesformes d'habitation, l a culture matérielle,l'alimentation, ainsi que divers rituels - dont lesrites funéraires, certaines moeurs et coutumes,etc. Des recherches archéologiques récentesont aussi mis au jour quantité de matériel etd'informations q u i permettent de corrigerl'iconographie des Amérindiens. Nous nousconsacrons en particulier aux Amérindiens duNord-Est qui forment, à divers égards, unensemble soc io-cu l tu re l r e l a t i v e m e n thomogène Cette homogénéité tient, malgré lesdifférences linguistiques et culturelles, à l'unitéethnohistoriquc qui lie les groupes amérindiensde la région des Grands-Lacs, du fleuve et dugolfe Sa in t Laurent jusqu'à la période decontact. En effet, ces groupes, Algonguiens duSubarctiquc, A lgonqu iens mar i t imes e tIroquoiens, faisaient partie d'un réseau decommunication e t d 'échange o ù l e sinterrelations d e toute sorte étaient alorsfréquentes (Dclàge 1985) D ' u n point de vue

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include some information about your work,study, or spai a l interest in film and video, Iam/am not a vegetarian _ I do/do notsmoke I wish to share a room withI wish single accommodations _ (iunderstand there will be an additional $52.50per person, SRO charge, payable to WellsCollege at registration.)

Additional information maybe obtainedby Wig:Sally Berger, Executive Director IFS,at (212) 727.7262305 West 21st Street. New York, NY10011, USA

JOINT U.S.-SOVIETFLAHERTY SEMINAR

Riga, Latvia, USSRSeptember 13-27, 1990

The Robert Flaherty Seminars are aunique event in the film world. For thirty-fiveyears f i lm and video makers, scholars andcritics have come together annually fo r anintense week o f sharing, explor ing, a n ddiscussing their own work, the work of otherinvited guests, a n d works o f historicalsignificance. in ternat ional Film Seminars,Inc., is proud to announce an unprecedentedstep in reaching out to the film and video worldbeyond North American borders - t he RigaSeminar, a j o i n t U.S. - Soviet FlahertySeminar for documentary professionals of bothcountries. i t will be held September 13-27.1990, in Riga, Latvia, U.S.S.R.

The Soviet/Flaherty Seminar is madepossible b y t h e n e w e r a o f openessCoproduced by International Film Seminars,the Latvian Cinematographers Union, and theUnion o f Cinematographers o f the SovietUnion. i t will bring together forty-five U.S.film makers, scholars, and critics and forty-five Soviet counterparts fu r f ive days o fscreenings and discussions on the Baltic coastnear Riga. Latvia T h i s will be followed byseveral days of travel and screenings in nearbySoviet cities. The conference center is a hotelequipped w i t h excellent screening a n dsimultaneous translation facilities and lodging

Each delegation will contribute equally to thefi lm a n d v i d e o p rog ramming . T h eprogrammers for this Seminar have chosen thetheme 'The Legacy of Flaherty and Vertov'.Programming the U.S. part of the Seminar willbe Erik Barnouw, f i lm maker and author ofpoctimentarv: A History of the non-FlctiggFihIl; Amos Vogel, Fdm Society pioneer andauthor o f Fi lm as a Subversive A r t an'independent film maker Raul Zaritsky. who isalso chairing the U.S. delegation.

The Soviet Seminar w i l l provide aunique f o r u m f o r exp lo r i ng questionsconcerning n o n n a r a t i v e w o r k s : t h edocumentary and T V journalism; issues o fmedia arrecc and ethics; regional and ethnicrepresentation; and creativity and innovation inthe documentary form. Both the United Statesand the Soviet Union have a rich documentaryhistory, making the potential for exchangeespecially exciting.

Application orocedureaSpecial guests are being invited to

show and discuss their work. Others wishingto be included in the delegation should send ashort letter and vita to the Soviet/FlahertySeminar, Attention: Sal ly Berger, ExecutiveDirector, International Film Seminars, !nc.,305 West 21 Street, New York, N Y 10011,telephone (212) 727-7262.

Application mater ia ls shou ld b ereceived by Apr i l 30. Applications receivedthereafter will be considered only if space isavailable. App l icants wi l l be informed o facceptance at the earliest possible date.

The cost o f participation includes aSeminar registration fee of $975 and $1097 forthe round-trip air fare between New York andthe Soviet Union Participants will leave fromNew York on September 13 and arrive hack inNew Yo r k on September 27 T h i s is aninclusive package covering the program,lodging. food, and internai U S S R travel Adeposit of $400 is required within one monthof notification o f acceptance, payable t oInternational Film Seminars, Inc., 305 West 21Street, N e w Yo r k , N Y 1 0 0 11 T h eregistration balance of $575 is required by July31 Registration fees are non-refundable,

méthodologique, cet ensemble correspondaussi a une unité des sources documentaires.

Les sources primaires qui servent à larconst i tut ion d e l ' i c o n o g r a p h i e d e sAmérindiens du Nord-Est proviennent de troisorigines: i l s'agit de documents anciens publiés(sources primaires publiées), de documentsd'archives (sources primaires non publiées) etdes résultats des fouilles archéologiques(sources pr imai res archéologiques); l emaximum d e données iconographiquescontenues dans ce corpus sont extraites etanalysées à l a lumière des recherchesethnohistor iques, e t h n o l o g i q u e s e ticonographiques.Quelques exemples de nos réalisationsDiaPorarnas- L e Québec d'avant Jacques Cartier- L e s Algonquiens: société de chasseurs-

cueilleurs- Préhistoire des habitants du Québec arctique- Histoire événementielle des droits

territoriaux des Amérindiens du nord-est del'Amérique

- L 'ours étant mort.., ou le sens des rituelsalgonquiens envers les animaux

uBaaq_e_kplem- Nouveau-Québec- Ba ie James- Alaska- Te r re de Baffin- IslandeCollection d e p l u s d e 1 5 0 dessins e tillustrations

Iroquoicns: culture du mais, intérieurs delongues maisons, technique de fabricationde la céramique, village de longues maisonsInuit: chasse à la baleine, au phoque, pêcheaux barrages de rivière, modes de transportAlgonquiens: camps saisonniers de chasseet de pèche, migrations, nomadisme

• Premiers contacts entre Amérindiens etEuropéens des XVIe et XVIIe siècles, traitedes fourrures, postes de traite, destruction de laHuronie, coureurs des bois• Amérindiens contemporains: chasse àl'ours, au caribou, festin ritualisé, chant autambour, danse• Nous concevons également des dessins àpartir de concepts ou d'idées, par exemple:- l a Baie James, 10 ans après• l es conférences constitutionnelles- l a rivière Restigouche...

Canes- glaciations, Béringie- mouvements migratoires des populations

préhistoriquesrépartition des populations préhistoriquesmutes du commerce des fourrures

P o u r e n s a v o i r p i l l s l o n g , v o u s p o u v e z

contacterMarc LabergeVidéanthrop (514) 279-95456742, nie Saint-Denis,Montréal (Québec) H2S 2S2

FUNDING ANTHROPOLOGICAL FILMAND VIDEO PRODUCTIONS

Postscriptby Sabine JELL-BAHISEN

I wrote on the problems of obtainingfunds some time ago, (published in C V ANewsletter October 1988). I have, since then,been able to obtain funding for my film andwould like to present here, some additionalobservations, b a s e d o n m y persona lexperiences.

In retrospect, o n e o f t h e m a j o rproblems I faced finding funding was related tomy nationality. Th i s resulted in two seriousobstacles:1)1 intended to work in Africa with an Africanfdm crew. H o w e v e r , as this would n o tprovide jobs in the USA it was not considereda desirable criteria, especially from the point ofview of U.S. government funding agencies.2) Though a resident - and taxpayer - I am notan American citizen. A s a foreigner i t wasvirtually impossible for me to raise money inthe USA in order to make a film in anothercountry.

In spite of these problems, I received asmall grant for research and pre-productionfrom the Center from New TV in Chicago, fo rthe film I intended to product in Nigeria. Iused this seed money t o travel to Nigeria,negotiate a collaboration on the fi lm projectwith the Nigerian T V Authorit ies and t oapproach foreign companies operating i nNigeria. I also approached the N iger ianNational Commission f o r Unesco and theNigerian Department of Culture.

While I did not receive any supportfrom foreign companies operating in Nigeria.

Travel arrangementsTravel arrangements are being made by

Stewart International i n Boston. Chr is t ineStewart should b e contacted as soon aspossible after acceptance. The air fare quotedis an advance purchase excursion and thelowest available at this time. However, faresare subject to change and increase. Stewartwill produce U.S.S.R. visas for a fee of $45.Air fares are to be paid directly to StewartInternational, 87 Boylston Street, Brookline,MA 02146, telephone (800) 441-8666, f ax(617) 738-8215.

Grants-in-aidLimited financial assistance is available

to qual i f ied candidates. A p p l i c a n t s areconsidered without regard for race, color, sex,and national or ethnic origin. Those interestedshould state and explain in their letter o fapplication the minimum amount needed tomake their participation possible.

Registration for the 1990 U.S.-Soviet/FlahertySeminar (abbreviated format)Name T e l e p h o n e (home)(business) A d d r e s s B u s i n e s saddress T i l l e , affiliation, or credits (asyou wish to appear on the participants' list).Please include some information about yourwork, study, o r special interest in f i l in o rvideo. Amount enclosed $ 9 7 5 fu l lpayment _ $400 deposit. I wish to sharea room with S p e c i a l medical or dietaryneeds

For more informationSally Berger, Executive Director IFS,at (212) 727-7262International Film Seminars.305 West 21 Street, New York,NY 10011, USA

WORLD NEWS A N D REPORTS

VIDIANTNROP

Fondé en 1975, Vidéanthrop produit,sur demande, des documents audio-visuelstouchant principalement l e domaine d el'anthropologie (archéologie, ethnologie) etservant d'outils pédagogiques ou d'informationà différents niveaux- I l finance également sapropre production de documents audio-visuels(diaporamas, vidéos) sur la préhistoire e tl'histoire des Amérindiens et des Inuit. I lréalise aussi, à l'occasion, des montages audio-visuels en langue autochtone.

Vidéanthrop dispose en outre d'une trèsimportante banque spécialisée de photographies(diapositives) de plusieurs photographes nuanthropologues (Marc Laberge, C lo t i l dePelletier, Colin Scott, Adrian Tanner, RémiSavart) couvrant les sujets suivants:• l e Nord- l e s Amérindiens et les Inuit- l 'histoire de la terre (glaciation, volcanisme,

géologie, etc.)l'archéologie (sites, artefacts).

A cette banque de photographiess'ajoute une collection d'illustrations originales(tableaux, dessins) élaborées à par t i r dedonnées anthropologiques et reconstituant parexemple:- l a vie quotidienne des Amérindiens et des

Inuit à différentes époques- l a traite des fourrures- l e s techniques préhistoriques de chasse et de

pêche• l e s formes d'habitation traditionnelles, etc.

Cette entreprise de reconstruction,appuyée sur des informations précises, est l'undes principaux objectifs du travail poursuivi parVidéanthrop et constitue une documentationunique et originale pouvant répondre à desbesoins variés, que ce soit en éducation ou enédition, ou pour des expositions dans desmusées ou des centres d'interprétation, o uencore pour des productions audio-visuelles.Une n o u v e l l e i c o n o g r a p h i e d e sAmérindiens

Généralement t irée des documentsd'époque (principalement les oeuvres deChamplain et de Latium) et abondammentimplantée dans nos manuels d'histoire et dansdes pub l ica t ions s u r l a p r é h i s t o i r e ,

l'iconographie actuelle des Amérindiens recèledes inexactitudes, v o i r e des erreurs, e tcontribue a ins i à propager u n e i m a g einadéquate de ces cultures. O r les chercheursdoutent que ces images représentent avecjustesse la réalité ethnographique. Présentéscomme toile de fond des activités européennesen Amérique, les Amérindiens y constituentplutôt le révélateur de notre identité (Gagnon1984; Vincent e t A rcand 1979) qu 'unereprésentation objective de leur véri tablespeci licité.

Notre travail de recherche ne vise pas àanalyser les biais et les travers de l'imagerieexistante. l l se situe plutôt du côté de lacreation d'une nouvelle iconographie desAmérindiens par des reconstitutions exécutées àpartir des données ethnohistoriques antérieuresà 1760 e t des résultats des recherchesarchéologiques et ethnologiques. Notre activitécomprend deux principales opérations: l edépouillement systématique des sources et laproduction d e nouveau matér ie l v isue l .Jusqu'à présent, aucune démarche constanten'a permis d'accomplir cette tâche.

Il existe, e n effet , u n e l i t tératured'époque relativement abondante que nousdépouillons systématiquement afin d'en extrairedes informations détaillées sur une foule desujets tels les vêtements, les coiffures, lesformes d'habitation, l a culture matérielle,l'alimentation, ainsi que divers rituels - dont lesrites funéraires, certaines moeurs et coutumes,etc. Des recherches archéologiques récentesont aussi mis au jour quantité de matériel etd'informations q u i permettent de corrigerl'iconographie des Amérindiens. Nous nousconsacrons en particulier aux Amérindiens duNord-Est qui forment, à divers égards, unensemble soc io-cu l tu re l r e l a t i v e m e n thomogène Cette homogénéité tient, malgré lesdifférences linguistiques et culturelles, à l'unitéethnohistoriquc qui lie les groupes amérindiensde la région des Grands-Lacs, du fleuve et dugolfe Sa in t Laurent jusqu'à la période decontact. En effet, ces groupes, Algonguiens duSubarctiquc, A lgonqu iens mar i t imes e tIroquoiens, faisaient partie d'un réseau decommunication e t d 'échange o ù l e sinterrelations d e toute sorte étaient alorsfréquentes (Dclàge 1985) D ' u n point de vue

-71 -

include some information about your work,study, or spai a l interest in film and video, Iam/am not a vegetarian _ I do/do notsmoke I wish to share a room withI wish single accommodations _ (iunderstand there will be an additional $52.50per person, SRO charge, payable to WellsCollege at registration.)

Additional information maybe obtainedby Wig:Sally Berger, Executive Director IFS,at (212) 727.7262305 West 21st Street. New York, NY10011, USA

JOINT U.S.-SOVIETFLAHERTY SEMINAR

Riga, Latvia, USSRSeptember 13-27, 1990

The Robert Flaherty Seminars are aunique event in the film world. For thirty-fiveyears f i lm and video makers, scholars andcritics have come together annually fo r anintense week o f sharing, explor ing, a n ddiscussing their own work, the work of otherinvited guests, a n d works o f historicalsignificance. in ternat ional Film Seminars,Inc., is proud to announce an unprecedentedstep in reaching out to the film and video worldbeyond North American borders - t he RigaSeminar, a j o i n t U.S. - Soviet FlahertySeminar for documentary professionals of bothcountries. i t will be held September 13-27.1990, in Riga, Latvia, U.S.S.R.

The Soviet/Flaherty Seminar is madepossible b y t h e n e w e r a o f openessCoproduced by International Film Seminars,the Latvian Cinematographers Union, and theUnion o f Cinematographers o f the SovietUnion. i t will bring together forty-five U.S.film makers, scholars, and critics and forty-five Soviet counterparts fu r f ive days o fscreenings and discussions on the Baltic coastnear Riga. Latvia T h i s will be followed byseveral days of travel and screenings in nearbySoviet cities. The conference center is a hotelequipped w i t h excellent screening a n dsimultaneous translation facilities and lodging

Each delegation will contribute equally to thefi lm a n d v i d e o p rog ramming . T h eprogrammers for this Seminar have chosen thetheme 'The Legacy of Flaherty and Vertov'.Programming the U.S. part of the Seminar willbe Erik Barnouw, f i lm maker and author ofpoctimentarv: A History of the non-FlctiggFihIl; Amos Vogel, Fdm Society pioneer andauthor o f Fi lm as a Subversive A r t an'independent film maker Raul Zaritsky. who isalso chairing the U.S. delegation.

The Soviet Seminar w i l l provide aunique f o r u m f o r exp lo r i ng questionsconcerning n o n n a r a t i v e w o r k s : t h edocumentary and T V journalism; issues o fmedia arrecc and ethics; regional and ethnicrepresentation; and creativity and innovation inthe documentary form. Both the United Statesand the Soviet Union have a rich documentaryhistory, making the potential for exchangeespecially exciting.

Application orocedureaSpecial guests are being invited to

show and discuss their work. Others wishingto be included in the delegation should send ashort letter and vita to the Soviet/FlahertySeminar, Attention: Sal ly Berger, ExecutiveDirector, International Film Seminars, !nc.,305 West 21 Street, New York, N Y 10011,telephone (212) 727-7262.

Application mater ia ls shou ld b ereceived by Apr i l 30. Applications receivedthereafter will be considered only if space isavailable. App l icants wi l l be informed o facceptance at the earliest possible date.

The cost o f participation includes aSeminar registration fee of $975 and $1097 forthe round-trip air fare between New York andthe Soviet Union Participants will leave fromNew York on September 13 and arrive hack inNew Yo r k on September 27 T h i s is aninclusive package covering the program,lodging. food, and internai U S S R travel Adeposit of $400 is required within one monthof notification o f acceptance, payable t oInternational Film Seminars, Inc., 305 West 21Street, N e w Yo r k , N Y 1 0 0 11 T h eregistration balance of $575 is required by July31 Registration fees are non-refundable,

méthodologique, cet ensemble correspondaussi a une unité des sources documentaires.

