Powering popular conceptions: The !Kung in the Marshall family expedition films of the 1950s

The paper develops a theoretical framework for the study of ethnographic film out‐takes in relation to material that is included in released ethnographic film, in this case, the films by John Marshall on the Kalahari San. The significance of what is included in relation to that which is excluded is called the theory of structured absences. This theory is then applied to the study of the 700,000 feet of 16 mm out‐takes not used by Marshall in his released films on the Ju/'hoansi.

The difficulties of analysing archival film are discussed, and issues of representation in relation to exposed footage, released films, and the director's own theory of documentary, are critically examined. The anthropological significance of Marshall's filmic contribution on the Kalahari San is assessed.     

From Documentation to Representation: Recovering the Films of Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson

Although the seven films made by Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson, based on footage shot in Bali and New Guinea during 1936–39, are identified as a landmark in various histories of ethnographic film, these films have been the subject of remarkably little analysis in the anthropological literature. In contrast, their photographic work has received much more extended commentary. Making a close reading of the films in their final edited form, this article aims to recover this aspect of Mead and Bateson's work from its relative neglect. We consider the circumstances under which the films were made, the theoretical ideas that informed them, and the methods employed in shooting and editing. Notwithstanding recent skepticism about both the theoretical ideas and the quality of the research on which Mead and Bateson's work in Bali was based, as well as the naiveté of some of the filmmaking ideas found in the films themselves, when considered as a group, they continue to be interesting examples of a particular transitional phase in the history of ethnographic film.     

The Last of the Great (Foot-Slogging) Explorers: Lewis Cotlow and the Ethnographic Imaginary in Popular Travel Film

This essay focuses on the popular travel films and books of Lewis Cotlow (1898-1987), an American explorer, author, filmmaker, insurance broker and amateur ethnographer who made photographic expeditions to Africa, South America, New Guinea, and the Arctic from the 1930s to the 1950s. This essay aims to uncover the shared historical practices and narratives in travel film and ethnographic film, examining scientific films in light of popular forms of anthropological cinema. In particular, the author examines the construction of an ethnographic imaginary and modes of ethnographic realism in the feature-length color film Jungle Headhunters [1950], shot during Cotlow's various expeditions to the Amazon during the 1940s.     

Anthropologists Working “at Home”: On the Range of Subjects and Forms of Representation in Film,and What Makes These Ethnographic

This discussion explores the meaning of ethnographic film with reference to films made by filmmakers “at home.” It is argued that ethnographicness in film is best conceptualized as a continuum, and that anthropology must embrace transnationalism and the changing nature of “homes” and “abroads” in order to present and represent peoples' voices in an era of increasing globalization. It is argued that the way that ethnographic film evolves, as a cultural product and process itself, should be embraced and celebrated for its ability to recognize universal humanity.     

Dreaming a Narrative and Conjuring an Image: Collaborative Filmmaking with People and Spirits in Melanesia

This article explores long-term creative engagement, through filmmaking, with a community in Papua New Guinea. It examines the process and results of three feature film projects done in collaboration with Melanesian communities. The films discussed here have employed diverse methods to engage with people creatively. All three of these ethnographic films seek to privilege local epistemologies through their construction, narrative approaches and subjects. The article details the methodologies employed for promoting indigenous ways of knowing. It is suggested that filmmaking and creative engagement have helped generate a meaningful site for Lak communities to explore their traditional practices and identity.     

Out of words: The æsthesodic cine‐eye of Robert Gardner: An Exegesis and Interview

Anthropological evaluations of the film work of Robert Gardner have been compromised by their reluctance to engage with it as art, and more broadly, to celebrate rather than vilify the aesthetic possibilities of the genre of ethnographic film. Even recent experiments with reflexivity have done little to challenge the realism that undergirds anthropological reception of non‐fiction film. By contrast, this article and interview considers Gardner's work as both anthropology and art. In particular, it addresses the evolving dialectic of the verbal and the visual in his films, from Bhinden Harbour (1951) to Passenger (1998). It also argues that recent efforts by anthropologists to rethink the concept of culture from a post‐semiotic perspective, foregrounding corporeal embodiment in the constitution of culture as much as the self, expand the theoretical boundaries of visual anthropology. In turn, it suggests that this reorientation towards sensation and perception should allow for a more approbatory understanding of Gardner's films.     

Best of the Sámi Film Festival 2008

ABSTRACT  In June of 2008, the American-Scandinavian Foundation and the National Museum of the American Indian presented a screening of selections originally shown at the 12th annual Sámi Film Festival held in Norway. This marked the first time that a version of the festival, which features works by and about the indigenous peoples of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, was presented in New York. Three of the films shown— Last Yoik in Saami Forests?, Herdswoman, and Calmmis Calbmái ( From an Eye to an Eye) —examined how Sámi communities draw on shared traditions as a productive resource for reimagining Sámi identity in a contemporary context. [Keywords: Sámi, Scandinavia, indigenous media, ethnographic film]     

Early Ethnographic Film in Britain: A Reflection on the Work of Christoph von Fürer-Haimendorf

