[Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the other" by a white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye roll of "great, another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know the trope, but I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. What are some? ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
You seem to contradict yourself: you say 'whenever I see' etc, but then ask 'what are some (of these films)'? If you know you've seen some, how come you can't identify them? Nicky. -Original Message- From: Chris Freeman To: frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com Sent: Fri, 1 May 2015 13:15 Subject: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the other" by a white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye roll of "great, another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know the trope, but I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. What are some? ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
I've seen them by independent filmmakers at micro cinema screenings. I mean what are the big ones that have come over the last 100 years of cinema that have made it a trope? I only know Nanook of the North. On Friday, May 1, 2015, wrote: > You seem to contradict yourself: you say 'whenever I see' etc, but then > ask 'what are some (of these films)'? If you know you've seen some, how > come you can't identify them? > > Nicky. > > > > -Original Message- > From: Chris Freeman > > To: frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com > > Sent: Fri, 1 May 2015 13:15 > Subject: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other > > Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the other" by > a white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye roll of > "great, another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know the > trope, but I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. > What are some? > > ___ > FrameWorks mailing listframewo...@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
Jean Rouch and Robert Garnder come to mind. Both were prolific ethnographic filmmakers, but for Rouch I’d recommend Chronicle of a Summer (1960), The Mad Masters (1955), and Jaguar (1967), and for Garnder Dead Birds (1964). Chronicle is especially interesting because Rouch turns the “other-izing” gaze of the ethnographic documentary to a group of white Parisians. There are plenty of others, but Rouch and Garnder stand as the major figures of ethnographic documentary, at least as far as white male filmmakers are concerned (obviously Trinh Minh-ha and Germaine Dieterlen, among others, are important filmmakers in this canon, not to mention Margaret Mead). But I wouldn’t say that their films deserve a collective eye roll; if the genre has declined into cliche (I’m not saying it has, just that I don’t know) I wouldn’t fault these filmmakers. Certainly when the representatives of one culture make films about another there are all sorts of potential pitfalls, but Rouch and Garnder approached the task knowingly and reflexively. I don’t believe they worked under the assumption that their acts of “putting minorities onscreen” was a simple matter (and are the African men and women in many of their films “minorities?” They would be a members of a racial minority in the U.S. or Europe, but not in Africa, I’d say). Hope this helps. Jonathan Dr. Jonathan Walley Associate Professor Department of Cinema Denison University wall...@denison.edu > On May 1, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Chris Freeman > wrote: > > I've seen them by independent filmmakers at micro cinema screenings. I mean > what are the big ones that have come over the last 100 years of cinema that > have made it a trope? I only know Nanook of the North. > > > > On Friday, May 1, 2015, <mailto:nicky.ham...@talktalk.net>> wrote: > You seem to contradict yourself: you say 'whenever I see' etc, but then ask > 'what are some (of these films)'? If you know you've seen some, how come you > can't identify them? > > Nicky. > > > > -Original Message- > From: Chris Freeman > > To: frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com > > Sent: Fri, 1 May 2015 13:15 > Subject: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other > > Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the other" by a > white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye roll of "great, > another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know the trope, but > I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. What are some? > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > <https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks> > > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
> Hope this helps. > Jonathan > > Dr. Jonathan Walley > Associate Professor > Department of Cinema > Denison University > wall...@denison.edu > > > On May 1, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Chris Freeman < > christopherbriggsfree...@gmail.com> wrote: > > I've seen them by independent filmmakers at micro cinema screenings. I > mean what are the big ones that have come over the last 100 years of cinema > that have made it a trope? I only know Nanook of the North. > > > > On Friday, May 1, 2015, wrote: > >> You seem to contradict yourself: you say 'whenever I see' etc, but then >> ask 'what are some (of these films)'? If you know you've seen some, how >> come you can't identify them? >> >> Nicky. >> >> >> >> -Original Message- >> From: Chris Freeman >> To: frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> Sent: Fri, 1 May 2015 13:15 >> Subject: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other >> >> Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the other" >> by a white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye roll of >> "great, another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know the >> trope, but I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. >> What are some? >> >> ___ >> FrameWorks mailing >> listFrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.comhttps://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> >> ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > > > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > -- Andy Ditzler www.filmlove.org www.johnq.org Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