Les sources primaires qui servent à larconst i tut ion d e l ' i c o n o g r a p h i e d e sAmérindiens du Nord-Est proviennent de troisorigines: i l s'agit de documents anciens publiés(sources primaires publiées), de documentsd'archives (sources primaires non publiées) etdes résultats des fouilles archéologiques(sources pr imai res archéologiques); l emaximum d e données iconographiquescontenues dans ce corpus sont extraites etanalysées à l a lumière des recherchesethnohistor iques, e t h n o l o g i q u e s e ticonographiques.Quelques exemples de nos réalisationsDiaPorarnas- L e Québec d'avant Jacques Cartier- L e s Algonquiens: société de chasseurs-

cueilleurs- Préhistoire des habitants du Québec arctique- Histoire événementielle des droits

territoriaux des Amérindiens du nord-est del'Amérique

- L 'ours étant mort.., ou le sens des rituelsalgonquiens envers les animaux

uBaaq_e_kplem- Nouveau-Québec- Ba ie James- Alaska- Te r re de Baffin- IslandeCollection d e p l u s d e 1 5 0 dessins e tillustrations

Iroquoicns: culture du mais, intérieurs delongues maisons, technique de fabricationde la céramique, village de longues maisonsInuit: chasse à la baleine, au phoque, pêcheaux barrages de rivière, modes de transportAlgonquiens: camps saisonniers de chasseet de pèche, migrations, nomadisme

• Premiers contacts entre Amérindiens etEuropéens des XVIe et XVIIe siècles, traitedes fourrures, postes de traite, destruction de laHuronie, coureurs des bois• Amérindiens contemporains: chasse àl'ours, au caribou, festin ritualisé, chant autambour, danse• Nous concevons également des dessins àpartir de concepts ou d'idées, par exemple:- l a Baie James, 10 ans après• l es conférences constitutionnelles- l a rivière Restigouche...

Canes- glaciations, Béringie- mouvements migratoires des populations

préhistoriquesrépartition des populations préhistoriquesmutes du commerce des fourrures

P o u r e n s a v o i r p i l l s l o n g , v o u s p o u v e z

contacterMarc LabergeVidéanthrop (514) 279-95456742, nie Saint-Denis,Montréal (Québec) H2S 2S2

FUNDING ANTHROPOLOGICAL FILMAND VIDEO PRODUCTIONS

Postscriptby Sabine JELL-BAHISEN

I wrote on the problems of obtainingfunds some time ago, (published in C V ANewsletter October 1988). I have, since then,been able to obtain funding for my film andwould like to present here, some additionalobservations, b a s e d o n m y persona lexperiences.

In retrospect, o n e o f t h e m a j o rproblems I faced finding funding was related tomy nationality. Th i s resulted in two seriousobstacles:1)1 intended to work in Africa with an Africanfdm crew. H o w e v e r , as this would n o tprovide jobs in the USA it was not considereda desirable criteria, especially from the point ofview of U.S. government funding agencies.2) Though a resident - and taxpayer - I am notan American citizen. A s a foreigner i t wasvirtually impossible for me to raise money inthe USA in order to make a film in anothercountry.

In spite of these problems, I received asmall grant for research and pre-productionfrom the Center from New TV in Chicago, fo rthe film I intended to product in Nigeria. Iused this seed money t o travel to Nigeria,negotiate a collaboration on the fi lm projectwith the Nigerian T V Authorit ies and t oapproach foreign companies operating i nNigeria. I also approached the N iger ianNational Commission f o r Unesco and theNigerian Department of Culture.

While I did not receive any supportfrom foreign companies operating in Nigeria.

Travel arrangementsTravel arrangements are being made by

Stewart International i n Boston. Chr is t ineStewart should b e contacted as soon aspossible after acceptance. The air fare quotedis an advance purchase excursion and thelowest available at this time. However, faresare subject to change and increase. Stewartwill produce U.S.S.R. visas for a fee of $45.Air fares are to be paid directly to StewartInternational, 87 Boylston Street, Brookline,MA 02146, telephone (800) 441-8666, f ax(617) 738-8215.

Grants-in-aidLimited financial assistance is available

to qual i f ied candidates. A p p l i c a n t s areconsidered without regard for race, color, sex,and national or ethnic origin. Those interestedshould state and explain in their letter o fapplication the minimum amount needed tomake their participation possible.

Registration for the 1990 U.S.-Soviet/FlahertySeminar (abbreviated format)Name T e l e p h o n e (home)(business) A d d r e s s B u s i n e s saddress T i l l e , affiliation, or credits (asyou wish to appear on the participants' list).Please include some information about yourwork, study, o r special interest in f i l in o rvideo. Amount enclosed $ 9 7 5 fu l lpayment _ $400 deposit. I wish to sharea room with S p e c i a l medical or dietaryneeds

For more informationSally Berger, Executive Director IFS,at (212) 727-7262International Film Seminars.305 West 21 Street, New York,NY 10011, USA

THE CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARYSTUDIES

AT DURE. UNIVERSITY

The Center for Documentary Studiesofficially opened on January 23, 1990. I t isdedicated to capturing the reality of people'sdiverse experiences in our complex culture andreflects a commitment to documenting theirdaily struggles, using varied approaches tounderstand the human condition. The Centerwill work hard at supporting such elusive andoften-touted values as scholarship, literary skill,activism and self reflection.

The Center has roots in the traditions ofdocumentary wilting, photography and film thatgo back to the early years of the twentiethcentury. Driven by a commitment to socialjustice, reformers such as Jacob Rib and LewisHine documented in words and photographs thelives of poor people in America.

In the 1930's p h o t o g r a p h e r scommissioned b y the Farm Secur i t yAdministration and writers working for theFederal Writers' Project described conditionsin Depression-era America and recordedreminiscences of ordinary people. James Age,Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and othersbrought a compelling moral vision to this kindof social investigation. I n 1936 the FederalWriters' Project sent interviewers throughoutthe southern states t o gather the stories offormer slaves whose narratives today arcconsidered inva luab le sources f o runderstanding plantation history from theperspective o f African Americans. T h eUniversity o f Southern Carolina Press'sdirector, William Couch, supervised other FWPinterviewers who recorded the life stories ofhundreds of southerners from a wide variety ofoccupations Their work culminated in animportant collection of life histories These areOur Lives. Continuing this intense interest inour regional studies, Professor Howard Odumand others built the UNC Institute for Researchin Social Science, a center dedicated t odocumenting through innovative empiricalstudies the social and cultural life of the SouthWhile the pioneering work of the Instituteuncovered conditions of rural poverty, it alsofocused on positive aspects o f southernexperience as expressed in regional folk cultureExtending this tradition, i n 1965 DukeUniversity created the Center for Southern

Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences,headed by Edgar Thompson.

Writers of fiction have also contributedsignificantly to the documentary tradition.James Agee, Eudora Welty and Reynolds Price,for example, have written novels plays andstories that make a strong social commentary.Photography and story telling stand alongsidethe work of humanistic social scientists andhistorians to comprise the documentary record.The Center for Documentary Studies grows outof this complex background and hopes tonurture a new generation o f writers,photographers and filmmakers who wi l lcontinue to work in this tradition. Educationand research are principal objectives of theCenter.

The Center's steering committee haselected to focus initially on four areas ofresearch: t h e American family, Afr icanAmerican life and race relations, law andpolitics, ecology and the environment TheCenter plans to invite the participation o fassociates from other disciplines and to helpassociates develop collaborative researchprojects. I n disseminating the results of theseefforts, the Center will work with publishers onbook projects and will organize exhibitions andconferences

While many of the Center's initialprojects will evolve out of the work of itsassociates, long term plans include raisingfunds to support documentary fieldwork,across the South and initiating a documentarybook prize and a program to provide grants forfield projects.

Because documentary work has oftenbeen done by people working outside o finstitutions. the Center provides a linkbetween this independant tradition and theacademy. As part of its efforts to incorporatedocumentary studies fully into the life of DukeUniversity. the Center plans to raise funds toconstruct a building on the Duke campus by themid 1990'sTeaching

The Center's associates wil l teachcourses i n t h e documentary tradition incooperation with appropriate academicdepartments at Duke Students will studydocumentary books and fi lms and w i l lparticipate in fieldwork outside the universitysetting. Students will also join in associates'research projects. A preliminary list of courses

was able to obtain support from the Nigerianside. NTA could not give cash, but providedimportant moral and logistic support. T h eNigerian Department of Culture provided somefunding towards researching the project In theend, the Nigerians suggested that I approachmy native country and directed me to theGerman Embassy in Lagos. I approached themand received some support through theircultural program.

From Nigeria, I travelled to Germany.There, I met a documentary film producer, whohelped me obtain the support of a local TVstation. I was finally able to produce a onehour documentary film in Nigeria, for roughly$60,000 - which would be considered a shoestring budget by American funding agencies.

In Germany, my native country, Iencountered other types of problems worthmentioning.I) The first problem was rather personal, butprobably applicable to all foreign students.Since I had received my training i nanthropology and film from the USA, to go insearch of funding from Germany placed me inan awkward situation.2) In the end I collaborated with a commercialdocumentary film producer in order to save myproject. However, later on, the productioncompany encountered some problems and wasdissolved. I was adversely affected by thewhole situation as production on my filmsuffered as a result of the producer's problems.My co-producer and I are still caught up inlegal squabbles over the film. I wouldseriously warn anyone who is considering thisavenue t o reconsider and would n o trecommend working w i t h commercialproducers, if at all possible.3) Producing for television raises a whole newset of issues:

a) television production is directed at'general audiences'.

b) TV production has to operate withincertain time limits. Thus, I had to sacrifice siximportant minutes of my film to the 58 minuteaxe. In these 6 minutes, I intended to establishhow a water spirit is perceived in the modemMetropolis of Lagos, in contrast to the villagesI was forced by the TV editor to remove myopening sequence about Lagos, because, as hesaid, 'The TV audience decides within the f l i tfive minutes what they want to see.'

c) TV stations are compartmentalizedaccording to European/American viewinghabits, viewers' analysis and Westerncategories o f thought. T h u s , there arccategories for children, family, politics,culture, sports, entertainment, economics, etc..These categories do not correspond to life in anAfrican village where, for instance, everythingis based on kinship, politics are defined by theelders who are at the same time religiousleaders, and where children arc part ofeverything. I t is, therefore, difficult to lit anethnographic fi lm on the African livingexperience into existing TV programmingstructures.

To summarize m y experience i nattempting to obtain funds: the issue was not somuch, how to get the money, rather how muchof the anthropological content would becompromised in order to get the film funded.Thus, the main problems appears to be the factthat there exists no specialized funding source -unlike what is available in other fields - gearedtowards the special needs of ethnographic filmand visual anthropology.

NEWS FROM THE HUMAN STUDIESFILM ARCHIVES

Smithsonian institution, Washington, D.C.

The Human Studies Film Archives hascontinued to grow since our last report in theC V A Review. The collections have expandedthrough the acquisition of several significantfilm and video projects. Use of the FilmArchives' resources has also increased asscholars look to moving images as importantresearch documents.

Among materials recently acquired bythe Film Archives are film and video shot byMadeleine Richeport in urban Brazil. D r .Richeport has worked extensively amongmembers o f Brazil's growing umbandareligion, recording interactions between cultleaders and their clients. The collection alsoincludes footage of Carnival and documentsaspects of daily life in urban Brazil. The FilmArchives has also received two historic films ofBermuda and the British West Indies, and,through the American Film Institute's NationalCenter for Film and Video Preservation, nitrateprints o f several silent educational and

to be taught under the Center's auspicesincludes:

American Light: Raymond Carver andEdward Hopper

Land o f the South: A n EcologicalApproach to Southern History

American Communities: AThcumentaryApproach

Women's Words: Ora l History andPerformance Theory

Social Movements of Twentieth CenturyAmerica

The Educational Experience of MigrantChildren

Fact and FictionChildren's Photography WorkshopThe Return o f the Death Penalty in the

United States - 1960-1990,Collaborative Projects

The Center For Documentary Studiesbrings together people who work in differentaspects of the documentary tradition. While theCenter's associates pursue their individualcreative and scholarly work, through the Centerthey a r e a l s o engaged i n deve lop ingcollaborative projects with one another and withoutside researchers.The South A f r i ca In i t ia t ive

in 1985, w i t h suppor t f r o m t h eCarnegie Corporation of New York, the Centerfor Documentary Photography began apartnership with a multiracial group of SouthAfrican photographers and writers. T h eCenter's goal was to assist South A f r i canphotographers and writers in communicatingwith other South Africans and with the rest ofthe world. F r o m this collaboration S o u tAfrica: The Cordoned Heart was published byW.W. Norton in 1986.

Despite a strictly enforced state o femergency in South Africa, two new books bySouth African photographers and writers werepublished in 1989 under the joint imprint of theCenter for Documentary Studies and ApertureInc- Beyond the Barricades, by twenty SouthAfrican photographers, presents in images andwords t h e widespread resistance t o t h eapartheid reg ime. T h e Transpor ted o fKwaNdebele b y David Goldblatt, revealsaspects o f the social, economic and moralfailure of the South African homeland system

In September 1990 the Center w i l llaunch the South A f r i can Documen ta ryPhotography F e l l o w s h i p P r o g r a m i n

collaboration with the Center for DocumentaryPhotography at the University of Cape Town.With support from the Carnegie Corporation ofNew York, two South African photographerswill come to the United States to work underthe Center's auspices

For more information. please writeCenter for Documentary StudiesSnow Building, Suite 511331 West Main StreetDurham, North Carolina 27701, USA

CENTER FOR VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN

CALIFORNIA

SUMMER SCHOOLETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

May 29th - June 29th, 1990

The Center for Visual Anthropology isconducting a n intensive summer schoolprogram in ethnographic film. T h e courseswill provide an opportunity t o uti l ize thecenter's resources to cover a wide range o ftheoretical and practical issues in ethnographicfilmmaking. This small and intensive programeaten to both the experienced student of visualanthropology looking to deepen critical andproduction skills and at the novice aiming tobecome familiar with the concepts and practicesof ethnographic film and filmmaking.Course descript ions

Anth. 510 - Urban Anthropology (4units) (Moore, Singer). T h i s course w i l lexamine a corpus o f f i lms w h i c h haveattempted to represent the city. These include avariety of genres, television documentaries,ethnographic and selected feature f i lms.Supported b y selected readings i n u rbanethnography and urban theory, w e w i l lexamine Los Angeles as a representative worldcity - both the cradle o f the American f i lmindustry and an example o f the emergingcommunity form of' the contemporary globalvillage. W i t h Andre Singer we will examinefuture piaspects for urban documentaries andethnographic films. Students will write criticalanalyses o f films and carry out individualprojects which complement their fieldwork

documentary films dealing with the peoples ofvarious lands including Indonesia, the LeewardIslands, and Borneo T h e study collection hasalso grown with the acquisition from a non-theatrical distributor of titles such as Nanook ofthe forth and The Hunters.

The Film Archives continues to processand safeguard collection materials in order tomake them available for research use. We areworking with the Avery Research Center forAfrican American History and Culture, Collegeof Charleston, S C , to preserve the films o fJoseph Towles shot among native peoples inZaire, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Much ofthis footage was shot in collaboration w i t hanthropologist Colin Turnbull documenting theMbuti Pygmies of the Ituri forest and the Ik ofUganda.

In related collection work, w e arcprocessing and organizing the 146,000 feet of16mm footage that constitutes the (Film Studiesof the Lifestyle o f the Western Carol ineIslands, Micronesia] produced by the formerNational Anthropological Film Center. Whenthis project is completed it will be available forresearch use and informat ion abou t t hecollection wi l l be distributed to appropriatescholarly organizations and publications.

Last January the Filin Archives began aquarterly film seminar series. AnthropologistPaul Stoller, inaugurated the series with ascreening and analysis of Jean Rouch's film,Les Maitres Fous. I n a presentation entitled'Ciné-Fact, Ciné-Fiction. The EthnographicFilms o f Jean Rouch', Stol ler examinedRouch's f i l m i c s t y l e a n d exp lo red t h eethnographic context for Rouch's work.

Upcoming HSFA seminars include apresentation i n M a y b y Sou th A f r i c a ndocumentary f i lmmaker and f i lm scholar,Keyan Tomaselli H e will discuss the imagingof the Bushman in Jamie Uys' release T h eGods Must Be Crazy Ii. I n August, filmmakerStephanos Stephanides will screen and discussHail Mother Kal i ! . T h i s film portrays thecultural pluralism of the Caribbean region byfocusing on the spiritual traditions maintainedby Ka l i worsh ippers w h o s e forbearersimmigrated from India in the mid-1800s towork on the sugar plantations of Guyana

Recent research studies at the HSFAhave used the collections in a variety of waysMuseum professionals have studied the Africancollections in order to produce videos f o r

museum exhibits- Several Native Americans,some o f whom have been interns a t theMuseum of Natural History's American IndianProgram. have screened a n d annotatedfilm/video materials relevant to their own tribalbackgrounds F i l m researchers seek ingfootage for the documentary films have alsoexamined collections materials.