A brief history points up the relative scarcity of ethnographic film made by British anthropologists in the 20th century. The reasons for this were the difficulty and expense of filmmaking until recent years, and a theoretical disinterest in filmmaking, leading to a limited opportunity to capture visually the last tribal worlds. The importance of Fürer-Haimendorf's collection of films thus stands out. The conditions which made his work in India, the North-East Frontier and Nepal possible are discussed, with an outline of his filming and written ethnographies. Why was he interested in film? Fürer-Haimendorf's technical ability with film and photography combined with an emotional sensibility are key. Not fully a man of his time, he avoided the abstract and anti-materialist phase in anthropological theory. An interview with Fürer-Haimendorf and his views on film are presented; and we see that the role of Betty Fürer-Haimendorf was crucial. We conclude with a brief consideration of his attitudes and, in his later life, the role of the BBC and the professionalization of anthropological filmmaking.     

Jean Rouch and the Birth of Visual Anthropology: A Brief History of the Comité international du film ethnographique

The true scope of Jean Rouch's international activities for the advancement of visual anthropology is little known. Few in the field today are aware that he was for more than 10 years the driving force of the Comité international du film ethnographique, where he was secretary-general as of 1958. It is thanks to his initiative, backed by UNESCO, that the first anthropologist–filmmakers were able to present their films (and often see them hotly debated) in Paris, Brussels, Prague, Venice, Florence, and Locarno. He was, together with sociologist Edgar Morin (with whom he would produce the influential film Chronique d'un été), one of the collaborators of the Florence Festival dei Popoli, then entirely devoted to ethnographic and sociological films. Here Luc de Heusch, closely associated to Jean Rouch throughout those intrepid times, chronicles the seminal years of visual anthropology.     

Let the earth forever remain! Landscape legacies and the materiality of history in the northern Basin of Mexico

This article examines the landscape as an enduring protagonist in the northern Basin of Mexico over the past 1,000 years in communities north of Mexico City. Viewing materiality as the mutual constitution between social and physical worlds, I discuss the production and inheritance of landscape legacies. The manner in which legacies are inherited is tied to changing political, economic, and social conditions. This project integrates multiple sources of information (archaeological, ethnographic, historical, and ecological) to understand transforming connections between people and the landscape in this region, from the ancient state of Xaltocan to the Aztec and Spanish empires, continuing into the struggle for a modern nation. It reveals relationships that are apparent only via a perspective in dialogue with the landscape's materiality over time. In so doing, this article asserts archaeologists' unique contribution to the study of not only long‐term change but also historical processes inherited by and relevant to the contemporary world.     

No Story Is Ever Just a Story

The 41 films at the 2004 Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival showcased a multiplicity of styles and approaches, thus widening the perspective of "what counts" as ethnographic film. The two main events—A Tribute to Jean Rouch and Native Voices—epitomized the festival's commitment to diversity and creative talent. Despite the festival's awkward location in the American Museum of Natural History, the films tackled challenging political subjects and directly addressed questions of representation. Postscreening musical performances, informational panels, and audience–director discussion sessions shaped the festival itself as an ethnographic experience, as well as being a venue for the year's best documentary films. Festival highlights were Raven Tales: How Raven Stole the Sun (2004), Mr. Patterns (2004), and Beauty Academy of Kabul (2004).     

Dead Birds Migrating: DVD Reinvigorates Classic Ethnographic Film

The DVD release of Robert Gardner's Dead Birds exemplifies the added value of extra features and the improvement in viewing quality when existing ethnographic films are distributed in this new medium. Whereas in the past, ethnographic films have been experienced as transitory performances, a nonlinear medium like DVD makes it possible to read a film the way one reads a book, stopping, reflecting, and reviewing. The inclusion of multiple soundtracks, additional sequences, and associated texts affords a density of content that has not previously been possible in either films or books.     

Civilization,wilderness and secrecy: Making two Nigerian films

This paper draws on fieldwork and filmmaking experiences and explores the interpretive process shared between the object, filmmaker, and audience. Mammy Water: In Search of the Water Spirits in Nigeria [1989] is the result of extensive field research and close collaboration between the local community, the researcher/filmmaker and team. Mammy Water priviledges local views on the subject over the academic discourse taking place elsewhere. This has evoked diverse reactions. Some miss the (Western) analytical level, others engage in the discourse itself, or assume the film's own position. The issue of cultural perspective is carried even further in cinematography. Both films discussed here were made not only in close collaboration with African communities but also photographed by an African cinematographer, Alhaji Yusufu Mohammed. His camera evokes diametrically opposed reactions from African and Western viewers. Where Westerners perceive “distance”, African audiences perceive “closeness”, where Westerners perceive a scene as “staged”, African audiences perceive it as “natural”. This contrast of perception is further highlighted in Owu: Chidi Joins the Okoroshi Secret Society [1991], mostly filmed by Alhaji, but complemented by two video inserts by my daughter, Saskia Jell, who produced additional behind‐the‐scenes footage in Coming to Nigeria.

Reviewers have raised another important topic. Owu points to three different levels of secrecy surrounding the masquerade and initiation into Oguta's Okoroshi society. This in turn raises questions on if and how to represent secrecy and the dichotomy between civilization and wilderness on film.