amed > after them here in the U.S. The legacy continues. > > Also look at Bunuel's "Land Without Bread" for a very wicked and very > early parody of exactly what you're describing. > > It's not so much that a given film personifies the cliche uncomplicatedly > (though I'm sure we can come up with more examples of that), but that much > of documentary filmmaking practice to this day replicates the conditions of > early anthropological (colonialist) uses of photography and film. > Non-diegetic music (usually a giveaway), slow-motion reaction shots > currently in vogue (of a subject saddened by tragedy, for instance), > "secret" filming (often staged as such, of course) - all of these > contribute to othering and other forms of exploitation (often ostensibly > with the opposite goal, but nonetheless...). > > Some of the most shocking current videos are those made for the "social > experiment" trend on Youtube, such as: > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiWxrpikWgs or > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD1VT7YRJ5I. As with most things at this > level of toxicity, it would take awhile to unpack the interlocking > oppressions, both formal and societal, behind these videos and their > success. I will just note here that the self-reflexive techniques developed > by many 60s/70s ethnographic and documentary filmmakers in order to > critically examine the filmmaker's relation to subjects, are here deployed > for the opposite purpose. As I say, pretty toxic stuff. > > Regarding Jean Rouch, I might disagree with Jonathan that Rouch "turns the > 'other-izing' gaze of the ethnographic documentary to a group of white > Parisians" in Chronicle of a Summer. I think Chronicle is not about turning > the tables particularly, but about applying Rouch's concept of shared > anthropology in Paris rather than among the Songhay. If any tables are > turned in the film, it's on the filmmakers themselves, as evidenced by the > movie's final scene. Rouch's "Petit a Petit" (I think that's the one) does > have a hilarious scene in which Rouch's African collaborators take the > camera and mic out on the streets of Paris, turning the tables and treating > Parisians as anthropological subjects. They even take measurements of their > subjects on camera, in a parody of 19th-century anthropological > photography. > > I would agree that if you're looking for films that merit "the collective > eye-roll," Flaherty, Rouch, Gardner, Mead, Asch, Marshall et al are not > where I'd turn. > > Andy Ditzler > > > On Fri, May 1, 2015 at 1:19 PM, Jonathan Walley > wrote: > >> Jean Rouch and Robert Garnder come to mind. Both were prolific >> ethnographic filmmakers, but for Rouch I’d recommend *Chronicle of a >> Summer* (1960), *The Mad Masters* (1955), and *Jaguar* (1967), and for >> Garnder *Dead Birds* (1964). Chronicle is especially interesting because >> Rouch turns the “other-izing” gaze of the ethnographic documentary to a >> group of white Parisians. >> >> There are plenty of others, but Rouch and Garnder stand as the major >> figures of ethnographic documentary, at least as far as white male >> filmmakers are concerned (obviously Trinh Minh-ha and Germaine Dieterlen, >> among others, are important filmmakers in this canon, not to mention >> Margaret Mead). But I wouldn’t say that their films deserve a collective >> eye roll; if the genre has declined into cliche (I’m not saying it has, >> just that I don’t know) I wouldn’t fault these filmmakers. Certainly when >> the representatives of one culture make films about another there are all >> sorts of potential pitfalls, but Rouch and Garnder approached the task >> knowingly and reflexively. I don’t believe they worked under the assumption >> that their acts of “putting minorities onscreen” was a simple matter (and >> are the African men and women in many of their films “minorities?” They >> would be a members of a racial minority in the U.S. or Europe, but not in >> Africa, I’d say). >> >> Hope this helps. >> Jonathan >> >> Dr. Jonathan Walley >> Associate Professor >> Department of Cinema >> Denison University >> wall...@denison.edu >> >> >> On May 1, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Chris Freeman < >> christopherbriggsfree...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >> I've seen them by independent filmmakers at micro cinema screenings. I >> mean what are the big ones that have come over the last 100 years of cinema >> that have made it a trope? I only know Nanook of the North. >> >> >> >> On Friday,
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