The H S FA sponsored a session a tDecember's A A A meetings on some o f thescholarly research conducted a t the F i lmArchives. Patricia Zimmerman gave a paper onhome movies-as-ethnography based on herresearch with 16mm travel footage. The paper.'Our Trip to Africa Home Movies as the Eyesof the Empire' appears in the March issue ofAfterimAge. Kathleen Kuehnast, an HSFAFellow, d i scussed i s s u e s o f g e n d e rrepresentation in ethnographic film. S h e iscurrently preparing an article on the [PashtoonNomad F i l m Project ] , o n e o f t he F i l mArchive's larger collections F i na l l y, HSFAstaff anthropologist John Homiak comparedMelville Herskoviu and Maya Deren's imagingof Haitian vodun practices.

The staff continues to promote thework of the Film Archives. I n March, WendyShay attended 'A Century of Field Recording,'a conference organized by the Archives ofTraditional Music at Indiana University. Sheshowed footage from the Laura Boulton FilmCollection and discussed the archiving of fieldrecorded moving images. Smithsonian curatorand Film Archives' Advisory Group member,Adrienne Kaeppler presented the used footagefrom the HSFA to demonstrate the connectionsbetween Polynesian music, song, and dance.Also in March, John Homiak spoke to theTemple University Graduate Association forVisual Anthropology on archival research invisual anthropology, introducing the studentsto the resources o f Human Studies F i l mArchives

For more information about the HumanStudies Fi lm Archives, i ts collections andresearch opportunities, or to receive a copy ofthe HSFA Guide to the Collections pleasecontact

Wendy Shay,Human Studies Film Archives.NHB E307, tel (202) 357-3349Smithsonian Institution,Washington, D.C. 20560, USA

THE CENTER FOR DOCUMENTARYSTUDIES

AT DURE. UNIVERSITY

The Center for Documentary Studiesofficially opened on January 23, 1990. I t isdedicated to capturing the reality of people'sdiverse experiences in our complex culture andreflects a commitment to documenting theirdaily struggles, using varied approaches tounderstand the human condition. The Centerwill work hard at supporting such elusive andoften-touted values as scholarship, literary skill,activism and self reflection.

The Center has roots in the traditions ofdocumentary wilting, photography and film thatgo back to the early years of the twentiethcentury. Driven by a commitment to socialjustice, reformers such as Jacob Rib and LewisHine documented in words and photographs thelives of poor people in America.

In the 1930's p h o t o g r a p h e r scommissioned b y the Farm Secur i t yAdministration and writers working for theFederal Writers' Project described conditionsin Depression-era America and recordedreminiscences of ordinary people. James Age,Walker Evans, Dorothea Lange and othersbrought a compelling moral vision to this kindof social investigation. I n 1936 the FederalWriters' Project sent interviewers throughoutthe southern states t o gather the stories offormer slaves whose narratives today arcconsidered inva luab le sources f o runderstanding plantation history from theperspective o f African Americans. T h eUniversity o f Southern Carolina Press'sdirector, William Couch, supervised other FWPinterviewers who recorded the life stories ofhundreds of southerners from a wide variety ofoccupations Their work culminated in animportant collection of life histories These areOur Lives. Continuing this intense interest inour regional studies, Professor Howard Odumand others built the UNC Institute for Researchin Social Science, a center dedicated t odocumenting through innovative empiricalstudies the social and cultural life of the SouthWhile the pioneering work of the Instituteuncovered conditions of rural poverty, it alsofocused on positive aspects o f southernexperience as expressed in regional folk cultureExtending this tradition, i n 1965 DukeUniversity created the Center for Southern

Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences,headed by Edgar Thompson.

Writers of fiction have also contributedsignificantly to the documentary tradition.James Agee, Eudora Welty and Reynolds Price,for example, have written novels plays andstories that make a strong social commentary.Photography and story telling stand alongsidethe work of humanistic social scientists andhistorians to comprise the documentary record.The Center for Documentary Studies grows outof this complex background and hopes tonurture a new generation o f writers,photographers and filmmakers who wi l lcontinue to work in this tradition. Educationand research are principal objectives of theCenter.

The Center's steering committee haselected to focus initially on four areas ofresearch: t h e American family, Afr icanAmerican life and race relations, law andpolitics, ecology and the environment TheCenter plans to invite the participation o fassociates from other disciplines and to helpassociates develop collaborative researchprojects. I n disseminating the results of theseefforts, the Center will work with publishers onbook projects and will organize exhibitions andconferences

While many of the Center's initialprojects will evolve out of the work of itsassociates, long term plans include raisingfunds to support documentary fieldwork,across the South and initiating a documentarybook prize and a program to provide grants forfield projects.

Because documentary work has oftenbeen done by people working outside o finstitutions. the Center provides a linkbetween this independant tradition and theacademy. As part of its efforts to incorporatedocumentary studies fully into the life of DukeUniversity. the Center plans to raise funds toconstruct a building on the Duke campus by themid 1990'sTeaching

The Center's associates wil l teachcourses i n t h e documentary tradition incooperation with appropriate academicdepartments at Duke Students will studydocumentary books and fi lms and w i l lparticipate in fieldwork outside the universitysetting. Students will also join in associates'research projects. A preliminary list of courses

was able to obtain support from the Nigerianside. NTA could not give cash, but providedimportant moral and logistic support. T h eNigerian Department of Culture provided somefunding towards researching the project In theend, the Nigerians suggested that I approachmy native country and directed me to theGerman Embassy in Lagos. I approached themand received some support through theircultural program.

From Nigeria, I travelled to Germany.There, I met a documentary film producer, whohelped me obtain the support of a local TVstation. I was finally able to produce a onehour documentary film in Nigeria, for roughly$60,000 - which would be considered a shoestring budget by American funding agencies.

In Germany, my native country, Iencountered other types of problems worthmentioning.I) The first problem was rather personal, butprobably applicable to all foreign students.Since I had received my training i nanthropology and film from the USA, to go insearch of funding from Germany placed me inan awkward situation.2) In the end I collaborated with a commercialdocumentary film producer in order to save myproject. However, later on, the productioncompany encountered some problems and wasdissolved. I was adversely affected by thewhole situation as production on my filmsuffered as a result of the producer's problems.My co-producer and I are still caught up inlegal squabbles over the film. I wouldseriously warn anyone who is considering thisavenue t o reconsider and would n o trecommend working w i t h commercialproducers, if at all possible.3) Producing for television raises a whole newset of issues:

a) television production is directed at'general audiences'.

b) TV production has to operate withincertain time limits. Thus, I had to sacrifice siximportant minutes of my film to the 58 minuteaxe. In these 6 minutes, I intended to establishhow a water spirit is perceived in the modemMetropolis of Lagos, in contrast to the villagesI was forced by the TV editor to remove myopening sequence about Lagos, because, as hesaid, 'The TV audience decides within the f l i tfive minutes what they want to see.'

c) TV stations are compartmentalizedaccording to European/American viewinghabits, viewers' analysis and Westerncategories o f thought. T h u s , there arccategories for children, family, politics,culture, sports, entertainment, economics, etc..These categories do not correspond to life in anAfrican village where, for instance, everythingis based on kinship, politics are defined by theelders who are at the same time religiousleaders, and where children arc part ofeverything. I t is, therefore, difficult to lit anethnographic fi lm on the African livingexperience into existing TV programmingstructures.

To summarize m y experience i nattempting to obtain funds: the issue was not somuch, how to get the money, rather how muchof the anthropological content would becompromised in order to get the film funded.Thus, the main problems appears to be the factthat there exists no specialized funding source -unlike what is available in other fields - gearedtowards the special needs of ethnographic filmand visual anthropology.

NEWS FROM THE HUMAN STUDIESFILM ARCHIVES

Smithsonian institution, Washington, D.C.

The Human Studies Film Archives hascontinued to grow since our last report in theC V A Review. The collections have expandedthrough the acquisition of several significantfilm and video projects. Use of the FilmArchives' resources has also increased asscholars look to moving images as importantresearch documents.

Among materials recently acquired bythe Film Archives are film and video shot byMadeleine Richeport in urban Brazil. D r .Richeport has worked extensively amongmembers o f Brazil's growing umbandareligion, recording interactions between cultleaders and their clients. The collection alsoincludes footage of Carnival and documentsaspects of daily life in urban Brazil. The FilmArchives has also received two historic films ofBermuda and the British West Indies, and,through the American Film Institute's NationalCenter for Film and Video Preservation, nitrateprints o f several silent educational and

to be taught under the Center's auspicesincludes:

American Light: Raymond Carver andEdward Hopper

Land o f the South: A n EcologicalApproach to Southern History

American Communities: AThcumentaryApproach

Women's Words: Ora l History andPerformance Theory

Social Movements of Twentieth CenturyAmerica

The Educational Experience of MigrantChildren

Fact and FictionChildren's Photography WorkshopThe Return o f the Death Penalty in the

United States - 1960-1990,Collaborative Projects

The Center For Documentary Studiesbrings together people who work in differentaspects of the documentary tradition. While theCenter's associates pursue their individualcreative and scholarly work, through the Centerthey a r e a l s o engaged i n deve lop ingcollaborative projects with one another and withoutside researchers.The South A f r i ca In i t ia t ive

in 1985, w i t h suppor t f r o m t h eCarnegie Corporation of New York, the Centerfor Documentary Photography began apartnership with a multiracial group of SouthAfrican photographers and writers. T h eCenter's goal was to assist South A f r i canphotographers and writers in communicatingwith other South Africans and with the rest ofthe world. F r o m this collaboration S o u tAfrica: The Cordoned Heart was published byW.W. Norton in 1986.

Despite a strictly enforced state o femergency in South Africa, two new books bySouth African photographers and writers werepublished in 1989 under the joint imprint of theCenter for Documentary Studies and ApertureInc- Beyond the Barricades, by twenty SouthAfrican photographers, presents in images andwords t h e widespread resistance t o t h eapartheid reg ime. T h e Transpor ted o fKwaNdebele b y David Goldblatt, revealsaspects o f the social, economic and moralfailure of the South African homeland system

In September 1990 the Center w i l llaunch the South A f r i can Documen ta ryPhotography F e l l o w s h i p P r o g r a m i n

collaboration with the Center for DocumentaryPhotography at the University of Cape Town.With support from the Carnegie Corporation ofNew York, two South African photographerswill come to the United States to work underthe Center's auspices

For more information. please writeCenter for Documentary StudiesSnow Building, Suite 511331 West Main StreetDurham, North Carolina 27701, USA

CENTER FOR VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYUNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN

CALIFORNIA

SUMMER SCHOOLETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

May 29th - June 29th, 1990

The Center for Visual Anthropology isconducting a n intensive summer schoolprogram in ethnographic film. T h e courseswill provide an opportunity t o uti l ize thecenter's resources to cover a wide range o ftheoretical and practical issues in ethnographicfilmmaking. This small and intensive programeaten to both the experienced student of visualanthropology looking to deepen critical andproduction skills and at the novice aiming tobecome familiar with the concepts and practicesof ethnographic film and filmmaking.Course descript ions

Anth. 510 - Urban Anthropology (4units) (Moore, Singer). T h i s course w i l lexamine a corpus o f f i lms w h i c h haveattempted to represent the city. These include avariety of genres, television documentaries,ethnographic and selected feature f i lms.Supported b y selected readings i n u rbanethnography and urban theory, w e w i l lexamine Los Angeles as a representative worldcity - both the cradle o f the American f i lmindustry and an example o f the emergingcommunity form of' the contemporary globalvillage. W i t h Andre Singer we will examinefuture piaspects for urban documentaries andethnographic films. Students will write criticalanalyses o f films and carry out individualprojects which complement their fieldwork

documentary films dealing with the peoples ofvarious lands including Indonesia, the LeewardIslands, and Borneo T h e study collection hasalso grown with the acquisition from a non-theatrical distributor of titles such as Nanook ofthe forth and The Hunters.

The Film Archives continues to processand safeguard collection materials in order tomake them available for research use. We areworking with the Avery Research Center forAfrican American History and Culture, Collegeof Charleston, S C , to preserve the films o fJoseph Towles shot among native peoples inZaire, Uganda, Kenya, and Tanzania. Much ofthis footage was shot in collaboration w i t hanthropologist Colin Turnbull documenting theMbuti Pygmies of the Ituri forest and the Ik ofUganda.

In related collection work, w e arcprocessing and organizing the 146,000 feet of16mm footage that constitutes the (Film Studiesof the Lifestyle o f the Western Carol ineIslands, Micronesia] produced by the formerNational Anthropological Film Center. Whenthis project is completed it will be available forresearch use and informat ion abou t t hecollection wi l l be distributed to appropriatescholarly organizations and publications.

Last January the Filin Archives began aquarterly film seminar series. AnthropologistPaul Stoller, inaugurated the series with ascreening and analysis of Jean Rouch's film,Les Maitres Fous. I n a presentation entitled'Ciné-Fact, Ciné-Fiction. The EthnographicFilms o f Jean Rouch', Stol ler examinedRouch's f i l m i c s t y l e a n d exp lo red t h eethnographic context for Rouch's work.

Upcoming HSFA seminars include apresentation i n M a y b y Sou th A f r i c a ndocumentary f i lmmaker and f i lm scholar,Keyan Tomaselli H e will discuss the imagingof the Bushman in Jamie Uys' release T h eGods Must Be Crazy Ii. I n August, filmmakerStephanos Stephanides will screen and discussHail Mother Kal i ! . T h i s film portrays thecultural pluralism of the Caribbean region byfocusing on the spiritual traditions maintainedby Ka l i worsh ippers w h o s e forbearersimmigrated from India in the mid-1800s towork on the sugar plantations of Guyana

Recent research studies at the HSFAhave used the collections in a variety of waysMuseum professionals have studied the Africancollections in order to produce videos f o r

museum exhibits- Several Native Americans,some o f whom have been interns a t theMuseum of Natural History's American IndianProgram. have screened a n d annotatedfilm/video materials relevant to their own tribalbackgrounds F i l m researchers seek ingfootage for the documentary films have alsoexamined collections materials.

The H S FA sponsored a session a tDecember's A A A meetings on some o f thescholarly research conducted a t the F i lmArchives. Patricia Zimmerman gave a paper onhome movies-as-ethnography based on herresearch with 16mm travel footage. The paper.'Our Trip to Africa Home Movies as the Eyesof the Empire' appears in the March issue ofAfterimAge. Kathleen Kuehnast, an HSFAFellow, d i scussed i s s u e s o f g e n d e rrepresentation in ethnographic film. S h e iscurrently preparing an article on the [PashtoonNomad F i l m Project ] , o n e o f t he F i l mArchive's larger collections F i na l l y, HSFAstaff anthropologist John Homiak comparedMelville Herskoviu and Maya Deren's imagingof Haitian vodun practices.

The staff continues to promote thework of the Film Archives. I n March, WendyShay attended 'A Century of Field Recording,'a conference organized by the Archives ofTraditional Music at Indiana University. Sheshowed footage from the Laura Boulton FilmCollection and discussed the archiving of fieldrecorded moving images. Smithsonian curatorand Film Archives' Advisory Group member,Adrienne Kaeppler presented the used footagefrom the HSFA to demonstrate the connectionsbetween Polynesian music, song, and dance.Also in March, John Homiak spoke to theTemple University Graduate Association forVisual Anthropology on archival research invisual anthropology, introducing the studentsto the resources o f Human Studies F i l mArchives

For more information about the HumanStudies Fi lm Archives, i ts collections andresearch opportunities, or to receive a copy ofthe HSFA Guide to the Collections pleasecontact

Wendy Shay,Human Studies Film Archives.NHB E307, tel (202) 357-3349Smithsonian Institution,Washington, D.C. 20560, USA

Applications received by the AFC areprocessed as received throughout the year. I fyou want to be on our mailing list for specialworkshops and summer programs, please senda letter or card to above address Atm: SpecialPrograms.

FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHPRESERVATION AND DOCUMENTATION

EFFORTS

In 1908, when Robert E . Pearyembarked on his last expedition to the Arctic,he had among his crew two men who wouldcontinue t o w o r k i n t he No r th f o rapproximately fifty more years. They wereRobert A. Bartlett, an experienced ice captain,and Donald B . MacMil lan, a Maineoutdoorsman and scholar teacher.Robert A. Bartlett andDonald B. MacMillan

Between 1910 and 1917 Bart lettcommanded four different ships in voyages tothe eastern and western Arctic. During thistime MacMillan travelled in Labrador bymotorboat and canoe, and led an expedition toEllesmere Island and North Greenland.MacMillan and Bartlett were again together inthe Arctic in 1917, when Bartlett rescuedMacMillan, who had been stranded in NorthGreenland for two years.

In 1925 Bartlett became the owner of atwo-masted schooner, the Effie M. Morrissey.Between 1925 and 1945 he and his 'littleMorrissey' regularly plied eastern Arcticwaters. They carried scientists, students andbig game hunters north. A t the request of zoosthey carried live musk oxen, polar bears andwalrus south. Following instructions frommuseums, they collected natural historyspecimens and made plaster casts o f seamammals. Professional film makers were onboard the Morrissey during many of thesevoyages, shooting film for documentaries andnews programs. They recorded the work ofscientists, the exploits of sealers, whalers andbig game hunters, and the life ways of thesettlers of Labrador and the Inuit of Labrador,Baffin Island and Greenland.

