Loizo: "For the Record: Documentation filming from Innocent Realism to Self-consciousness”

Loizo: "For the Record: Documentation filming from Innocent Realism to Self-consciousness”

There are certain distinctions and characteristics of Ethnographic films that separate them from being labeled as documentaries. Jay Ruby describes these films as having to fulfill four specific criteria. He believed that ethnographic films must concentrate on an entire culture or a specific group in a culture. The films must explore theories of this culture, must give a detailed report of their filming and research methods and they must use appropriate anthropological lexicon. Ruby and Heider stressed the importance that it is not just a desire to involve oneself with other cultures but an “Intellectual discipline.”

Ethnographic films have continued to change overtime with the introduction of sound and the ability to record any language translating it later onto a film via subtitles. Filming becomes more conspicuous and became less intrusive on the subjects allowing the cameras and film crew to be less noticed. Post 1950, ethnographic films no longer concentrated on formal rituals and practices but rather discussed more in-depth matter regarding political domination, market economy and feminism.

In Loizos' "For the Record: Documentation filming from Innocent Realism to Self-consciousness” I was struck by Dunlop’s style of filming as he and Tucker filmed two Aboriginal groups in the western desert. His films began with commentary describing the characters and scenes that were being displayed. The information presented was not information that could be collected by pure observation but information that was learned through communication and interaction with the culture and people being filmed. This struck me as very different from the way Mead’s films used commentary. While watching the video about sibling rivalry her commentary was a bit exaggerated and the assumptions she made and commentated on seemed to be unfair. Perhaps no commentary is needed in these films. Ash found importance in providing detailed information and teaching material along with his films, which may be the best way to inform people about the culture but not in a bias way which is seem in some commentary and subtitles.