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Paper short abstract:

The dissertation (film/ research) examines the social, economic and political possibilities and constraints that underpin the production and dissemination of photographic images whose subject is Nepal and which are seen by domestic and international audiences during the time of election.

Paper long abstract:

Analysis of the photographers' published images, alongside their own descriptions of the photographic process, are combined with an observational documentary film White Lies. The film's title (White Lies) reflects these unuttered truths and further refers to the omnipresent photographs of the snow-covered Himalayan mountain range that comprise the most pervasive and widely circulated representations of Nepal. The cumulative consequences and effects of the creation of these images and the massive amount of others representing traditional and religious appearances, means that certain aspects of Nepalese social life and culture continue to be widely circulated domestically and internationally, while other aspects are less commonly documented, remain unphotographed or are actively suppressed for commercial or political reasons. This not only reinforces how photographic representation is intimately linked with power but recalls Hall's argument that one of the most important elements of an image concerns "the power to represent someone or something in a certain way" (Hall,1997a: 259). The dissertation further questions film as a generator of ethnographic knowledge.

Film and companion text were done as a part of the MPhil in Ethnographic Documentary at the University of Manchester.

I present parts of the full film, explain on method/ approach and findings.

A teaser is available online: https://vimeo.com/89925720