When Donald MacMillan returned fromNorth Greenland in 1917, he was determined

to avoid future standings in the North. Thus,he designed a small, strong schooner that couldbe maneuvered through pack ice easily. I n1921 he launched the schooner Bowdoin,named after the undergraduate college he andPeary attended. Between 1921 and 1954MacMillan sailed her to the eastern Arcticeighteen times, overwintering on three separateoccasions. These voyages were interrupted byWorld War II. While his schooner was usedby the Navy, MacMillan flew on intelligencemissions throughout the eastern Arctic.

Like Bartlett, MacMillan took scientistsand students north on the Bowdoin. He alsohelped the Moravian Mission establish andmaintain a school for Inuit children in Nain,Labrador, and pioneered the use of radios inthe North. Beginning in 1913 MacMillancarried still and motion picture cameras on hisexpeditions. Animals, flowers, icebergs, andgeological formations were captured on film,as were the activities of native and westernpeoples he met.Arctic Museum Collection Preservation

The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museumand Arctic Studies Center at Bowdoin Collegein Brunswick, Maine, houses 90,000 feet offilm taken on Bartletts expeditions from the1920s to the 1940s, as well as journals, logs,correspondence and still photographs fromthose and earlier years. Much of the motionpicture footage is on highly flammable nitratefilm stock. The museum and the Library ofCongress have entered into an agreementwhereby the Library of Congress will transferthe deteriorating nitrate film to safety-film stockand the Museum will help inventory some ofthe library's Arctic film holdings. Both theLibrary of Congress and the Museum willretain masters of the Bartlett films, while theMuseum will also make videotape copies of thefootage. T h e videotapes will be used forresearch and education activities. The Museumis seeking funds for the cataloguing and video-transfer of portions of the Bartlett film project.

Bowdoin College also houses DonaldMacMillan's logs, journals, manuscripts andcorrespondence, as well as his extensive stillphotograph and motion picture film collectionsThe Museum has approximately 176,000 feetof 35 mm and 16 mm MacMillan safetyfootage. Much of the film is shrunken brittleand suffering acetic acid decomposition. TheMuseum is currently seeking funds to transfer

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Anth. 4 9 9 - Special Topics.Ethnography and Ethnographic Filmmaking (4units) (Marks, Singer). Students will shootfilm and video in Los Angeles and will lateredit short visual projects from their material.Projects will be critiqued and discussed both inclass and individually with the instructor. Theclass w i l l also discuss a number o fethnographic texts which illustrate classic andcurrent concerns in ethnographic practice Wewill discuss the relationship of film and videoto ethnography and the implications for ourunderstanding of the ethnographic enterprise.Some familiarity with the ethnographicliterature is essential but no prior filin or videoproduction experience is required. Practicalinstruction will be tailored to suit the needs ofstudents.Costs and Enrollment

Tuition costs are $445 per unit ($1,780per class). Applications must be receivedbefore April 23rd. Enrollment in the summerschool is limited and successful applicants willbe notified no later than May 1st, 1990Deposit checks will be returned in the eventthat the summer school is cancelled due to lowenrollment.Classes and Facilities

Students w i l l have access to thefacilities of the Center including its film andvideo library, production equipment (16 mmand video rigs), film and off-line video editingrooms. Classes will be held mornings andafternoons three days of the week, and labswill be held during the remaining two days.Instructors

Andre Singer Adjunct Professor,USC a n d Commissioning Ed i to r f o rDocumentary Features, BBC Television.Formerly editor of Granada Television's'Disappearing World' series and the maker ofmore than 40 anthropological documentaries.

Alexander Moore. Professor, USC,has done fieldwork in Guatemala, Panama,New York City and Los Angeles, he has alsowritten about the relation of ethnographicobservations to ethnographic films and theapplication of anthropological perspectives tofihn criticism.

Daniel Marks. Research Fellow atUSC. Conducts research in Los Angeles onpolice and gangs. C o -director o f 'GangCops", nominated for an Academy Award in

1989, he writes un documentary a n dexperimental films and filmmakers.Entry form

Please reserve me a place at the summerschool in ethnographic filin. Enclosed is a$120 deposit (payable to USC).NameAddressTelephone

Further informationDebbie WilliamsDepartment of AnthropologyUniversity of Southern California,Los Angeles, CA 90089-0021, USATel: (213) 743-7100Fax: (213) 747-4176

ANTHROPOLOGY FILM CENTER

The Anthropology Film Center in SantaFe, New Mexico, offers an ethnographic anddocumentary film training program. T h estudents receive nine months of practicaltraining developed in part for those who wishto become visual anthropologists who, asprincipal investigators, wish to produceethnographic films, and for those who wish tobecome documentary film writer-director-producers.

New technologies and understandingshave expanded the possibilities, choices andopportunities within these professions. F o rover twenty-five years, the Anthropology FilmCenter has committed its training programs toaddressing the new and, perhaps moreimportantly, f u t u r e worlds o f theseprofessions, Likewise, an understanding ofthe cultural component i n the field o fCommunication is essential for the professionalof tomorrow. T h e Anthropology F i lmCenter's training programs integrate this centralfactor into the daily course work.

The Anthropology Film Center housesa production studio, editing and projectionfacilities, and the practical associated materialsfor the Center's programs, in addition to aspecialized library in the fields o f visualanthropology, film production, culture andcommunication, perception and cognitionProfessional 16mm camera, sound, lightingand editing equipment are available for student

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this collection onto safety-stock and videotapeas well.

Due t o t h e f rag i l i ty o f the f i l mcollections, the Museum's f i lm archive hasbeen closed to researchers. A f t e r consultingwith film archivists i t was determined that toallow use of the films in their present conditionwould place them at unacceptable risk. Thus,the archive will remain closed until the filmshave been transferred and catalogued.Arct ic Museum Col lect ionDocumentation

One of the Museum's greatest concernsafter preserving these collections w i l l b emaking them accessible to the communitiesrecorded in the films. O n e Bartlett f i lm,transferred to videotape f o r fund raisingpurposes, has been shown to descendants ofPeary and Bartlett, and to Inui t o f Nor thGreenland. M e m b e r s o f these g roups ,particularly those in their 70s and 80s, havebeen able to identify people appearing on thescreen. Indeed, i n one case 70 year -oldEginguak Odak, son of Ootaq, the lead Inuit onPeary's 1908-09 No r th Po le expedit ion,identified himself as a child, as well as hisfamous father.

The Museum also houses black andwhite photographs, hand tinted glass lanternslides, and 35 mm color slides taken b yvarious explorers, travelers and scientistsworking i n Labrador, Ba f f i n is land andGreenland beginning in the mid-19th century.The Museum has been copying endangeredimages, while repackaging the remainder of thecollection in acid-free envelopes. Currently,the Museum is involved in still photographidentification projects with individuals in thecommunities of Qaanaaq, North Greenland andNain, Labrador. A s a result of this work, theMuseum's collections a r c being f u r t h e rdocumented, while images from the archive arebeing used in locally produced publications,broadcast and school programs.

Ultimately, the Arctic Museum's fi lmand photograph conservation and cataloguingefforts will provide scholars, film makers andnative heritage organizations a rich body ofinformation concerning Arc t i c m a r i t i m ehistory, the history of film and photography,exploration, and culture change in the easternArctic.

The f i lms Bart lett and MacMi l l anproduced, as well as the photographs they and

the others published in the popular press,provided Americans and Canadians with strongimpressions of the Arctic and its peoples. ThePeary-MacMillan Arc t ic Museum eagerlyanticipates the return of these images to thescreen and printed page, believing that newinsights can be gained through the study of theone-hundred years of eastern Arctic historyrecorded in visual form.

For more information. please contactDr. Susan A. Kaplan, DirectorThe Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museumand Arctic Studies CenterBowdoin College, BrunswickMaine, USA

IDERA FILMS

IDERA F i l m s i s p a r t o f t h einternational Deve lopment E d u c a t i o nResources Association, a non-profit societyestablished i n Bri t ish Columbia i n 1974.IDERA's mandate is to provide educationalresources and information on internationalissues and concerns. Ours resources are usedby individuals, educational institutions, NGOs(non-governmental organizations), women'sgroups, and a variety o f community andvoluntary organizations.

IDERA F i l m s mainta ins o n e o fCanada's most extensive collections o f filmsand videos on international development,including the most comprehensive collection offilms on Southern Africa in Canada. With over300 titles in our film/video library, we cover abroad spectrum o f international issues andthemes.

IDERA maintains a pr in t resourcelibrary which contains over 100 journals oninternational concerns from around the world,publishes a bi-monthly 'Calendar of Events'on international themes and the RIDERAClipping Issues', containing up-to-date newsand analysis of political, economic and socialdevelopments from around the world.

IDERA's programs include conferenceparticipation, display tables, an InternationalFilm Festival, and sp«ial cooperative projects.Currently. the 'Global Education ResourceGuide' is being produced in conjunction withthe British Columbia Teachers' Federation and

- 8 0 -

use only on class assignments. Class size islimited to a0ow each student to become familiarwith film technology, vocabulary. theory andprocedures th rough lectures, classroominstruction, tutorials, the execution of technicaland theoretical f i l m exercises, a n d t h edevelopment o f a project proposal w i t hresearch design o r script, schedules a n dbudgets.

The program begins in the Fall with afew forty hour weeks of introductory basics inphotography, fi lm making and ethnology aswell as overview survey lectures on subjectsthat wil l be covered later in the program.Several months of hands on training fol lowwhich include story boarding, camera, soundediting and lighting exercises. W i t h theseskills and understandings, the student canbetter comprehend budgeting, scheduling.proposal development and the research,business and administrative course work thatfollows.

All students arc exposed to the practicaluse o f computers in their work as v isua lanthropologists and film makers, Group andindividual tutorials are available for students'special needs that each student have a computerfor their work at the Center. The Commodore-Amiga or Apple-Macintosh are preferred at thistime. T h e Center has two Amiga 1000savailable for student use,

The nine month program is held fivedays a week, fu l l t ime (al l day), p lus anaverage college evening homework loadWhen the technical lab classes wind down, thestudents have more time to work in libraries,archives and museums to complete t h e i rassignments T h i s shift in the program's workrhythm is usually in the Spring D a i l y andweekly schedules arc very flexible, adjustingfor guest lecturers, group dynamics a n dweather. Students are expected to devote full-time attention to the program and promptnessand attendance are a must.

Founded in 1965, The AnthropologyFilm Center is located in a large adobe studioon two acres of wooded foothills in a secludedcanyon on the outskirts of Santa Fe Locatedat 7,2000 feet in the high desert of the Sangrede Cristo mountains, Santa Fe experiences fourseasons and offers a peaceful and aestheticlocale for study A n international community.renowned f o r i ts visual beauty and arts-oriented atmosphere. Santa Fe retains a small

town amb ience a m i d a r e m a r k a b l ycosmopolitan population.Tuition and Costs: $9,600.00 coven the costsof tuition, materials and services associatedwith the assignments, exercises and requiredbooks. However, we recommend that an extra$350.00 might be useful for specialized books,available at the Center's bookstore, wh ichstudents might like to acquire for study andreference, Students must supply their ownpersonal notebooks, pencils, etcQ u a l i f i c a t i o n s : C l a s s e s a r e open t oundergraduate and graduate students, teachers,researchers and practitioners wi th specialinterest in film, social and humanistic studies.It is not necessary to be enrolled in the TempleUniversity Masters in Visual AnthropologyProgram to attend courses at the AnthropologyFilm Center. A good command of the Englishlanguage seems to be important, especially forforeign students.Credit Options A M VA degree is availablethrough a joint program with the Department ofAnthropology of Temple University and otheracademic credit may be arranged through aparent university or college.FinancialAid. The Anthropology Film Centerhas no program for financial assistance andcannot qualify for federal loans such as BEOG.Loans or awards may sometimes be arrangedthrough your present school or university.Note: The Anthropology Film Center reservesthe right to introduce new programs, to cancelor w i thd raw exist ing p rog rams w h e nnecessary, and to modify tuition rates, programschedules, contents and staff ing w i thou tnotice.Calendar: Classes begin the f is t Monday alterLabor Day, and conclude the rust Friday inMay, w i th a Christmas vacation O t h e rholidays and free days may be scheduled.

Inanities and applications contactAdmissions, AFC Film ProgramP.O. Box 493, Santa FeNew Mexico 87501-4127, USAPhone (505) 983-4127For the Anthropology Fi lm Center.

Temple University, Mas te rs i n V i s u a lAnthtypolo Proogrargçontact

Dr. Richard Chalfen,Coordinator, MVA Program,Dept of Anthropology,Temple UniversityPhiladelphia. PA 19122, USA

Applications received by the AFC areprocessed as received throughout the year. I fyou want to be on our mailing list for specialworkshops and summer programs, please senda letter or card to above address Atm: SpecialPrograms.

FILM AND PHOTOGRAPHPRESERVATION AND DOCUMENTATION

EFFORTS

In 1908, when Robert E . Pearyembarked on his last expedition to the Arctic,he had among his crew two men who wouldcontinue t o w o r k i n t he No r th f o rapproximately fifty more years. They wereRobert A. Bartlett, an experienced ice captain,and Donald B . MacMil lan, a Maineoutdoorsman and scholar teacher.Robert A. Bartlett andDonald B. MacMillan

Between 1910 and 1917 Bart lettcommanded four different ships in voyages tothe eastern and western Arctic. During thistime MacMillan travelled in Labrador bymotorboat and canoe, and led an expedition toEllesmere Island and North Greenland.MacMillan and Bartlett were again together inthe Arctic in 1917, when Bartlett rescuedMacMillan, who had been stranded in NorthGreenland for two years.

In 1925 Bartlett became the owner of atwo-masted schooner, the Effie M. Morrissey.Between 1925 and 1945 he and his 'littleMorrissey' regularly plied eastern Arcticwaters. They carried scientists, students andbig game hunters north. A t the request of zoosthey carried live musk oxen, polar bears andwalrus south. Following instructions frommuseums, they collected natural historyspecimens and made plaster casts o f seamammals. Professional film makers were onboard the Morrissey during many of thesevoyages, shooting film for documentaries andnews programs. They recorded the work ofscientists, the exploits of sealers, whalers andbig game hunters, and the life ways of thesettlers of Labrador and the Inuit of Labrador,Baffin Island and Greenland.

When Donald MacMillan returned fromNorth Greenland in 1917, he was determined

to avoid future standings in the North. Thus,he designed a small, strong schooner that couldbe maneuvered through pack ice easily. I n1921 he launched the schooner Bowdoin,named after the undergraduate college he andPeary attended. Between 1921 and 1954MacMillan sailed her to the eastern Arcticeighteen times, overwintering on three separateoccasions. These voyages were interrupted byWorld War II. While his schooner was usedby the Navy, MacMillan flew on intelligencemissions throughout the eastern Arctic.

Like Bartlett, MacMillan took scientistsand students north on the Bowdoin. He alsohelped the Moravian Mission establish andmaintain a school for Inuit children in Nain,Labrador, and pioneered the use of radios inthe North. Beginning in 1913 MacMillancarried still and motion picture cameras on hisexpeditions. Animals, flowers, icebergs, andgeological formations were captured on film,as were the activities of native and westernpeoples he met.Arctic Museum Collection Preservation

The Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museumand Arctic Studies Center at Bowdoin Collegein Brunswick, Maine, houses 90,000 feet offilm taken on Bartletts expeditions from the1920s to the 1940s, as well as journals, logs,correspondence and still photographs fromthose and earlier years. Much of the motionpicture footage is on highly flammable nitratefilm stock. The museum and the Library ofCongress have entered into an agreementwhereby the Library of Congress will transferthe deteriorating nitrate film to safety-film stockand the Museum will help inventory some ofthe library's Arctic film holdings. Both theLibrary of Congress and the Museum willretain masters of the Bartlett films, while theMuseum will also make videotape copies of thefootage. T h e videotapes will be used forresearch and education activities. The Museumis seeking funds for the cataloguing and video-transfer of portions of the Bartlett film project.

Bowdoin College also houses DonaldMacMillan's logs, journals, manuscripts andcorrespondence, as well as his extensive stillphotograph and motion picture film collectionsThe Museum has approximately 176,000 feetof 35 mm and 16 mm MacMillan safetyfootage. Much of the film is shrunken brittleand suffering acetic acid decomposition. TheMuseum is currently seeking funds to transfer

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Anth. 4 9 9 - Special Topics.Ethnography and Ethnographic Filmmaking (4units) (Marks, Singer). Students will shootfilm and video in Los Angeles and will lateredit short visual projects from their material.Projects will be critiqued and discussed both inclass and individually with the instructor. Theclass w i l l also discuss a number o fethnographic texts which illustrate classic andcurrent concerns in ethnographic practice Wewill discuss the relationship of film and videoto ethnography and the implications for ourunderstanding of the ethnographic enterprise.Some familiarity with the ethnographicliterature is essential but no prior filin or videoproduction experience is required. Practicalinstruction will be tailored to suit the needs ofstudents.Costs and Enrollment

Tuition costs are $445 per unit ($1,780per class). Applications must be receivedbefore April 23rd. Enrollment in the summerschool is limited and successful applicants willbe notified no later than May 1st, 1990Deposit checks will be returned in the eventthat the summer school is cancelled due to lowenrollment.Classes and Facilities

Students w i l l have access to thefacilities of the Center including its film andvideo library, production equipment (16 mmand video rigs), film and off-line video editingrooms. Classes will be held mornings andafternoons three days of the week, and labswill be held during the remaining two days.Instructors

Andre Singer Adjunct Professor,USC a n d Commissioning Ed i to r f o rDocumentary Features, BBC Television.Formerly editor of Granada Television's'Disappearing World' series and the maker ofmore than 40 anthropological documentaries.