;>> are the African men and women in many of their films “minorities?” They >>> would be a members of a racial minority in the U.S. or Europe, but not in >>> Africa, I’d say). >>> >>> Hope this helps. >>> Jonathan >>> >>> Dr. Jonathan Walley >>> Associate Professor >>> Department of Cinema >>> Denison University >>> wall...@denison.edu >>> >>> >>> On May 1, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Chris Freeman < >>> christopherbriggsfree...@gmail.com> wrote: >>> >>> I've seen them by independent filmmakers at micro cinema screenings. I >>> mean what are the big ones that have come over the last 100 years of cinema >>> that have made it a trope? I only know Nanook of the North. >>> >>> >>> >>> On Friday, May 1, 2015, wrote: >>> >>>> You seem to contradict yourself: you say 'whenever I see' etc, but >>>> then ask 'what are some (of these films)'? If you know you've seen some, >>>> how come you can't identify them? >>>> >>>> Nicky. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -Original Message- >>>> From: Chris Freeman >>>> To: frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>>> Sent: Fri, 1 May 2015 13:15 >>>> Subject: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other >>>> >>>> Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the other" >>>> by a white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye roll of >>>> "great, another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know the >>>> trope, but I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. >>>> What are some? >>>> >>>> ___ >>>> FrameWorks mailing >>>> listFrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.comhttps://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>> >>>> ___ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> >>> >>> ___ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> >> >> >> -- >> >> Andy Ditzler >> www.filmlove.org >> www.johnq.org >> Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University >> >> ___ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> >> > > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > -- Andy Ditzler www.filmlove.org www.johnq.org Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
; ethnographic filmmakers, but for Rouch I’d recommend *Chronicle of a >>>> Summer* (1960), *The Mad Masters* (1955), and *Jaguar* (1967), and for >>>> Garnder *Dead Birds* (1964). Chronicle is especially interesting >>>> because Rouch turns the “other-izing” gaze of the ethnographic documentary >>>> to a group of white Parisians. >>>> >>>> There are plenty of others, but Rouch and Garnder stand as the major >>>> figures of ethnographic documentary, at least as far as white male >>>> filmmakers are concerned (obviously Trinh Minh-ha and Germaine Dieterlen, >>>> among others, are important filmmakers in this canon, not to mention >>>> Margaret Mead). But I wouldn’t say that their films deserve a collective >>>> eye roll; if the genre has declined into cliche (I’m not saying it has, >>>> just that I don’t know) I wouldn’t fault these filmmakers. Certainly when >>>> the representatives of one culture make films about another there are all >>>> sorts of potential pitfalls, but Rouch and Garnder approached the task >>>> knowingly and reflexively. I don’t believe they worked under the assumption >>>> that their acts of “putting minorities onscreen” was a simple matter (and >>>> are the African men and women in many of their films “minorities?” They >>>> would be a members of a racial minority in the U.S. or Europe, but not in >>>> Africa, I’d say). >>>> >>>> Hope this helps. >>>> Jonathan >>>> >>>> Dr. Jonathan Walley >>>> Associate Professor >>>> Department of Cinema >>>> Denison University >>>> wall...@denison.edu >>>> >>>> >>>> On May 1, 2015, at 12:54 PM, Chris Freeman < >>>> christopherbriggsfree...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>> I've seen them by independent filmmakers at micro cinema screenings. >>>> I mean what are the big ones that have come over the last 100 years of >>>> cinema that have made it a trope? I only know Nanook of the North. >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> On Friday, May 1, 2015, wrote: >>>> >>>>> You seem to contradict yourself: you say 'whenever I see' etc, but >>>>> then ask 'what are some (of these films)'? If you know you've seen some, >>>>> how come you can't identify them? >>>>> >>>>> Nicky. >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> -Original Message- >>>>> From: Chris Freeman >>>>> To: frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>>>> Sent: Fri, 1 May 2015 13:15 >>>>> Subject: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other >>>>> >>>>> Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the >>>>> other" by a white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye >>>>> roll >>>>> of "great, another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know >>>>> the trope, but I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. >>>>> What are some? >>>>> >>>>> ___ >>>>> FrameWorks mailing >>>>> listFrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.comhttps://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>>> >>>>> ___ >>>> FrameWorks mailing list >>>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> ___ >>>> FrameWorks mailing list >>>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> >>> Andy Ditzler >>> www.filmlove.org >>> www.johnq.org >>> Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University >>> >>> ___ >>> FrameWorks mailing list >>> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> >> >> ___ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> >> > > > -- > > Andy Ditzler > www.filmlove.org > www.johnq.org > Graduate Institute of the Liberal Arts, Emory University > > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