A discussion of post‐production at the IWF introduces a negative dimension and questions the undue impact of politics, German rigidity, and other impediments.

In conclusion, my films are strongly grounded in long‐term field research, and indebted to the people whose cultures I have researched, as well as to Alhaji Yusufu Mohammed's cinematic representation. Situated between Africa and the Western world, my films contain elements of both African and Western cultures, as they attempt to mediate between them. 1 am looking to the genre of ethnographic film primarily for its effort to create meaning in interpreting and representing cultures, for its position between the cultural worlds, and for its possibilities for transcultural communication. This goal could be served by a plurality of methods, different film styles, and varied authors within the same genre.     

Slashing the Complacent Eye: Luis Buñuel and the Surrealist Documentary

Land Without Bread [1932] has always been misunderstood. The film incorporates both documentary and Surrealist traditions and has been considered highly problematic as an ethnographic film. Viewers are still perplexed and even outraged by the insensitivity of the portrayal of the residents of Las Hurdes, a remote region in the western interior of Spain where living conditions in the 1930s resembled those in the Third World. In this article I examine the history of the film's creation in the contexts of both documentary/ethnographic film and Surrealism. I argue that the point of the film is to mock both the complacent viewer and filmmakers who construct colonialist documents; and also that ethnographic filmmaking today still has not fully rid itself of an inherent colonialism that has always characterized the genre.     

A sacred social: Christian relationalism and the re-enchantment of the world

This article intervenes in an ongoing debate as to whether or not Christianity introduces individualism into the lives of its converts. Drawing on an ethnographic account of Emmanuel, a French Catholic Charismatic community, it demonstrates that, counter to the argument that in social cases where Christianity is central, individualism emerges as a prominent value, in some cases it is relationalism that shapes Christian ethical aspirations. I argue that differences observed across contexts in expressions of value and configuration of personhood may be the result of the varied manners in which divine presence is experienced and understood to inhabit the world across Christian communities. Bringing God into the centre of ethnographic analysis in accounting for these differences broadens the debate's comparative reach, while underscoring the manner in which divine agency shapes the ethical aspirations of religious persons and their orientations to social others. Considering the ethical and political implications that one's orientation to the social can have, further investigation is called for into the manner in which the divine is experienced and invoked in social and ritual life.     

Ethical issues in ethnomusicological filmmaking

This paper investigates ethical issues which the author had to face in making a series of four ethnomusicological films in central Switzerland. Specifically related as well to an experience in filming music, the subjects considered raise questions of general concern in ethnographic filmmaking. Three main matters are discussed: revealing editing devices, which is rarely done in the film itself; the risk of the musicians becoming the laughing stock of the village if they appear to have weaknesses in their performance; and the return of research to those being studied, for their own benefit.     

A Review of Hu Tai-li's Documentary Educational Resources Series

ABSTRACT  This review addresses six films made by Taiwan's most well respected ethnographic filmmaker, Hu Tai-li. The films were recently released as part of the Documentary Educational Resources series and cover Hu's most well-known works. The films in the series span two decades, beginning with her first film in 1985. Hu's films capture the everyday lives of the disenfranchised in Taiwan, ranging from aboriginal groups to working-class Taiwanese who have been displaced by shifting economic structures. Her films are especially important for Taiwan Studies, for they capture fading traditions as well as continued ethnic and class tensions within Taiwan. As such, the films are important for anyone who wants to come to a better understanding of Taiwan's past and present.     

Jean Rouch's ethnographic path

This article considers the multiple influences that have shaped Jean Rouch's ethnographic gaze upon the Songhay people of Niger. Marcel Griaule, Rouch's mentor, undoubtedly influenced his student's ethnographic approach to Songhay. But Rouch was equally influenced, I am convinced, by his direct and unforgettable confrontation with the mysteries of the Songhay world. After a discussion of the methodological and theoretical orientations of the Griaule school, I analyze Rouch's major ethnographic work, La Religion et la magie Songhay, focusing upon how Griaulian epistemology and Songhay realities molded the textual presentation. I then discuss several of Rouch's major films—Les Magiciens de Wanzerbé, The Lion Hunters, Les Maîtres Fous, and Tourou et Bitti, placing them within an ethnographic and epistemological context. This analysis leads to a consideration of Rouch's unrecognized contribution to anthropology.     

“Two kinds of bioscope”: Practical community concerns and ethnographic film in Namibia

A quote from a Namibian Ju/'hoan political leader introduces the topic of community concerns about the practical implications of various styles of ethnographic filmmaking. The main issues addressed include communication, leadership, and decision‐making processes internal to the community being filmed; development planning and self‐presentation in state and international contexts; community participation in design of, and remuneration from, film projects; images produced and their relevance to governmental and international funding; and dialogue within both the local and the anthropological communities on the consequences of filmic decisions. Examples from six film projects in Nyae Nyae, Namibia, over the last decade are used to illustrate how complex land rights, natural resource rights, development planning, and external political issues may be more (or less) effectively dealt with depending on community involvement, presentational choices and activist goals.