Alexander Moore. Professor, USC,has done fieldwork in Guatemala, Panama,New York City and Los Angeles, he has alsowritten about the relation of ethnographicobservations to ethnographic films and theapplication of anthropological perspectives tofihn criticism.

Daniel Marks. Research Fellow atUSC. Conducts research in Los Angeles onpolice and gangs. C o -director o f 'GangCops", nominated for an Academy Award in

1989, he writes un documentary a n dexperimental films and filmmakers.Entry form

Please reserve me a place at the summerschool in ethnographic filin. Enclosed is a$120 deposit (payable to USC).NameAddressTelephone

Further informationDebbie WilliamsDepartment of AnthropologyUniversity of Southern California,Los Angeles, CA 90089-0021, USATel: (213) 743-7100Fax: (213) 747-4176

ANTHROPOLOGY FILM CENTER

The Anthropology Film Center in SantaFe, New Mexico, offers an ethnographic anddocumentary film training program. T h estudents receive nine months of practicaltraining developed in part for those who wishto become visual anthropologists who, asprincipal investigators, wish to produceethnographic films, and for those who wish tobecome documentary film writer-director-producers.

New technologies and understandingshave expanded the possibilities, choices andopportunities within these professions. F o rover twenty-five years, the Anthropology FilmCenter has committed its training programs toaddressing the new and, perhaps moreimportantly, f u t u r e worlds o f theseprofessions, Likewise, an understanding ofthe cultural component i n the field o fCommunication is essential for the professionalof tomorrow. T h e Anthropology F i lmCenter's training programs integrate this centralfactor into the daily course work.

The Anthropology Film Center housesa production studio, editing and projectionfacilities, and the practical associated materialsfor the Center's programs, in addition to aspecialized library in the fields o f visualanthropology, film production, culture andcommunication, perception and cognitionProfessional 16mm camera, sound, lightingand editing equipment are available for student

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this collection onto safety-stock and videotapeas well.

Due t o t h e f rag i l i ty o f the f i l mcollections, the Museum's f i lm archive hasbeen closed to researchers. A f t e r consultingwith film archivists i t was determined that toallow use of the films in their present conditionwould place them at unacceptable risk. Thus,the archive will remain closed until the filmshave been transferred and catalogued.Arct ic Museum Col lect ionDocumentation

One of the Museum's greatest concernsafter preserving these collections w i l l b emaking them accessible to the communitiesrecorded in the films. O n e Bartlett f i lm,transferred to videotape f o r fund raisingpurposes, has been shown to descendants ofPeary and Bartlett, and to Inui t o f Nor thGreenland. M e m b e r s o f these g roups ,particularly those in their 70s and 80s, havebeen able to identify people appearing on thescreen. Indeed, i n one case 70 year -oldEginguak Odak, son of Ootaq, the lead Inuit onPeary's 1908-09 No r th Po le expedit ion,identified himself as a child, as well as hisfamous father.

The Museum also houses black andwhite photographs, hand tinted glass lanternslides, and 35 mm color slides taken b yvarious explorers, travelers and scientistsworking i n Labrador, Ba f f i n is land andGreenland beginning in the mid-19th century.The Museum has been copying endangeredimages, while repackaging the remainder of thecollection in acid-free envelopes. Currently,the Museum is involved in still photographidentification projects with individuals in thecommunities of Qaanaaq, North Greenland andNain, Labrador. A s a result of this work, theMuseum's collections a r c being f u r t h e rdocumented, while images from the archive arebeing used in locally produced publications,broadcast and school programs.

Ultimately, the Arctic Museum's fi lmand photograph conservation and cataloguingefforts will provide scholars, film makers andnative heritage organizations a rich body ofinformation concerning Arc t i c m a r i t i m ehistory, the history of film and photography,exploration, and culture change in the easternArctic.

The f i lms Bart lett and MacMi l l anproduced, as well as the photographs they and

the others published in the popular press,provided Americans and Canadians with strongimpressions of the Arctic and its peoples. ThePeary-MacMillan Arc t ic Museum eagerlyanticipates the return of these images to thescreen and printed page, believing that newinsights can be gained through the study of theone-hundred years of eastern Arctic historyrecorded in visual form.

For more information. please contactDr. Susan A. Kaplan, DirectorThe Peary-MacMillan Arctic Museumand Arctic Studies CenterBowdoin College, BrunswickMaine, USA

IDERA FILMS

IDERA F i l m s i s p a r t o f t h einternational Deve lopment E d u c a t i o nResources Association, a non-profit societyestablished i n Bri t ish Columbia i n 1974.IDERA's mandate is to provide educationalresources and information on internationalissues and concerns. Ours resources are usedby individuals, educational institutions, NGOs(non-governmental organizations), women'sgroups, and a variety o f community andvoluntary organizations.

IDERA F i l m s mainta ins o n e o fCanada's most extensive collections o f filmsand videos on international development,including the most comprehensive collection offilms on Southern Africa in Canada. With over300 titles in our film/video library, we cover abroad spectrum o f international issues andthemes.

IDERA maintains a pr in t resourcelibrary which contains over 100 journals oninternational concerns from around the world,publishes a bi-monthly 'Calendar of Events'on international themes and the RIDERAClipping Issues', containing up-to-date newsand analysis of political, economic and socialdevelopments from around the world.

IDERA's programs include conferenceparticipation, display tables, an InternationalFilm Festival, and sp«ial cooperative projects.Currently. the 'Global Education ResourceGuide' is being produced in conjunction withthe British Columbia Teachers' Federation and

- 8 0 -

use only on class assignments. Class size islimited to a0ow each student to become familiarwith film technology, vocabulary. theory andprocedures th rough lectures, classroominstruction, tutorials, the execution of technicaland theoretical f i l m exercises, a n d t h edevelopment o f a project proposal w i t hresearch design o r script, schedules a n dbudgets.

The program begins in the Fall with afew forty hour weeks of introductory basics inphotography, fi lm making and ethnology aswell as overview survey lectures on subjectsthat wil l be covered later in the program.Several months of hands on training fol lowwhich include story boarding, camera, soundediting and lighting exercises. W i t h theseskills and understandings, the student canbetter comprehend budgeting, scheduling.proposal development and the research,business and administrative course work thatfollows.

All students arc exposed to the practicaluse o f computers in their work as v isua lanthropologists and film makers, Group andindividual tutorials are available for students'special needs that each student have a computerfor their work at the Center. The Commodore-Amiga or Apple-Macintosh are preferred at thistime. T h e Center has two Amiga 1000savailable for student use,

The nine month program is held fivedays a week, fu l l t ime (al l day), p lus anaverage college evening homework loadWhen the technical lab classes wind down, thestudents have more time to work in libraries,archives and museums to complete t h e i rassignments T h i s shift in the program's workrhythm is usually in the Spring D a i l y andweekly schedules arc very flexible, adjustingfor guest lecturers, group dynamics a n dweather. Students are expected to devote full-time attention to the program and promptnessand attendance are a must.

Founded in 1965, The AnthropologyFilm Center is located in a large adobe studioon two acres of wooded foothills in a secludedcanyon on the outskirts of Santa Fe Locatedat 7,2000 feet in the high desert of the Sangrede Cristo mountains, Santa Fe experiences fourseasons and offers a peaceful and aestheticlocale for study A n international community.renowned f o r i ts visual beauty and arts-oriented atmosphere. Santa Fe retains a small

town amb ience a m i d a r e m a r k a b l ycosmopolitan population.Tuition and Costs: $9,600.00 coven the costsof tuition, materials and services associatedwith the assignments, exercises and requiredbooks. However, we recommend that an extra$350.00 might be useful for specialized books,available at the Center's bookstore, wh ichstudents might like to acquire for study andreference, Students must supply their ownpersonal notebooks, pencils, etcQ u a l i f i c a t i o n s : C l a s s e s a r e open t oundergraduate and graduate students, teachers,researchers and practitioners wi th specialinterest in film, social and humanistic studies.It is not necessary to be enrolled in the TempleUniversity Masters in Visual AnthropologyProgram to attend courses at the AnthropologyFilm Center. A good command of the Englishlanguage seems to be important, especially forforeign students.Credit Options A M VA degree is availablethrough a joint program with the Department ofAnthropology of Temple University and otheracademic credit may be arranged through aparent university or college.FinancialAid. The Anthropology Film Centerhas no program for financial assistance andcannot qualify for federal loans such as BEOG.Loans or awards may sometimes be arrangedthrough your present school or university.Note: The Anthropology Film Center reservesthe right to introduce new programs, to cancelor w i thd raw exist ing p rog rams w h e nnecessary, and to modify tuition rates, programschedules, contents and staff ing w i thou tnotice.Calendar: Classes begin the f is t Monday alterLabor Day, and conclude the rust Friday inMay, w i th a Christmas vacation O t h e rholidays and free days may be scheduled.

Inanities and applications contactAdmissions, AFC Film ProgramP.O. Box 493, Santa FeNew Mexico 87501-4127, USAPhone (505) 983-4127For the Anthropology Fi lm Center.

Temple University, Mas te rs i n V i s u a lAnthtypolo Proogrargçontact

Dr. Richard Chalfen,Coordinator, MVA Program,Dept of Anthropology,Temple UniversityPhiladelphia. PA 19122, USA

FOURTH ANNUAL REPORTOF THE CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL

STUDIES UNITI JANUARY 1989- 31 DECEMBER 1989

CCSU Annual Report

The Contemporary Cultural StudiesUnit - CCSU - under the directorship of Prof.Key= G. Tomaselli has been actively involvedin various grassroots efforts to carry outparticipatory research using media training andvideo-making. The institute offers a graduatecultural studies program which focuses onalternative media as a means of culturalresistance to apartheid and as a vehicle ofchange through the cultural process. Some ofthe honors courses offered in 1989 include:Theories of Culture; Theories of AlternativeMedia; Culture and Literature; Film/Video andCultural Production: African Philosophy andEthnographic Film; Education and Culture.

The Unit provides research facilitiesand library services, and has assisted variousorganizations, both local and international, inresearch work and publications etc.. It alsoprovides research data, as well as unpublishedinformation on media, broadcasting and cinemain South Africa.

Community oriented activities such asseminars and lectures on media education.intercultural dynamics and educationalstrategies using the visual media and drama areanother area of activity. A journal of culturalstudies entitled Critical Arts is published twicea year on behalf of Critical Arts Projects. Someadditional activities indude:

Print Media:Alternative Press Project is comprised of over30 publishing organizations aimed a tdocumenting the development of an alternativemedia and formulating strategies for itssurvival in the face of state repression.Durban Media Trainers This project aims toprovide skills and theoretical training to anti-apartheid media workers in the greater Durbanregion. The CCSU has been actively involvedwith the DMTG, helping to establish a MediaCollege and to provide training to studentsentering the program.Save the Press Campaign An alliance formedby the Association of Democratic Journalists

and media trainers to fight state's censorship ofthe media.Center For Development Studies The CCSUhas been associated with efforts to establish abranch of the CDS in Natal - an initiative whichattempts to bring together progressiveacademics in order to conduct research into apost-apartheid South Africa.

Video Production.Imijondolo, Durban's Shadow Suburbs (20Minutes). This video documents the DurbanCentral Residents Association campaignagainst evictions. I t was screened at theweekly Mail Film Festival in Cape Town,1989.LAUCA Cultural Day (40 Minutes). A videodepicting the Lamontville : t.rty for CulturalActivities' (LAUCA) cultural day.Media Resistance i n South Afr ica (30Minutes). Scripted and presented for PaperTiger Televison - a public access programme inNew York.Censorship (60 Minutes). Extensive interviewsconducted by global vision producers of theweekly South Afr ica Now, N e w York(October 1989)History of Resistance in Lamontville - a videomade in association with LAUCA

For more information.Contemporary Cultural Studies UnitUniversity of Natal,King George V Ave.Durban , South AfricaTel. (031) 816-2505

an Advisory Group made up of teachers,students, and post-secondary educators. Theseprograms are designed to provide informationon international development to a broad rangeof constituencies and individuals.

IDERA's funding comes f r o mdonations, special project funding, the servicefees we charge for our resources, and anannual grant from the Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency (CIDA).

For more informagjm. please contactIDERA Films2524 Cypress Street, Vancouver,B.C. V6J 3N2 CanadaTel.: (604) 738-8815IDERA Resource Centre:(604) 732-1496Fax:(604)732-9141Attn: IDERA Films

ALTERNATIVE MEDIA RESEARCH:ACCOUNTABILITY AND THECOMMUNITY / ACADEMIC

RELATIONSHIP

Introduction'Alternative media' in South Africa is

expanding at a rapid rate. Recent months haveseen the formation o f a number o forganizations of progressive media workerswho seek to challenge the dominant order.Whilst these organizations are still in their earlystages o f development, there has been aconcerted effort to employ research basedapproaches to foster the consolidation of theseinitiatives, as well as to develop strategic waysof moving forward.

The Contemporary Cultural StudiesUnit (CCSU) has over the past six months,been involved in two such efforts:(i) A research project into the viability ofestablishing a 'Media College' in the Natalregion in collaboration with the Durban MediaTrainer's Group (DMTG);(ii) A 'participatory' video project on thehistory of Lamontville in collaboration with theLamontville Unity for Cultural Activities(LAUCA).

Within a Cultural Studies paradigmmedia is seen as a way of expressing orarticulating culture 'Al ternat ive media'

therefore, articulates 'alternative' culture. TheCCSU approach to culture can be furtherdefined as being '... concerned with culture asa process: in particular being interested in theprocess o f the 'underclasses' releasing a'cultural energy' as they strive to organize theirresistance to apartheid'. (Louw, 1988:26)

Inevitably, the state has not takenkindly to alternative media and has engaged inboth overt and covert repression of suchinitiatives. Furthermore, despite the accoladessurrounding FW de /Cleric's reform policy thewithdrawal of restrictions on media remainslow on the agenda.The Media College Project

The Durban Media Trainers Group wasformed in 1988 and grew out of an awarenessthat (alternative) media training in Natal hadbeen sporadic and =sustained. In March ofthis year the group approached CCSU forassistance in developing and assessing theconcept of a media college to be established inthe region. The research group was comprisedof CCSU students, representatives from theDMTG and a part-time researcher employed bythe DMTG.

The research design covered thefollowing areas:(i) A n analysis of alternative media asemployed in the process of struggle in othercountries notably Chile, Nicaragua and thePhilippines, as well as approaches developedlocally such as the grassroots populardemocratic model. Examples of communitymedia in the British context were also drawnon.(ii) A strong emphasis was placed onintegrating likely beneficiaries of the collegeinto the project Two one-day workshops wererun, one for trade unions and another for youthand community groups. The informal andopen approach adopted at the workshopsallowed the user groups to clearly express theirneeds and provided the researchers withvaluable further insights(iii) A formal questionnaire was distributedto likely user groups.(iv) Va r i o u s media forms were identified asareas to be developed for training. T h i sextends to the processes of media planning andstrategy, as well as developing critiques ofdominant media.

The project itself is seen as a "work inprogress' with the first phase being a

P U B L I C AT I O N S

EYES ACROSS THE WATER

BOONZAJER FLAFS, Robert, M. (ed.) EvesAcross the Water: The Amsterdam Conferenceon Visual Anthropology.Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis. 1989

introductionRobert Boonzajer Fiscs

The Anthropological and Sociological Film:Production Strategies in the Next Decade

Rolf HusmannIgnorance or Modesty

Colin YoungThe Decolonization of Ethnographic Film

J. Stephen LansingCommentary: Some Preliminary Definitions

Claudine de PranceInterpretive Ethnography: From 'Authentic'Voice to Interpretive Eye'

Douglas HarperPhotography and Anthropological Research:Three Case Studies

Paolo Chlozz1The Sociological Imagination and DoclmtentaryStill Photography: The Interrogatory Stance

Charles S. SucharLines of Descent Photography for Evidence orInterpretation?

Terence WrightNative Participation in Visual Studies: FromPine Springs to Philadelphia

Richard ChalfenAmerican Indians and the EthnocinematicComplex: F rom N a t i v e Participation t oProduction Control

Harald E.L. PennsApplying Visual Anthropology: EthnographicVideo and Policy Ethnography

Edvatrl ThorsenVisual Ideologies o f the Street HomelessComparing Editorial Cartoons to FieldworkObservations

Maurice Penner & Susan PennerUrban Anthropology and Sociology

Charles S. SucherVisual Studies in Rural Life

Franz J. HallerVisual ideology: Analysis of Visual Material

AdolfEhrennaur & Barbara Luem

Visual Ideology: Problems of SubjectivityMarcus Banks

Filing and Retrieval of Visual DocumentationAllison Jab)onko

Native Participation in Visual StudiesHarald E. L. Prins

Visual Studies and the PublicAntonio Marazzi

Visual Studies of Music and DanceMattijs van de Port

PapersFilmsParticipantsCredits

ISSUES IN VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

oi tOTA, Paolo, HALLER, Franz (eds.)Issues in Visual Anthropolotty: Proceedings ofthe 1st Conference on Visual Anthropology it1thr A i n n g o o n . Maretsch Castle, Bozen/Italy: Alano edition heredol 1989.

