- Convenors:
-
Alesandra Tatić
(Universidad de Barcelona (ERC FOODCIRCUITS))
Greta Rauleac (Central European University)
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- Format:
- Panel
Short Abstract:
This panel invites visual anthropologists and filmmakers to reflect on the evolving role of ethnographic film in embracing political engagement. How do feminist perspectives challenge the longstanding taboo of neutrality, reframe discussions of objectivity, ethics, and collaboration?
Long Abstract:
This panel critically engages with the evolving role of ethnographic filmmaking as a platform for political engagement, specifically through a feminist lens. Visual anthropologists and filmmakers working with marginalized communities and activist groups often navigate the ethical tensions between creating socially conscious, politically motivated work and the pressures to maintain an appearance of "neutrality" or "objectivity." We invite contributors to examine how feminist perspectives challenge these norms. At the heart of this discussion is the democratizing potential of documentary film and multimodal anthropology, allowing us to reach beyond academic discourse, and engage a broader public in ways traditional platforms cannot. Yet, are we maximizing this capacity or simply speaking to like-minded people? How can we leverage the power of ethnographic film to foster broader, more inclusive conversations?
In addition, the feminist ethos emphasizes care ethics and collaboration, highlighting that academic and filmmaking practices are inherently collective efforts. This collaborative approach reflects a shift toward a professional ethic against the culture of overproduction and (self)exploitation. By embracing these values, we align with generational aspirations to establish new norms in visual anthropology and filmmaking. We welcome ethnographically grounded papers that explore strategies for embedding collaborative filmmaking, co-authorship with marginalized communities, and direct engagement with activist groups. Contributors will reflect on balancing objectivity with political commitment and the influence of their practices on the political agency of the communities involved. This panel discusses how film can serve as a tool for political action, advancing an engaged, ethically accountable form of visual anthropology.
Accepted papers:
Paper short abstract:
The paper examines a meaning-centered approach to ethnographic filmmaking through a documentary about a transgender man and his family. Participatory storytelling navigates subjectivity and power, bridging the personal and political to foster audience engagement through universal themes.
Paper long abstract:
When I began developing my documentary feature film A Happy Man, which explores the intimate story of a Czech transgender man, Marvin, his Slovak husband, and their children living in Sweden, the global discourse on transgender rights was intensifying. At the time, the topic remained marginal in Slovakia, where the film was produced, the first documentary to address it. The situation was about to change rapidly throughout filmmaking. Due to this, I recognized the possible socio-political implications of the film and felt a dual responsibility to the protagonists and the broader LGBTQ+ community.
As a cis-gender woman and mother in a long-term heterosexual relationship, I primarily occupied an "outsider" position in the filmmaking process despite its fluid boundaries (Bourke, 2014; McDougall & Henderson-Brooks, 2021). To address this, I engaged Marvin in a participatory filmmaking process to authentically convey the specific values and meanings embedded in his story.
By focusing on partnership, family, and intimate relationships as central to self-identity, we intentionally 'depoliticized' the topic (Dohotariu et al., 2024), prioritizing universal themes over explicit political messaging. This reflexive decision aimed to foster socio-political impact by engaging with the film's audience and encouraging them to empathize with Marvin's lived experiences.
This paper proposes a meaning-centered approach to ethnographic filmmaking grounded in participatory collaboration and reflexivity. By navigating the dynamics of subjectivity and power (Guzman & Hong, 2022), this approach bridges the personal and political, fostering deeper audience connections and contributing to broader socio-political conversations.
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores the role of photography and drawing in ethnographic research on the female body in contemporary Rajasthan. Artistic imagery serves as a tool for investigation and negotiation, fostering collaboration that challenges patriarchal constraints and rethinks participatory methods.
Paper long abstract:
Étienne Rey once described modesty as "merely a question of lighting," suggesting that
it appears or disappears depending on observations and interpretations, much like a photograph.
This paper, based on multi-sited fieldwork in contemporary Rajasthan, examines the role of
photography and drawing in ethnographic research. In anthropology, artistic images typically
function as illustrations, supporting pre-established arguments within a textual framework.
However, this paper argues that images can convey insights into the world that texts cannot.
