Paper short abstract:

This paper interrogates approaches of anthropologists equipped with a camera and dimensions of consent through the collection of the biography of one research-participant. The description raises issues of power and ethics doing fieldwork.

Paper long abstract:

"You could make a documentary based on my life history." - "But, Sabon-Nim, that is what we are already doing for more than a year," replied a peer loudly and surprisedly to the 80-year-old Taekwondo Master, while I was setting up the camera for my last filmed interview. Hence, the utterance of the elderly research participant caused tension and led me to question the ways of having obtained his consent and adhering ethical standards. Did I assess properly power dynamics in the field? Was it consented due to a disinterest in the output? Is it an expression of approval for dissemination?

The paper discusses power constellations and forms of consent - to probe approaches of anthropologists equipped with a camera. Nowadays, people are used to being photographed, filmed and recorded in everyday-life. Especially, in recent years the students of the Master are recording his statements to create legacy. Conducting fieldwork in Argentina on practices of care in the realm of Asian martial arts, the applied methods of filming interviews and situations of everyday life did not contradict the group's idea to promote the position of their Master. Additionally, ethical guidelines barely discuss the issue of practical audio-visual methods including, recording, analysis and dissemination (Cox and Wright 2010). Over the core of a year, I collected the life story of a Taekwondo pioneer and one little comment brought up the big question: What does informed consent mean for visual anthropologists?