PART ONE: PERSPECTIVES AND PROBLEMSIN VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYRethinking Ethnographic F i l m : V i s u a lAnthropology and the Dynamics Change

P. ChiozziFrom Ethnographic to Ethnologic Film?

W. PetermannFilm: A Stepchild at the Universities

H. U. SchlumpfTowards a Visual Ecology

M. CanevacciSpace in Ethnographic Film

N. KumarThe Quali tat ive Social Research and i tsSignificance for Filmmaking in Subcultures

R. GirderThe Use of Edina Visuals in Museums

F. HallerCulture Compar ing M o v i e a n d SoundDocumentation in Ethnology

1. EIN EibesfeldtUrban Anthropology a n d F i l m m a k i n g :Perspectives from the Backyard

K. EkstromChances and Restrictions of New Media forDocumentation of Moving Sciences

W. Hellenthal

theoretical development of the media collegeconcept f r o m w h i c h gu ide l i nes a n drecommendations o n the way forward aredrawn. Subsequent phases would involveevaluation and further extension as the projectbecomes more established.The Lamontvi l le Video Project

During 1 9 8 8 t h e C C S U w a sapproached by LAUCA to make a video oftheir cultural day to be held in July. The groupis a youth movement that 'organizes ignorantyouth b y mobilizing through culture: f o rexample, gumboot dancing, recitals of politicalpoetry, drama, chants and sloganeering, toyi-toyi, and mapantsula... s tar t ing where theyoung peop le a r e a t a s consumers o fdiscotheque a n d A f r i c a n p o p m u s i c ' .(Lazerus, 1989:11)

Several hours of footage were recordedand two members of LAUCA were integratedinto the editing process. T h i s process tookplace against a background o f considerablestate repression within the township as well asInkatha/UDF conflicts, and saw both LAUCAparticipants going into hiding.

The request for a video on the historyof resistance in Lamontv8le was taken up bythe 1989 honors group, and LAUCA memberswere once again integrated into the productionprocess. A researcher from the Department ofHistory was also drawn in.

The project itself has been fraught withdifficulties. Equipment available through thecampus Audio-Visual Centre (domestic VHScamera/recorder) has proved to be totallyinadequate - f i r s t because domestic qualityrecordings do not edit well, and secondly theequipment on offer is in a poor state of repairThe crew have thus had to rely on borrowedequipment, since budget constraints do notmake hiring a viable alternative. The crew alsooccupy differing levels of practical competencein equipment use and production techniquesAttempts to work in the township have beenfrustrated by the presence of the South AfricanDefence Force and South African Police, aswell as sporadic violence in the area.

These factors have also made it difficultto maintain contact with LAUCA members, andindeed t o sustain the project. W h a t hasemerged however is a deeper and moreprofound understanding of the process withinwhich the group was engaged T h e fmalproduct i e. the completed video has become

less important, and has been superseded by theneed to develop an understanding o f theacademic/community interface.Accountabi l i ty

The two research projects demonstratethe possibilities that exist for tackling researchthat emerges organically from the communityand is addressed through breaking down thepower relationships that often exist betweenresearchers and 'subject' communities. T h eemergence of the Mass Democratic Movement(MDM) provides an opportunity for researchersto engage the community, and to contribute tothe pror"cc of democratization in this country.This process is twofold - f i rs t ly researchershave an obligation to facilitate the process ofchange away from apartheid, and secondly tocontribute to the development of approachesand structures t h a t c a n f l o w i n t o t h edevelopment of a post-apartheid society. TheMDM has built into it an extensive network ofaccountability and researchers also need to beaware o f how t o negotiate w i th in thesestructures. T h i s i s n o t t o suggest thatresearchers sublimate their needs completely tothe organic demands o f this Movement, butrather that the power relations that often existunder the guise of research be brought into theopen and that these b e negotiated w i t hcommunities.

ReferencesLAZARUS, A. and TONIASEW, K.1989 'Participatory Video: problems, prospects and

a eve study'', Group Media Journal Sonolux,Vol 8 no I, 1989,

l a w, E1989 ' T h e alternative media project', Proceedings of

a seminar on socially relevant research at thet :nivetsity of Natal, University of NatalPietermaritzburg

For more informationWarren ParkerContemporary Cultural Studies UnitUniversity of Natal,King George V Ave.Durban , South AfricaTel: (031) 816-2505

FOURTH ANNUAL REPORTOF THE CONTEMPORARY CULTURAL

STUDIES UNITI JANUARY 1989- 31 DECEMBER 1989

CCSU Annual Report

The Contemporary Cultural StudiesUnit - CCSU - under the directorship of Prof.Key= G. Tomaselli has been actively involvedin various grassroots efforts to carry outparticipatory research using media training andvideo-making. The institute offers a graduatecultural studies program which focuses onalternative media as a means of culturalresistance to apartheid and as a vehicle ofchange through the cultural process. Some ofthe honors courses offered in 1989 include:Theories of Culture; Theories of AlternativeMedia; Culture and Literature; Film/Video andCultural Production: African Philosophy andEthnographic Film; Education and Culture.

The Unit provides research facilitiesand library services, and has assisted variousorganizations, both local and international, inresearch work and publications etc.. It alsoprovides research data, as well as unpublishedinformation on media, broadcasting and cinemain South Africa.

Community oriented activities such asseminars and lectures on media education.intercultural dynamics and educationalstrategies using the visual media and drama areanother area of activity. A journal of culturalstudies entitled Critical Arts is published twicea year on behalf of Critical Arts Projects. Someadditional activities indude:

Print Media:Alternative Press Project is comprised of over30 publishing organizations aimed a tdocumenting the development of an alternativemedia and formulating strategies for itssurvival in the face of state repression.Durban Media Trainers This project aims toprovide skills and theoretical training to anti-apartheid media workers in the greater Durbanregion. The CCSU has been actively involvedwith the DMTG, helping to establish a MediaCollege and to provide training to studentsentering the program.Save the Press Campaign An alliance formedby the Association of Democratic Journalists

and media trainers to fight state's censorship ofthe media.Center For Development Studies The CCSUhas been associated with efforts to establish abranch of the CDS in Natal - an initiative whichattempts to bring together progressiveacademics in order to conduct research into apost-apartheid South Africa.

Video Production.Imijondolo, Durban's Shadow Suburbs (20Minutes). This video documents the DurbanCentral Residents Association campaignagainst evictions. I t was screened at theweekly Mail Film Festival in Cape Town,1989.LAUCA Cultural Day (40 Minutes). A videodepicting the Lamontville : t.rty for CulturalActivities' (LAUCA) cultural day.Media Resistance i n South Afr ica (30Minutes). Scripted and presented for PaperTiger Televison - a public access programme inNew York.Censorship (60 Minutes). Extensive interviewsconducted by global vision producers of theweekly South Afr ica Now, N e w York(October 1989)History of Resistance in Lamontville - a videomade in association with LAUCA

For more information.Contemporary Cultural Studies UnitUniversity of Natal,King George V Ave.Durban , South AfricaTel. (031) 816-2505

an Advisory Group made up of teachers,students, and post-secondary educators. Theseprograms are designed to provide informationon international development to a broad rangeof constituencies and individuals.

IDERA's funding comes f r o mdonations, special project funding, the servicefees we charge for our resources, and anannual grant from the Canadian InternationalDevelopment Agency (CIDA).

For more informagjm. please contactIDERA Films2524 Cypress Street, Vancouver,B.C. V6J 3N2 CanadaTel.: (604) 738-8815IDERA Resource Centre:(604) 732-1496Fax:(604)732-9141Attn: IDERA Films

ALTERNATIVE MEDIA RESEARCH:ACCOUNTABILITY AND THECOMMUNITY / ACADEMIC

RELATIONSHIP

Introduction'Alternative media' in South Africa is

expanding at a rapid rate. Recent months haveseen the formation o f a number o forganizations of progressive media workerswho seek to challenge the dominant order.Whilst these organizations are still in their earlystages o f development, there has been aconcerted effort to employ research basedapproaches to foster the consolidation of theseinitiatives, as well as to develop strategic waysof moving forward.

The Contemporary Cultural StudiesUnit (CCSU) has over the past six months,been involved in two such efforts:(i) A research project into the viability ofestablishing a 'Media College' in the Natalregion in collaboration with the Durban MediaTrainer's Group (DMTG);(ii) A 'participatory' video project on thehistory of Lamontville in collaboration with theLamontville Unity for Cultural Activities(LAUCA).

Within a Cultural Studies paradigmmedia is seen as a way of expressing orarticulating culture 'Al ternat ive media'

therefore, articulates 'alternative' culture. TheCCSU approach to culture can be furtherdefined as being '... concerned with culture asa process: in particular being interested in theprocess o f the 'underclasses' releasing a'cultural energy' as they strive to organize theirresistance to apartheid'. (Louw, 1988:26)

Inevitably, the state has not takenkindly to alternative media and has engaged inboth overt and covert repression of suchinitiatives. Furthermore, despite the accoladessurrounding FW de /Cleric's reform policy thewithdrawal of restrictions on media remainslow on the agenda.The Media College Project

The Durban Media Trainers Group wasformed in 1988 and grew out of an awarenessthat (alternative) media training in Natal hadbeen sporadic and =sustained. In March ofthis year the group approached CCSU forassistance in developing and assessing theconcept of a media college to be established inthe region. The research group was comprisedof CCSU students, representatives from theDMTG and a part-time researcher employed bythe DMTG.

The research design covered thefollowing areas:(i) A n analysis of alternative media asemployed in the process of struggle in othercountries notably Chile, Nicaragua and thePhilippines, as well as approaches developedlocally such as the grassroots populardemocratic model. Examples of communitymedia in the British context were also drawnon.(ii) A strong emphasis was placed onintegrating likely beneficiaries of the collegeinto the project Two one-day workshops wererun, one for trade unions and another for youthand community groups. The informal andopen approach adopted at the workshopsallowed the user groups to clearly express theirneeds and provided the researchers withvaluable further insights(iii) A formal questionnaire was distributedto likely user groups.(iv) Va r i o u s media forms were identified asareas to be developed for training. T h i sextends to the processes of media planning andstrategy, as well as developing critiques ofdominant media.

The project itself is seen as a "work inprogress' with the first phase being a

P U B L I C AT I O N S

EYES ACROSS THE WATER

BOONZAJER FLAFS, Robert, M. (ed.) EvesAcross the Water: The Amsterdam Conferenceon Visual Anthropology.Amsterdam: Het Spinhuis. 1989

introductionRobert Boonzajer Fiscs

The Anthropological and Sociological Film:Production Strategies in the Next Decade

Rolf HusmannIgnorance or Modesty

Colin YoungThe Decolonization of Ethnographic Film

J. Stephen LansingCommentary: Some Preliminary Definitions

Claudine de PranceInterpretive Ethnography: From 'Authentic'Voice to Interpretive Eye'

Douglas HarperPhotography and Anthropological Research:Three Case Studies

Paolo Chlozz1The Sociological Imagination and DoclmtentaryStill Photography: The Interrogatory Stance

Charles S. SucharLines of Descent Photography for Evidence orInterpretation?

Terence WrightNative Participation in Visual Studies: FromPine Springs to Philadelphia

Richard ChalfenAmerican Indians and the EthnocinematicComplex: F rom N a t i v e Participation t oProduction Control

Harald E.L. PennsApplying Visual Anthropology: EthnographicVideo and Policy Ethnography

Edvatrl ThorsenVisual Ideologies o f the Street HomelessComparing Editorial Cartoons to FieldworkObservations

Maurice Penner & Susan PennerUrban Anthropology and Sociology

Charles S. SucherVisual Studies in Rural Life

Franz J. HallerVisual ideology: Analysis of Visual Material

AdolfEhrennaur & Barbara Luem

Visual Ideology: Problems of SubjectivityMarcus Banks

Filing and Retrieval of Visual DocumentationAllison Jab)onko

Native Participation in Visual StudiesHarald E. L. Prins

Visual Studies and the PublicAntonio Marazzi

Visual Studies of Music and DanceMattijs van de Port

PapersFilmsParticipantsCredits

ISSUES IN VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

oi tOTA, Paolo, HALLER, Franz (eds.)Issues in Visual Anthropolotty: Proceedings ofthe 1st Conference on Visual Anthropology it1thr A i n n g o o n . Maretsch Castle, Bozen/Italy: Alano edition heredol 1989.

PART ONE: PERSPECTIVES AND PROBLEMSIN VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYRethinking Ethnographic F i l m : V i s u a lAnthropology and the Dynamics Change

P. ChiozziFrom Ethnographic to Ethnologic Film?

W. PetermannFilm: A Stepchild at the Universities

H. U. SchlumpfTowards a Visual Ecology

M. CanevacciSpace in Ethnographic Film

N. KumarThe Quali tat ive Social Research and i tsSignificance for Filmmaking in Subcultures

R. GirderThe Use of Edina Visuals in Museums

F. HallerCulture Compar ing M o v i e a n d SoundDocumentation in Ethnology

1. EIN EibesfeldtUrban Anthropology a n d F i l m m a k i n g :Perspectives from the Backyard

K. EkstromChances and Restrictions of New Media forDocumentation of Moving Sciences

W. Hellenthal

theoretical development of the media collegeconcept f r o m w h i c h gu ide l i nes a n drecommendations o n the way forward aredrawn. Subsequent phases would involveevaluation and further extension as the projectbecomes more established.The Lamontvi l le Video Project

During 1 9 8 8 t h e C C S U w a sapproached by LAUCA to make a video oftheir cultural day to be held in July. The groupis a youth movement that 'organizes ignorantyouth b y mobilizing through culture: f o rexample, gumboot dancing, recitals of politicalpoetry, drama, chants and sloganeering, toyi-toyi, and mapantsula... s tar t ing where theyoung peop le a r e a t a s consumers o fdiscotheque a n d A f r i c a n p o p m u s i c ' .(Lazerus, 1989:11)

Several hours of footage were recordedand two members of LAUCA were integratedinto the editing process. T h i s process tookplace against a background o f considerablestate repression within the township as well asInkatha/UDF conflicts, and saw both LAUCAparticipants going into hiding.

The request for a video on the historyof resistance in Lamontv8le was taken up bythe 1989 honors group, and LAUCA memberswere once again integrated into the productionprocess. A researcher from the Department ofHistory was also drawn in.

The project itself has been fraught withdifficulties. Equipment available through thecampus Audio-Visual Centre (domestic VHScamera/recorder) has proved to be totallyinadequate - f i r s t because domestic qualityrecordings do not edit well, and secondly theequipment on offer is in a poor state of repairThe crew have thus had to rely on borrowedequipment, since budget constraints do notmake hiring a viable alternative. The crew alsooccupy differing levels of practical competencein equipment use and production techniquesAttempts to work in the township have beenfrustrated by the presence of the South AfricanDefence Force and South African Police, aswell as sporadic violence in the area.

These factors have also made it difficultto maintain contact with LAUCA members, andindeed t o sustain the project. W h a t hasemerged however is a deeper and moreprofound understanding of the process withinwhich the group was engaged T h e fmalproduct i e. the completed video has become

less important, and has been superseded by theneed to develop an understanding o f theacademic/community interface.Accountabi l i ty

The two research projects demonstratethe possibilities that exist for tackling researchthat emerges organically from the communityand is addressed through breaking down thepower relationships that often exist betweenresearchers and 'subject' communities. T h eemergence of the Mass Democratic Movement(MDM) provides an opportunity for researchersto engage the community, and to contribute tothe pror"cc of democratization in this country.This process is twofold - f i rs t ly researchershave an obligation to facilitate the process ofchange away from apartheid, and secondly tocontribute to the development of approachesand structures t h a t c a n f l o w i n t o t h edevelopment of a post-apartheid society. TheMDM has built into it an extensive network ofaccountability and researchers also need to beaware o f how t o negotiate w i th in thesestructures. T h i s i s n o t t o suggest thatresearchers sublimate their needs completely tothe organic demands o f this Movement, butrather that the power relations that often existunder the guise of research be brought into theopen and that these b e negotiated w i t hcommunities.

ReferencesLAZARUS, A. and TONIASEW, K.1989 'Participatory Video: problems, prospects and

a eve study'', Group Media Journal Sonolux,Vol 8 no I, 1989,

l a w, E1989 ' T h e alternative media project', Proceedings of

a seminar on socially relevant research at thet :nivetsity of Natal, University of NatalPietermaritzburg

For more informationWarren ParkerContemporary Cultural Studies UnitUniversity of Natal,King George V Ave.Durban , South AfricaTel: (031) 816-2505

KAFFIR, R., W. PETERMANN and R. THOMS(eds.). Rituale von Leben und Tod. RobertGardner une seine Filme. (Rituals About Lifeand Death: The Films of Robert Gardner).Munchen: Trickster-Verlag. 1989.CONTENTSVisions of the Real: Filin Medium as an Option

Reinhard Kepler/Wetac PetermarmMaintaining the Ethnographic Impulse

Robert GardnerSome Notes on Robert Gardner's Films

Assen Beli1�Moral Tales of a Traveller

Karen RosenbergRobert Gardner and the Anthropological film

Jay RubyRivers of Sand: Towards a Re-interpretation

Peter LuauDead Birds: Reality and Fiction

Johannes RühlRobert Gardner and Akos Ostor on forest ofBlin

Robert Gardner, Akre OstorFurther Thoughts on Forest of Bliss

Hany TcxnicekAppendixFilm ReferencesSelected BibliographyAuthors

SOCIÉTÉ FRANÇAISED'ANTHROPOLOGIE VISUELLE

REGARDS SUR LES SOCIÈTÉS EUROPÉENNES

Our meeting of 1987 in Budapestgenerated two main publications which most ofyou have probably read. For those who havenot and are interested, I will make themavailable on behalf of the authors. Please said3$ for mailing.