In a field shaped by patriarchal laws that enforce extreme modesty among the women I
work with, photography and drawing are not only tools for investigation but also modes of
understanding the female body in India today. These practices serve as points of negotiation for
interaction, from photographic portraits to participatory exercises where participants draw their
vision of the Indian woman or comment on images. Collaborative artistic imagery, created with
participants and artists, plays a central role in this research.
The paper emphasizes the importance of integrating artistic practices into ethnographic
methods, framing the image as both a tool for investigation and a means of restitution. The
image becomes more than evidence; it serves as an aesthetic object that outlines contours,
shadows, and lines, and merges with the field. By highlighting these artistic approaches, this
paper advocates for a participatory, collaborative methodology that redefines ethnographic
practice, placing the image at the heart of the ethnographic report.
Paper short abstract:
This article encapsulates a history of social justice filmmaking in South Asia with regard to what is being heralded as the Indian documentary wave since 2021-till date. It will examine feminist filmmaking processes such as the one undertaken by the author for a film titled 'Survey City.'
Paper long abstract:
This article encapsulates a history of social justice filmmaking in India or South Asia more broadly with regard to what is being heralded as the Indian documentary wave since 2021-till date. It asks what role funding institutions and grant-making bodies play who tend to cater to their audiences more than the instincts of justice that tend to motivate filmmakers who pursue stories about underrepresented communities or social justice. It compares these films to the ones produced by feminist processes, feminist filmmaking collectives and initiatives. It will do so through ethnographic enquiry, to locate the source of subjectivity as a process of articulating or empathising with socially marginalised and underrepresented perspectives. The article will complicate the discussion on the process of making social justice films, and delve into the complexity of form and content vs. addressing social issues, as well as the sociological aspects of a non-fiction film and its production. In this version, the article will specifically examine feminist interventions in documentary film in India, as a means to truth and not objectivity.
A previous version of this paper is published here: https://hasp.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/journals/dasta/article/view/27347/26826
Paper short abstract:
How can the stories of mothers and children living in prison be represented using immersive storytelling? This paper analyses methods applied and explore limits and potential of VR technologies within the frame of multimodal anthropology and its commitment to collaborative research practices.
Paper long abstract:
Within the framework of visual anthropology, many years ago I started research on mothers and children living together in condition of imprisonment. After having produced a feature length documentary based on participant observation approach, I started practice-based research to explore how immersive storytelling might be used in visual anthropological research to better communicate topics that are painful and difficult to represent and to explore the capacity of 360° video to share the experience of oppressive of spaces.
We employed participatory creative practices adapted to virtual reality, with illustration, photography and digital storytelling labs. All participants contributed to the script for the VR film and creation of a concept that could underline different and untold perception of the life in prison, from both women and children. This multimodal anthropological research explores how the VR filmmaking process requires a deeper collaboration with participants, and a strong commitment to support different media and forms of art, in order to express complex meanings and feelings about the past and the future in closed settings, expecially for children. In my experience, VR projects foster the participation of people involved, and might help in the circulation of knowledge beyond the academy, especially for a younger public.
Paper short abstract:
Anthropology's demands “clean” narratives devoid of emotion, thus pressuring researchers to adopt patriarchal rationality. Reflecting on my work on violent images from Mexico and the Arab world, I advocate for a feminist approach to images that embraces sensory ethnography and political engagement.
Paper long abstract:
The very existence of anthropology is deeply intertwined with the politics of representing the “Other” in all their complexities. However, the same unveiling should not concern the narrator and dominant patriarchal discourses within our discipline insist that our narratives must be “clean” (Blackman 2007), that is devoid of emotions. This expectation implicitly suggests that women, in particular, should adopt a stance of male rationality, conforming to patriarchal ideals of objectivity and rationality in professional practices. In my contribution to this conversation, I reflect on my work examining the impact of violent imagery in Mexico and the Western representation of the Arab world the beginnig of this centurt, and its reception within the academia. I will critically assess the demands for neutrality—essentially “cleanliness” as opposed to the messiness of emotions—of our field, to articulate my refusal to conform to such expectations. Analyzing images from my ethnographic research, I consider how a feminist approach to image-making that recognizes our emotional realities as researchers and filmmakers can foster social activism, a culture of care, and a greater ability to reach broader audiences.