Ethnographic films, more Thanks to everyone contributing to this interesting thread. Some further thoughts from my own teaching and research and mediamaking: There’s a very long history of visual representations of The Other that predates cinema. Slide shows of exotic places and peoples were common in the 19th century combining entertainment and edification. A trip to “The Holy Land” was a perennial favorite. As a kid I saw a quick sketch artist do this sort of thing in a church setting, so it probably predates photography. It’s probably useful to be aware that there’s an overlap but sometimes a difference between “anthropological film” and “ethnographic film” by understanding ethnography as a form of investigation that is also used by sociologists, cultural analyists, etc., not just people in the field of anthro. There’s a very well developed discussion in the field of Visual Anthropology over the past 30 years or so. If you have access to a university library, it’s worth some time browsing the shelves for that category, and the journals. Sol Worth and John Adair’s Through Navaho Eyes—a classic, giving the camera to the people to make their own films Scott Macdonald, American Ethnographic Film and Personal Documentary: The Cambridge Turn (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013), Outstanding book on the Harvard/MIT works of Gardner, Marshall, Pincus, etc. Mirzoeff, Nicholas, ed. The Visual Culture Reader. Excellent collection of pertinent essays. Catherine Russell, Experimental Ethnography All the works of Trinh (already mentioned) Jim Lane, Autobiographical Documentary in America (mostly on straight white guys, but there’s also a very interesting development of autobiography in feminist and gay movement media) Barbach and Taylor, Cross-cultural Filmmaking Taylor, Visualizing Theory Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media (Sightlines) by Ella Shohat and Robert Stam Race in Translation: Culture Wars around the Postcolonial AtlanticMay 28, 2012 by Robert Stam and Ella Shohat The links to colonialism and imperialism have been dramatically underlined by more recent research and criticism. I’d suggest: Dream Factories of a Former Colony: American Fantasies, Philippine Cinema by José B. Capino. Almost all the cinematic record of Philippine life as a US colony was made by Americans and ended up in the US. This young scholar recovered these lost records for the native audience. For an outstanding critique of Robert Gardner’s Forest of Bliss: Jyotsna Kapur, “The Art of Ethnographic Film and the Politics of Protesting Modernity: Robert Gardner’s Forest of Bliss. Visual Anthropology, vol 9, 167-185. And some work worth viewing again and thinking about: Basil Wright, Song of Ceylon Kubelka’s Our Trip to Africa TV and video ranging from: Anthony Bourdain food/travel reality format shows (CNN, Food Channel, Travel Channel) (and along the same lines, Andrew Zimmer’s shows on bizarre foods) Lonely Planet and other hipster travel docs, usually featuring a physically appealing young (blond) visitor to the developing world’s more exotic locations Gonzo porn visits to foreign brothels Chuck Kleinhans chuck...@northwestern.edu ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
For the new website on Navajo Film Themselves (aka: Through Navaho Eyes) http://www.penn.museum/sites/navajofilmthemselves/ Best regards, Dennis Doros Milestone Film & Video PO Box 128 / Harrington Park, NJ 07640 Phone: 201-767-3117 / Fax: 201-767-3035 / Email: milefi...@gmail.com Visit our main website! www.milestonefilms.com Visit our new websites! www.mspresents.com, www.portraitofjason.com, www.shirleyclarkefilms.com, To see or download our 2014 Video Catalog, click here! Support "Milestone Film" on Facebook and Twitter! On Sat, May 2, 2015 at 2:02 PM, Chuck Kleinhans wrote: > Ethnographic films, more > > > > Thanks to everyone contributing to this interesting thread. > > Some further thoughts from my own teaching and research and mediamaking: > > > > > There’s a very long history of visual representations of The Other that > predates cinema. Slide shows of exotic places and peoples were common in the > 19th century combining entertainment and edification. A trip to “The Holy > Land” was a perennial favorite. As a kid I saw a quick sketch artist do this > sort of thing in a church setting, so it probably predates photography. > > > > It’s probably useful to be aware that there’s an overlap but sometimes a > difference between “anthropological film” and “ethnographic film” by > understanding ethnography as a form of investigation that is also used by > sociologists, cultural analyists, etc., not just people in the field of > anthro. > > > > There’s a very well developed discussion in the field of Visual Anthropology > over the past 30 years or so. If you have access to a university library, > it’s worth some time browsing the shelves for that category, and the journals. > > > > Sol Worth and John Adair’s Through Navaho Eyes—a classic, giving the camera > to the people to make their own films > > > > Scott Macdonald, American Ethnographic Film and Personal Documentary: The > Cambridge Turn (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2013), Outstanding > book on the Harvard/MIT works of Gardner, Marshall, Pincus, etc. > > > > Mirzoeff, Nicholas, ed. The Visual Culture Reader. Excellent collection of > pertinent essays. > > > > Catherine Russell, Experimental Ethnography > > > > All the works of Trinh (already mentioned) > > > > Jim Lane, Autobiographical Documentary in America (mostly on straight white > guys, but there’s also a very interesting development of autobiography in > feminist and gay movement media) > > > > Barbach and Taylor, Cross-cultural Filmmaking > > Taylor, Visualizing Theory > > > > Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media (Sightlines) > > by Ella Shohat and Robert Stam > > > > > > Race in Translation: Culture Wars