1. W A Newsletter, The Society for VisualAnthropology, Vol. 5, N' 1, Spring 1989

Filming RitualIntroductory remarksColette Piaui[ pp. 15.17

Filming Ritual(Paper given in Budapest)Marc H. Piault, pp. 17-19

Filming RitualRound-table discussionintroduced & chaired byDavid MacDougall pp. 19-23

2- Visual Anthropology, Vol. 2, N 2, 1989

Reflections on a Meeting,Toni de Brranhead, pp. I97-205

For more information.Dr. Colette PlankResearch Director, CNRS, FranceChairman, 'Looking at EuropeanSocieties'5, rue des Saints-Pères - 75006 ParisFranceTelephone: (1)42.60-25-76Fax: (1) 42 61 67 92

PART TWO: VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THEALPINE REGIONThe Cinematographic Study of the Community:The Ladin of Fassa and the MOcheni Series

R. MorelliMaterial Culture in Visual Documentation

A. BerbenniThe Custom of Scheibenschlagen - the Beatingof Incandescent Discs in Upper Vinschgau

F, HallerIssues in Anthropological Film Documentationin the Alpine Region

O. BockhomThe Film Section at the Swiss FolckloreAssociation (SVG)

H. U. SchlumpfShrovetide Customs in Documentary Film: TheWolach Project of the IWF, Gottingen

R.W. BrednichWhen Cinema Celebrates

D. Pelligra

PART THREE FILMOGRAPHIES

TEACHING VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

CHIOZZI, Paolo, (ed.). Teaching VisualAnthropology. European Association for theVisual Studies of Man 1989.

PART ONE INTRODUCTIONThe Teaching of Visual Anthropology

Jay RubyIs a Didactics of Visual AnthropologyEmergency?

Paulo QtiozziVisual Anthropology: Some Notes

Colin Young

PART THREE: VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY INELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLSThe Use of Ethnographic Film in SecondaryHigh Schools as Teaching Md in the HumanSciences

Jay RubyAn Experience i n Teaching V i s u a lAnthropology in Italian Secondary HighSchools

Paolo ClziozztWorlds A p a r t : Some Notes o n a nUncomfortable Encounter with the CommercialWorld

Toni de BrianheadShowing Us Doing Visual Anthropology in anElementary School

Judith Narrowe

PART FOUR: ISSUES IN THE PRACTICE OPVISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYThe Presentee in Ritual and His Place WithinEthnographic Film

Claudine de PranceThe Making of 'the Saint'

Antonio MarazztVideo and Anthropology The Polka Project

Robert Baonzajer ReesThe Voice Off in Mingozzi's 'La Tarawa':Informative Function and Narrative Function

Angela GregadniIntroductory Bibliography

Paolo Chiom

OBTAINING SUBSCRIPTIONS TO VISUALan A N T H R O P O L O G Y

PART TWO: VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THEUNIVERSrI1FSSigns of Life Teaching Visual Anthropology inBritain

Paul HenleyTeaching and Research in Film-anthropology atthe University of Paris X - Nanterre

Jane GuéronnetSome Notes on Approach and Didactics inVisual Anthropology

Franz Haller

It has come to my attention that some ofour colleagues f ind i t difficult to obtainsubscriptions to Visual Anthropolonv becausethey must pay in U.S. dollars or Britishpounds. Gordon and Breech/Harwood hascontracts with several import agencies. Theyallow subscribers to pay for subscriptions intheir local currency. Here is the list theyprovided. Should your country not be on thelist, please contact Chr i s Schneider,International Sales Director, STBS, P.O. Box786, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276,USA and he will assist you.Bulgaria

Mrs. Maria ManevaHemRusski6Sofia

ANNOUNCEMENTS

LOK VIRSA: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OFPOLK & TRADITIONAL HERITAGE

Promoting the Cultural Heritage ofPakistan:

Lok Vina undertakes projects whichserve to document and promote Pakistaniculture . It has a nation-wide network whichkeeps it informed on regional cultural events aswell as carries out documentation on regionalcultures.

One area of current research to beundertaken by Lok Virsa includes videodocumentation of Schwan Sharif

For mote information contact:Lok Virsa, P.O. Box 1184,Garden Road ShakarparianIslamabad, PakistanTel: 812267, 812578

VIDEO TIERS MONDE

Fondé en 1985, Vidéo Tiers Monde estun organisme sans but lucratif dont l'objectifest d'appuyer des groupes qui, dans les paysdu Sud, util isent l a v idéo d e façonindépendante à des fins d'éducation populaireet d'Information.

Avec eux, Vidéo Tiers Monde trouvedes ressources pour soutenir des projets auSahel, au Brésil, en Afrique australe, enErythrée, au Chili. I l crée du matérielpédagogique, recrute et encadre du personnel,organise des sessions de formation. R offreson expertise pour l'achat et l'installationd'équipement

Au Canada, Vidéo Tiers Monde doubledes vidéos réalisés dans le Sud, fait lapromotion auprès d e s distributeurs,télédiffuseurs e t organismes d ecoopération /développemenL ❑ participe à desréseaux alternatifs (Sud/Nord et Sud/Sud)d'échange et de distribution et contribue à encréer de nouveaux. Ainsi se tissent des liensoriginaux de solidarité.

Pour tout renseignementVidéo Tiers Monde3575, boul. St-Laurent, suite 608,Montréal, Québec, H2X 2T7 CanadaTéléphone: (514) 982-0770Far ( 5 1 4 ) 843-5681

MARGARET MEAD FILM FESTIVAL

The Margaret Mead Film Festival iscurrently previewing and locating filins for its14th annual event which will take place at theAmerican Museum of Natural History fromSeptember 24-27.

This year as in the past the festival willcelebrate ethnographic and documentary filmsfrom all around the world. Filmmakers willattend the festival and engage in a question andanswer session after the screening.

Submissions have been arriving fromChina, Japan, Poland, Hungary and from allover western Europe and the United States.About 48-50 f i lms w i l l b e selected.Previewing will continue through the firstweek in May.

U you are not vet on the mailing list andwould ice to receive a copy of theprogram please contactAmerican Museum of Natural History,Margaret Mead Film Festival79th Street & Central Park West,New York NY 10024, USATel: 212-769-5305 Fax: 212-769-5233

CORRECTION

Please note the following correction:Colette Piault was reported to have delivered apaper at the final day Generalist Session of theAmsterdam International Visual Conference.The correct presenter was Claudine de France.

Doug HarperPostdam College of the StateUniversity of New York, Posulam.New York 13676-2294. USA

CzechoslavakiaMrs. Vladislava GregotovaAnaForeign Trade EnterpriseVe Smeckach 11CS-116 27 Prague-1

German Democratic RepublicMrs. Martina KrausBuchexportForeign Trade EnterprisePostfach 160DDR-7010 - Leipzig

HungaryMrs. Mariann KennediKulturaForeign Trade EnterpriseP.O. Box 149H-1389-Budapest-BP62

PolandMis. Teresa KaczmerekArs PolanaForeign Trade EnterpriseKrakowskie Przedmiescie 7PL-03 448 - Warsaw

USSRL.B. Alfmov or Oleg FominMezhdunamdnaja KnigaForeign Trade Enterpriseul Dimitrova 39/20SU-113095 - Moscow

YugoslaviaMr. Milan PavlovicNolit Export-hupuitTerazije 13/VIIIYU-11000 - Belgrade

Jay Ruby, EditorVisual AnthropologyP.O. Box 128, Mifflintown.PA 17059 USA

NEW VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYPUBLICATIONS IN GERMAN

(Eitles translated)

HUSMAN, Rolf (ed.). Mit der Kamera infremden Kulturen. Aspekte des filins inEthnologie und Volkskunde (LookingThrough the Camera at Other Cultures.Aspects of Ethnographic Film.) Emsdetten:Verlag Andreas Gehling, 1987.

Contributors: Wal te r Dehnert, PatrickDeshayes, Alois Dbring, Frank Heidemann,Leonard Henny, Rolf Husmann, BarbaraKeifenheim, Karsten Krüger/ AndreasL wenstein, Andreas Kuntz-Stahl, Elliott Leib/Renee Romano, Barbara Lüeni/ MicheleGaliza, Hans-Ulrich Schlumpf, Klaus Stanjek,No Strcker, Karl Erich Weiss.CONTENTSL In t roduc t ionIl. W h a t is an Ethnographic Film?IU. A b o u t Making and Showing FilmsIV. T h e "Other' in Our CultureV. A p p e n d i x

HOHENBERGER, Eva. Die Wirklichkeit degFilms. Dokumentarfilm. Ethnographisher Filin- Jean Roueh. (Jean Rouch: Realism inDocumentary and Ethnographic Fi lm).Hildesheim/Zurich/New York: Georg OhmsVerlag. 1988.CONTENTSPrefaceIntroductionDOCUMENTARY FILM THEORYI. Documentary Film and RealityIl. F i l m Realism as TextIll. T h e Documentary Filin GenreTHE ETHNOGRAPHIC FILMI. D e l -mitions and ClassificationsIl Ethnolog ica l Selena and Ethnological

FilmEthnoscientific ii!mEthnomethodological Film: 7]teWedding Camelq by Judith and DavidMcDougall

V. S u m m a r yON 'SCIENCE' AND THE DOCUMENTARY:JEAN ROUCHI. T h e New Wave of Ethnographic Films

and Cinéma VéritéIl. T h e Filins of Jean Rouch, an OverviewIII. Techniques, Procedures and IdeasIV. Storytelling. an Aspects of Film

RealismV. M o i . un Noir, A Case StudyEpilogueBibliographyFilm References

III.IV.

KAFFIR, R., W. PETERMANN and R. THOMS(eds.). Rituale von Leben und Tod. RobertGardner une seine Filme. (Rituals About Lifeand Death: The Films of Robert Gardner).Munchen: Trickster-Verlag. 1989.CONTENTSVisions of the Real: Filin Medium as an Option

Reinhard Kepler/Wetac PetermarmMaintaining the Ethnographic Impulse

Robert GardnerSome Notes on Robert Gardner's Films

Assen Beli1�Moral Tales of a Traveller

Karen RosenbergRobert Gardner and the Anthropological film

Jay RubyRivers of Sand: Towards a Re-interpretation

Peter LuauDead Birds: Reality and Fiction

Johannes RühlRobert Gardner and Akos Ostor on forest ofBlin

Robert Gardner, Akre OstorFurther Thoughts on Forest of Bliss

Hany TcxnicekAppendixFilm ReferencesSelected BibliographyAuthors

SOCIÉTÉ FRANÇAISED'ANTHROPOLOGIE VISUELLE

REGARDS SUR LES SOCIÈTÉS EUROPÉENNES

Our meeting of 1987 in Budapestgenerated two main publications which most ofyou have probably read. For those who havenot and are interested, I will make themavailable on behalf of the authors. Please said3$ for mailing.

1. W A Newsletter, The Society for VisualAnthropology, Vol. 5, N' 1, Spring 1989

Filming RitualIntroductory remarksColette Piaui[ pp. 15.17

Filming Ritual(Paper given in Budapest)Marc H. Piault, pp. 17-19

Filming RitualRound-table discussionintroduced & chaired byDavid MacDougall pp. 19-23

2- Visual Anthropology, Vol. 2, N 2, 1989

Reflections on a Meeting,Toni de Brranhead, pp. I97-205

For more information.Dr. Colette PlankResearch Director, CNRS, FranceChairman, 'Looking at EuropeanSocieties'5, rue des Saints-Pères - 75006 ParisFranceTelephone: (1)42.60-25-76Fax: (1) 42 61 67 92

PART TWO: VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THEALPINE REGIONThe Cinematographic Study of the Community:The Ladin of Fassa and the MOcheni Series

R. MorelliMaterial Culture in Visual Documentation

A. BerbenniThe Custom of Scheibenschlagen - the Beatingof Incandescent Discs in Upper Vinschgau

F, HallerIssues in Anthropological Film Documentationin the Alpine Region

O. BockhomThe Film Section at the Swiss FolckloreAssociation (SVG)

H. U. SchlumpfShrovetide Customs in Documentary Film: TheWolach Project of the IWF, Gottingen

R.W. BrednichWhen Cinema Celebrates

D. Pelligra

PART THREE FILMOGRAPHIES

TEACHING VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY

CHIOZZI, Paolo, (ed.). Teaching VisualAnthropology. European Association for theVisual Studies of Man 1989.

PART ONE INTRODUCTIONThe Teaching of Visual Anthropology

Jay RubyIs a Didactics of Visual AnthropologyEmergency?

Paulo QtiozziVisual Anthropology: Some Notes

Colin Young

PART THREE: VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY INELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY SCHOOLSThe Use of Ethnographic Film in SecondaryHigh Schools as Teaching Md in the HumanSciences

Jay RubyAn Experience i n Teaching V i s u a lAnthropology in Italian Secondary HighSchools

Paolo ClziozztWorlds A p a r t : Some Notes o n a nUncomfortable Encounter with the CommercialWorld

Toni de BrianheadShowing Us Doing Visual Anthropology in anElementary School

Judith Narrowe

PART FOUR: ISSUES IN THE PRACTICE OPVISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYThe Presentee in Ritual and His Place WithinEthnographic Film

Claudine de PranceThe Making of 'the Saint'

Antonio MarazztVideo and Anthropology The Polka Project

Robert Baonzajer ReesThe Voice Off in Mingozzi's 'La Tarawa':Informative Function and Narrative Function

Angela GregadniIntroductory Bibliography

Paolo Chiom

OBTAINING SUBSCRIPTIONS TO VISUALan A N T H R O P O L O G Y

PART TWO: VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY IN THEUNIVERSrI1FSSigns of Life Teaching Visual Anthropology inBritain

Paul HenleyTeaching and Research in Film-anthropology atthe University of Paris X - Nanterre

Jane GuéronnetSome Notes on Approach and Didactics inVisual Anthropology

Franz Haller

It has come to my attention that some ofour colleagues f ind i t difficult to obtainsubscriptions to Visual Anthropolonv becausethey must pay in U.S. dollars or Britishpounds. Gordon and Breech/Harwood hascontracts with several import agencies. Theyallow subscribers to pay for subscriptions intheir local currency. Here is the list theyprovided. Should your country not be on thelist, please contact Chr i s Schneider,International Sales Director, STBS, P.O. Box786, Cooper Station, New York, NY 10276,USA and he will assist you.Bulgaria

Mrs. Maria ManevaHemRusski6Sofia

ANNOUNCEMENTS

LOK VIRSA: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OFPOLK & TRADITIONAL HERITAGE

Promoting the Cultural Heritage ofPakistan:

Lok Vina undertakes projects whichserve to document and promote Pakistaniculture . It has a nation-wide network whichkeeps it informed on regional cultural events aswell as carries out documentation on regionalcultures.

One area of current research to beundertaken by Lok Virsa includes videodocumentation of Schwan Sharif

For mote information contact:Lok Virsa, P.O. Box 1184,Garden Road ShakarparianIslamabad, PakistanTel: 812267, 812578

VIDEO TIERS MONDE

Fondé en 1985, Vidéo Tiers Monde estun organisme sans but lucratif dont l'objectifest d'appuyer des groupes qui, dans les paysdu Sud, util isent l a v idéo d e façonindépendante à des fins d'éducation populaireet d'Information.

Avec eux, Vidéo Tiers Monde trouvedes ressources pour soutenir des projets auSahel, au Brésil, en Afrique australe, enErythrée, au Chili. I l crée du matérielpédagogique, recrute et encadre du personnel,organise des sessions de formation. R offreson expertise pour l'achat et l'installationd'équipement

Au Canada, Vidéo Tiers Monde doubledes vidéos réalisés dans le Sud, fait lapromotion auprès d e s distributeurs,télédiffuseurs e t organismes d ecoopération /développemenL ❑ participe à desréseaux alternatifs (Sud/Nord et Sud/Sud)d'échange et de distribution et contribue à encréer de nouveaux. Ainsi se tissent des liensoriginaux de solidarité.

Pour tout renseignementVidéo Tiers Monde3575, boul. St-Laurent, suite 608,Montréal, Québec, H2X 2T7 CanadaTéléphone: (514) 982-0770Far ( 5 1 4 ) 843-5681

MARGARET MEAD FILM FESTIVAL

The Margaret Mead Film Festival iscurrently previewing and locating filins for its14th annual event which will take place at theAmerican Museum of Natural History fromSeptember 24-27.

This year as in the past the festival willcelebrate ethnographic and documentary filmsfrom all around the world. Filmmakers willattend the festival and engage in a question andanswer session after the screening.

Submissions have been arriving fromChina, Japan, Poland, Hungary and from allover western Europe and the United States.About 48-50 f i lms w i l l b e selected.Previewing will continue through the firstweek in May.

U you are not vet on the mailing list andwould ice to receive a copy of theprogram please contactAmerican Museum of Natural History,Margaret Mead Film Festival79th Street & Central Park West,New York NY 10024, USATel: 212-769-5305 Fax: 212-769-5233

CORRECTION

Please note the following correction:Colette Piault was reported to have delivered apaper at the final day Generalist Session of theAmsterdam International Visual Conference.The correct presenter was Claudine de France.

