5 - Alternative Ethnographic Representation and Practice: Ethnographic Film

Visual ethnography has had a place in anthropology since the discipline first began. It has, however, often retained a peripheral position – the textual dominates, both as an ethnographic practice and as a pedagogical tool for teaching students about ethnographic representation. Why is this the case? What can we learn from taking film seriously as ethnographic examples and as a practice?  

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This week, following from the previous module, we turn our focus to another form of alternative anthropological expression: ethnographic film. We will consider why the textual became the dominant mode of ethnographic expression before looking at what ethnographic film can offer anthropology. Our focus will be on exploring the potential of ethnographic film to engage our senses in a way which may help us understand ethnography differently and on how experimental, artistic practices can help produce a more accountable form of ethnographic engagement and representation.

We will look closely at the Harvard Sensory Ethnography Lab and one of their standout films to contextualise these lines of inquiry. We will also look at two filmmakers who engage with experimental filmmaking practices and think about how their work contributes to the expansion of what ethnography can look like and achieve.