around the Postcolonial AtlanticMay 28, 2012 > > by Robert Stam and Ella Shohat > > > > > > The links to colonialism and imperialism have been dramatically underlined by > more recent research and criticism. I’d suggest: > > Dream Factories of a Former Colony: American Fantasies, Philippine Cinema > > by José B. Capino. Almost all the cinematic record of Philippine life as a > US colony was made by Americans and ended up in the US. This young scholar > recovered these lost records for the native audience. > > > > For an outstanding critique of Robert Gardner’s Forest of Bliss: Jyotsna > Kapur, “The Art of Ethnographic Film and the Politics of Protesting > Modernity: Robert Gardner’s Forest of Bliss. Visual Anthropology, vol 9, > 167-185. > > > > > > > > And some work worth viewing again and thinking about: > > > > Basil Wright, Song of Ceylon > > > > Kubelka’s Our Trip to Africa > > > > TV and video ranging from: > > Anthony Bourdain food/travel reality format shows (CNN, Food Channel, Travel > Channel) (and along the same lines, Andrew Zimmer’s shows on bizarre foods) > > > > Lonely Planet and other hipster travel docs, usually featuring a physically > appealing young (blond) visitor to the developing world’s more exotic > locations > > > > Gonzo porn visits to foreign brothels > > > > > > > Chuck Kleinhans > chuck...@northwestern.edu > > > > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
Chris, If you're interested in short works by white, American males that work at undoing traditional visual ethnography, maybe take a look at Steve Reinke's THE MENDI (2006) https://vimeo.com/68059870 and Ben Russell's RIVER RITES (2011) https://vimeo.com/25532189 - Warren On Fri, May 1, 2015 at 12:54 PM, Chris Freeman < christopherbriggsfree...@gmail.com> wrote: > I've seen them by independent filmmakers at micro cinema screenings. I > mean what are the big ones that have come over the last 100 years of cinema > that have made it a trope? I only know Nanook of the North. > > > > On Friday, May 1, 2015, wrote: > >> You seem to contradict yourself: you say 'whenever I see' etc, but then >> ask 'what are some (of these films)'? If you know you've seen some, how >> come you can't identify them? >> >> Nicky. >> >> >> >> -Original Message----- >> From: Chris Freeman >> To: frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> Sent: Fri, 1 May 2015 13:15 >> Subject: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other >> >> Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the other" >> by a white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye roll of >> "great, another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know the >> trope, but I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. >> What are some? >> >> ___ >> FrameWorks mailing >> listFrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.comhttps://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> >> > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
Re: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other
I was born and have lived most of my life in a 3rd world country and I will tell you that I have never seen a documentary film about it (of any kind) that tells me anything about it that is interesting or valid. That applies to films made by natives or foreigners. Cinema is a very poor medium for such discussions. It was made for delirium. I would rather watch any fiction film about my country, even the most formula Hollywoiod fare, over any ethnographic documentary about it. At least I know the Hollywood bias from the get go https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfAuPXpu1TI 2015-05-04 11:25 GMT-04:00 Warren Cockerham : > Chris, > > If you're interested in short works by white, American males that work at > undoing traditional visual ethnography, maybe take a look at Steve Reinke's > THE MENDI (2006) https://vimeo.com/68059870 and Ben Russell's RIVER RITES > (2011) https://vimeo.com/25532189 > > - Warren > > On Fri, May 1, 2015 at 12:54 PM, Chris Freeman < > christopherbriggsfree...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I've seen them by independent filmmakers at micro cinema screenings. I >> mean what are the big ones that have come over the last 100 years of cinema >> that have made it a trope? I only know Nanook of the North. >> >> >> >> On Friday, May 1, 2015, wrote: >> >>> You seem to contradict yourself: you say 'whenever I see' etc, but then >>> ask 'what are some (of these films)'? If you know you've seen some, how >>> come you can't identify them? >>> >>> Nicky. >>> >>> >>> >>> -Original Message- >>> From: Chris Freeman >>> To: frameworks@jonasmekasfilms.com >>> Sent: Fri, 1 May 2015 13:15 >>> Subject: [Frameworks] Ethnographic films / studies of The Other >>> >>> Whenever I see an ethnographic travelogue or some study of "the other" >>> by a white male at a screening, there's always a collective eye roll of >>> "great, another white male putting minorities on the screen." I know the >>> trope, but I don't actually know any of those specific cliche films. >>> What are some? >>> >>> ___ >>> FrameWorks mailing >>> listFrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.comhttps://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >>> >>> >> ___ >> FrameWorks mailing list >> FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com >> https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks >> >> > > ___ > FrameWorks mailing list > FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com > https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks > > ___ FrameWorks mailing list FrameWorks@jonasmekasfilms.com https://mailman-mail5.webfaction.com/listinfo/frameworks