Doug HarperPostdam College of the StateUniversity of New York, Posulam.New York 13676-2294. USA

CzechoslavakiaMrs. Vladislava GregotovaAnaForeign Trade EnterpriseVe Smeckach 11CS-116 27 Prague-1

German Democratic RepublicMrs. Martina KrausBuchexportForeign Trade EnterprisePostfach 160DDR-7010 - Leipzig

HungaryMrs. Mariann KennediKulturaForeign Trade EnterpriseP.O. Box 149H-1389-Budapest-BP62

PolandMis. Teresa KaczmerekArs PolanaForeign Trade EnterpriseKrakowskie Przedmiescie 7PL-03 448 - Warsaw

USSRL.B. Alfmov or Oleg FominMezhdunamdnaja KnigaForeign Trade Enterpriseul Dimitrova 39/20SU-113095 - Moscow

YugoslaviaMr. Milan PavlovicNolit Export-hupuitTerazije 13/VIIIYU-11000 - Belgrade

Jay Ruby, EditorVisual AnthropologyP.O. Box 128, Mifflintown.PA 17059 USA

NEW VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGYPUBLICATIONS IN GERMAN

(Eitles translated)

HUSMAN, Rolf (ed.). Mit der Kamera infremden Kulturen. Aspekte des filins inEthnologie und Volkskunde (LookingThrough the Camera at Other Cultures.Aspects of Ethnographic Film.) Emsdetten:Verlag Andreas Gehling, 1987.

Contributors: Wal te r Dehnert, PatrickDeshayes, Alois Dbring, Frank Heidemann,Leonard Henny, Rolf Husmann, BarbaraKeifenheim, Karsten Krüger/ AndreasL wenstein, Andreas Kuntz-Stahl, Elliott Leib/Renee Romano, Barbara Lüeni/ MicheleGaliza, Hans-Ulrich Schlumpf, Klaus Stanjek,No Strcker, Karl Erich Weiss.CONTENTSL In t roduc t ionIl. W h a t is an Ethnographic Film?IU. A b o u t Making and Showing FilmsIV. T h e "Other' in Our CultureV. A p p e n d i x

HOHENBERGER, Eva. Die Wirklichkeit degFilms. Dokumentarfilm. Ethnographisher Filin- Jean Roueh. (Jean Rouch: Realism inDocumentary and Ethnographic Fi lm).Hildesheim/Zurich/New York: Georg OhmsVerlag. 1988.CONTENTSPrefaceIntroductionDOCUMENTARY FILM THEORYI. Documentary Film and RealityIl. F i l m Realism as TextIll. T h e Documentary Filin GenreTHE ETHNOGRAPHIC FILMI. D e l -mitions and ClassificationsIl Ethnolog ica l Selena and Ethnological

FilmEthnoscientific ii!mEthnomethodological Film: 7]teWedding Camelq by Judith and DavidMcDougall

V. S u m m a r yON 'SCIENCE' AND THE DOCUMENTARY:JEAN ROUCHI. T h e New Wave of Ethnographic Films

and Cinéma VéritéIl. T h e Filins of Jean Rouch, an OverviewIII. Techniques, Procedures and IdeasIV. Storytelling. an Aspects of Film

RealismV. M o i . un Noir, A Case StudyEpilogueBibliographyFilm References

III.IV.

LATE NEWS

A LETTER FROM MARIO SOOSAAR

Festival OrganizerPiimu

International Visual Anthropology SocietyP.O. Box 150, Parmi 203 600

Estonia, USSRPhone 7 (01444) 43869telex 173 134 ESTO SU

Dear Men Balkci

Dear members and correspondents o f theCommission on Visual Anthropology,

We would like to welcome you to theIV Pirnu International Visual AnthropologyFestival which will be held October 21-29,1990, in Pinta, Estonie.

Our festival and scientific conferenceare important meetings between Western andEastern filmmakers, scholars, critics andjournalists wi th an interest i n v i sua lanthropology. This year we are going toconcentrate on the cultural survival andnecessary documentation of Nordic societies.As in fast year's festival, we are againplanning a workshop where Westerncinematographers and filin professors willshare their experiences on contemporaryrecording technology.

We hope to invite to the conferencesome shamans from Siberia There will beseveral lectures and films on the mythology ofSiberian peoples. This part of the festival isplanned for the last days of our meeting whichis linked to another conference, organized bythe Estonian Academy of Sciences and entitledTraditional Folk Beliefs Today.

We do hope to have all the gueststogether in Piirnu on Sunday, October 21 for adinner with the Estonian goverunent officialsSo we could start with competition screenings,conferences and serious work on Mondaymorning. T h e award ritual is planned fornoontime, Saturday, October 27 and followedby the two days conference Traditional FolkBeliefs Today. Fo r the guests who wouldlike to travel, again we will try to sail for twodays to several Estonian islands, rich infolklore, rituals and medieval architecture But

this depends on the good will of the Baltic sea,in October it is quite stormy.

If you intend to send the films orvideos for competition, please remember thedeadline for preselection - August 25, 1990.If you want to show your programme only onthe free-screenings, which will be scheduledafter dinners, or if you are coming withoutfilms, let us know before September 10, 1990.For the formal invitation we need yourpassport number, date of birth, citizenship,address. Having these data we can send aninvitation to you and to the Soviet consulatenearest to your permanent residence.

Cordially yours.

Mark Soosaar

La Maison des Sciences de l'Homme proposeun nouveau lieu

UNE VIDEOTHEQUEconsacrée a l'anthropologie

Un service de consultation d edocuments vidéo est offert aux chercheurs etenseignants, aux étudiants, aux élèves maisaussi au public professionnel (journalistes,formateurs, agents de voyages...) ou non(érudits ou curieux). Trois postes d econsultation individuelle sont mis a ladisposition du public pour permettre devisionner sur place des documents. L ecatalogue des documentaires disponiblescomprend a ce jour 70 films vidéo consultablesa la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme. Dansun premier temps, il sera possible de consulteren prenant un rendez-vous par téléphone. LaMaison des Sciences de l'Homme disposeégalement d'une Unité Audiovisuelle.

Responsable de la vidéothèque:Martine Zack Tél: 49 54 20 45Bureau 445 - 4e étageLa Maison des Sciences de l'Homme54, boulevard Raspail (métro Sèvre-Babylone) 75006 Paris. France

GAVAGRADUATE ASSOCIATION FOR VISUAL

ANTHROPOLOGY

Temple University

The graduate students i n VisualAnthropology a t Temple Universi ty(Philadelphia) formed an organization in thefall of 1989 which has quickly gained successin furthering discussion and research in visualanthropology topics. The organization, TheGraduate Association for Visual Anthropology,or GAVA, is currently presenting lectures froma variety of guest speakers representing diverseinterests within the field. The lectures havereceived healthy attendance by members of theacademic communities o f Philadelphia.Among the guests have been John Homiak,Pamela Blakely and Sarah Elder.

GAVA is planning a film festival forthe fall of 1990 and is organizing a panel of

papers f o r the upcoming A m e r i c a nAnthropological Association meetings in 1990.

Inquiries about future events andon-going projects may be directed to:GAVA, do Dept. of AnthropologyTemple University, PhiladelphiaPA 19122, USA

CARAVAN OF DREAMS PRODUCTIONSVIDEOS

JOURNEY TO OTHER WORLDS

The Caravan of Dreams Productionsoffers a series of videos entitled Journey toOther Worlds representing cultures which forthousands of years have lived in harmony withtheir environment. A list of the videosavailable and a short description are providedbelow:

Rainforest RhythmDarien, Panama

In the Rugged Darien Border Land betweenCentral and South America live Chow Indianswho reveal a life harmonized with naturalrhythms of the rainforest.

Prince Lanpepa's VisionWestern Samoa

Polynesian Culture seen through the eyes ofPrince Laupepa whose ancestors won chieflytitle nearly one thousand years ago.

Chambal the UntamedRajasthan, India

A small mining community in Rajasthan caughtin the tyranny between feudal control andbanditry. O n the one side, the legendaryDacoit bandits who live in their dreaded hide-out the Chambal Ravines, on the other, afeudal family which continues to control thearea's mining economy. Here, workers havebeen mining and shaping the rocks that haveserved to build the great monuments of theMogul Empire, the Raj and more recently themodem hotels of India.

An Actor's AfternoonEspiritu Santo, Vanuatu

In a remote Melanesian village, a villager/actor,as in an ancient Greek chorus, steps forward toincarnate a role and demonstrates to the villagethe consequences of certain actions.

Dreamtime WalkaboutWest Kimberley, Western Australia

Having completed t h e rodeo and catt leroundup, a young Aboriginal is taken onwalkabout by the 'last old man of the desert'an Aboriginal elder who can sing to hills- Ajourney to the beyond.

The Moment-by-Moment HarvestNortheast Thailand

West of the war-torn Mekong River there istime enough to appreciate the trail of sunlight inthe water, to enjoy the rhythms of harvest andthe making of silk; a way of life preserved byBuddhist culture.

Where the Gods DanceKathmandu Valley, Nepal

Nepal - a b o d e o f the gods, theater o fwonders, rooftop of the world - where Shiva.symbol o f t h e power o f creation a n ddestruction, st i l l dances over the body o fsleeping humanity. A Hindu funeral andcremation inspires a young man to seek ateacher and master the Dance of Shiva.

Secrets of KataragamaSouthern Sri Lanka

Revelations o f the festival a t Kataragama.where initiate yogis, seeking the ecstasy o ftranscendent wisdom, perform practices whichwould enable them to go beyond the senses,mind, and emotions. The festival reaches itsclimax in the dances accompanying the sacredelephant procession.

Queen of Shcba's BequestSouth Yemen

The beauty and glamour of the Arabian Desert,the ancient spice routes which brought greatwealth to the Kingdoms of the Hadramaut andShabwa. The Yemeni traders still thrive today,living in adobe 'sky-scraper cities whose mudbrick buildings stand nine storeys and arc overfive hundred years old.

Konso ChroniclesKonso, Sidamo, Ethiopia

Tilling rocky fields b y hand, these ha rdworking terrace farmers have established asubsistence economy in beautiful architectedhillside villages. They hold a weekly market,and enjoy the fruits of hard work as well taketime from their tilling and plowing to dance incelebration of a local marriage

Warriors at HomeOmo River, Ethiopia

Considered b y many to be one o f the lastunexplored wilderness areas, the Omo region

maintains its remote character by virtue of ilscrocodile infested waters, wi ld cheetah andboar, and semi-nomadic warring tribes- T h ewomen o f the Omo adorn themselves wi thlarge clay and wood lip plates T h e warriorskeep in shape by fierce stick fighting

For further information write toCaravan of Dreams Productions,312 Houston Street, Fort Worth,Texas 76102 USATel. (817) 877-3332Fax (817)-877-3752

LE DIABLE A LA FOURCHETTE (1989)

'Lou diable de mare ou foulque enLanguedoc, est un oiseau migrateur que leshommes des marais chassent au début del'automne, après les vendanges et le départedes taureaux de la petite Camargue.

Ces chasseurs son t installés a u xcabanes de Lund, Marsillargues, Lansargucs,Manguin .. A peine quelques kilomètres dechemin défoncé, de roseaux, de canaux et depetites digues, les ' lévadons' séparent lescolonies touristiques du littoral de ces petitsvillages de cabanes, en contrebas de voiesrapides, à contre-sens du littoral urbanisé...L'une d e c e s cabanes s 'appe l le ' L aFourchette'.

Un f i lm réalisé avec le concours duConseil Général de l'Hérault, de la DirectionRégionale des Affaires Culturelles, d e laRégion Languedoc Rousi l lon, e t d e l aFondation Européenne des Métiers de l'Imageet du Son.

RéalisateurRechercheCaméra.MontageMusiqueFormaiDuréeProduction

Luc BazinMichèle TaurinesAlain Dumas et Eric HenryMarlene GutherzMain Radier16mm - couleur26 minutesA R I , S31 rue St GuilhemMontpellier, FranceTél. 67 66 02 09

LATE NEWS

A LETTER FROM MARIO SOOSAAR

Festival OrganizerPiimu

International Visual Anthropology SocietyP.O. Box 150, Parmi 203 600

Estonia, USSRPhone 7 (01444) 43869telex 173 134 ESTO SU

Dear Men Balkci

Dear members and correspondents o f theCommission on Visual Anthropology,

We would like to welcome you to theIV Pirnu International Visual AnthropologyFestival which will be held October 21-29,1990, in Pinta, Estonie.

Our festival and scientific conferenceare important meetings between Western andEastern filmmakers, scholars, critics andjournalists wi th an interest i n v i sua lanthropology. This year we are going toconcentrate on the cultural survival andnecessary documentation of Nordic societies.As in fast year's festival, we are againplanning a workshop where Westerncinematographers and filin professors willshare their experiences on contemporaryrecording technology.

We hope to invite to the conferencesome shamans from Siberia There will beseveral lectures and films on the mythology ofSiberian peoples. This part of the festival isplanned for the last days of our meeting whichis linked to another conference, organized bythe Estonian Academy of Sciences and entitledTraditional Folk Beliefs Today.

We do hope to have all the gueststogether in Piirnu on Sunday, October 21 for adinner with the Estonian goverunent officialsSo we could start with competition screenings,conferences and serious work on Mondaymorning. T h e award ritual is planned fornoontime, Saturday, October 27 and followedby the two days conference Traditional FolkBeliefs Today. Fo r the guests who wouldlike to travel, again we will try to sail for twodays to several Estonian islands, rich infolklore, rituals and medieval architecture But

this depends on the good will of the Baltic sea,in October it is quite stormy.

If you intend to send the films orvideos for competition, please remember thedeadline for preselection - August 25, 1990.If you want to show your programme only onthe free-screenings, which will be scheduledafter dinners, or if you are coming withoutfilms, let us know before September 10, 1990.For the formal invitation we need yourpassport number, date of birth, citizenship,address. Having these data we can send aninvitation to you and to the Soviet consulatenearest to your permanent residence.

Cordially yours.

Mark Soosaar

La Maison des Sciences de l'Homme proposeun nouveau lieu

UNE VIDEOTHEQUEconsacrée a l'anthropologie

Un service de consultation d edocuments vidéo est offert aux chercheurs etenseignants, aux étudiants, aux élèves maisaussi au public professionnel (journalistes,formateurs, agents de voyages...) ou non(érudits ou curieux). Trois postes d econsultation individuelle sont mis a ladisposition du public pour permettre devisionner sur place des documents. L ecatalogue des documentaires disponiblescomprend a ce jour 70 films vidéo consultablesa la Maison des Sciences de l'Homme. Dansun premier temps, il sera possible de consulteren prenant un rendez-vous par téléphone. LaMaison des Sciences de l'Homme disposeégalement d'une Unité Audiovisuelle.

Responsable de la vidéothèque:Martine Zack Tél: 49 54 20 45Bureau 445 - 4e étageLa Maison des Sciences de l'Homme54, boulevard Raspail (métro Sèvre-Babylone) 75006 Paris. France

GAVAGRADUATE ASSOCIATION FOR VISUAL

ANTHROPOLOGY

Temple University

The graduate students i n VisualAnthropology a t Temple Universi ty(Philadelphia) formed an organization in thefall of 1989 which has quickly gained successin furthering discussion and research in visualanthropology topics. The organization, TheGraduate Association for Visual Anthropology,or GAVA, is currently presenting lectures froma variety of guest speakers representing diverseinterests within the field. The lectures havereceived healthy attendance by members of theacademic communities o f Philadelphia.Among the guests have been John Homiak,Pamela Blakely and Sarah Elder.

GAVA is planning a film festival forthe fall of 1990 and is organizing a panel of

papers f o r the upcoming A m e r i c a nAnthropological Association meetings in 1990.

Inquiries about future events andon-going projects may be directed to:GAVA, do Dept. of AnthropologyTemple University, PhiladelphiaPA 19122, USA

CARAVAN OF DREAMS PRODUCTIONSVIDEOS

JOURNEY TO OTHER WORLDS

The Caravan of Dreams Productionsoffers a series of videos entitled Journey toOther Worlds representing cultures which forthousands of years have lived in harmony withtheir environment. A list of the videosavailable and a short description are providedbelow:

Rainforest RhythmDarien, Panama

In the Rugged Darien Border Land betweenCentral and South America live Chow Indianswho reveal a life harmonized with naturalrhythms of the rainforest.

Prince Lanpepa's VisionWestern Samoa

Polynesian Culture seen through the eyes ofPrince Laupepa whose ancestors won chieflytitle nearly one thousand years ago.

Chambal the UntamedRajasthan, India

A small mining community in Rajasthan caughtin the tyranny between feudal control andbanditry. O n the one side, the legendaryDacoit bandits who live in their dreaded hide-out the Chambal Ravines, on the other, afeudal family which continues to control thearea's mining economy. Here, workers havebeen mining and shaping the rocks that haveserved to build the great monuments of theMogul Empire, the Raj and more recently themodem hotels of India.

An Actor's AfternoonEspiritu Santo, Vanuatu

In a remote Melanesian village, a villager/actor,as in an ancient Greek chorus, steps forward toincarnate a role and demonstrates to the villagethe consequences of certain actions.