Analyzing culture can be a daunting task. Thankfully there is an entire field devoted to this task. The field of anthropology is often understood as having 4 branches, but these branches do not come close to all the areas of expertice present in the sea of anthropologists. There are those who study language, space, ritual, familial structure, history, and in the case of Sally Ann Ness, Movement.
She uses an analysis of Trobriand Cricket to show how film that is presented with little narrative can open up the content of the film, Trobriand culture, to be analyzed by anthropologists from different schools of thought and specialty. Her main point is that the film serves well as a teaching tool. You can show the film, discuss it as a film, discuss it as a window into Trobriand culture, show supplementary materials, discuss different schools of thought, etc.
This kind of film is what she calls “illustrative.” It is a fabrication of cultural performance. She takes this fabrication and analyzes the movements of the characters deeply.
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