RICHARD R. WILK

RICHARD R. WILK: “Television and the Imaginary in Belize”

Richard R. Wilk in his article, ‘Television and the Imaginary in Belize’ speaks about the affects that TV has had on the Belizean people. Wilk argues that two changes have taken place. First the way in which people talk about the T.V debate has changed and also with access to direct satellite T.V the Belizean’s perception of time has changed.

I have spent time in Belize in 2003 and while I was there I saw only one or two TV’s those of which hardly worked. In the last few years however, technology has advanced and Belize now has full access to many TV programs that we have in the states. They are no longer behind us and are up to date on the news, worldly events and entertainment. Many of the television programs that run in Belize now are primarily fed legally and illegally from U.S satellites. The programs introduce the Belizeans to the concept of self-perception, “with an objectified ‘other,’ the problem of defining the self has a new dimension”. TV has introduced them to new concepts and ideas and people are not restricted to the Belizean ways or the Belizean traditions.

Wilk talks about a common language that has formed between the Belizean people as they discuss issues from news to entertainment. Before satellite TV, images and video of foreign cultures were received to the people indirectly, “with the colonial elite acting as selective agents, the gatekeepers to the outside world.” There is no longer that divide and everyone is able to access the same information. This also helps political opinions and those that are one-sided are seeing that they actually share many commonalities with those on the other side through the interactions they see on TV. “In Belize since the advent of television, people talk about ‘culture’ constantly, in ways that were not possible before.”

Another topic that was discussed in this article is the idea of time. “New notions of the relationship between distance and time have come into play.” The elite used to be the ones that traveled and waltzed around in their new clothing listening to the hippest music. “The local elite are no longer the only ones to emulate or envy, for they are no longer the source of new things”, all Belizeans have access to the up and coming styles of NYC. Time no longer separates Belize from other places in the world. With instant access to information Belize is only separated now by their culture and distance.

Lutz and Collins

Lutz and Collins in the article, "The Photograph as an Intersection of Gazes: The Example of National Geographic" write about the gaze that can be found in every photograph. There are two fundamental attributes that a photograph and a non-western person share, “they are objects at which we look at”. The goal of the gaze is described as “de-centering the viewing subject and subvert the attempt to find a coherent object at the end of the gaze”. The gaze that is present in so many photographs can be manipulated so the audience sees their reflection through the subject’s eyes in a way that is known and pleasurable.

National geographic describes the gaze in four separate parts; confronting the camera, looking at an object or person in the frame, looking off into the distance and lack of a gaze all together. When a person is looking at the camera it means that it is not candid and the subject knows he/she is being photographed. These types of photographs can be very beautiful however I find beauty in candid photos where the photographer is capturing an unscheduled moment in time. When a person is looking out into the distance it has the appearance of being, “dreamy, vacant, absent minded….forward looking, future oriented…” When there is no gaze present there is no longer a focus on the subject but the landscape becomes a crucial part of the frame.

The photos that appear in National geographic have always been magical and mysterious to me. I remember as a child flipping through the magazines that we had stacked up on the bookshelf in awe at the foreign and distant images. The photos gave me a desire to travel and a craving for the new and magical places that appeared in every picture. “We are captured by the temptation to view the photographs as more real than the world or at least as a comfortable substitute for it- to at some level imagine a world of basically happy, classless, even noble, others in conflict neither with themselves or with ‘us’. The photos give us an invitation to travel and an invitation to dream and get lost inside the colors, emotion and mystery.

BARTHES

Roland Barthes in his article, “Rhetoric of an Image” speaks about the depth and various meaning that can be found inside an image. Barthes asks the questions, “How does a meaning get into the image? Where does it end? And if it ends, what is there beyond”? Using advertisement as an example he shows how this type of image is frank and direct. He never talked about subliminal messaging that is found often in advertising. Advertisements that have a cleaver way of making you want their product or service, feeling like you somehow are not complete without it, for example sexual activity drawn into liquor ads or Coca Cola’s ‘cool’ factor.

Barthes discusses the use of text, how it creates a message and becomes the creator over the image. I find this to be true as captions attached to photographs tell you how to feel and interpreter the scene you are looking at. However I believe the same can be done by a photographer as they choose to focus or blur certain images or parts of images drawing your attention to a certain part of the photograph possibly making you look at the image in a different way.

Barthes compares the pureness of a photograph with the less pure drawing saying that, “The denotation of the drawing is less pure than that of the photograph, for there is no drawing without style.” There is no art form that is without style because all artists but into their artwork a piece of themselves which makes it unique and individualized. Is there any photo taken without a photographer’s style? Isn’t photography an art form as well?

Jean Rouch Tribute

Loizo: Jean Rouch Tribute

Jean Rouch was an influential filmmaker for many reasons. He is most influentially know for, “his dedication to the promotion of film as a medium for ethnology; his stylistic inventiveness; his radical view of documentary, and his personal politics” (Lorizos, 45). He saw his camera as more than a ‘passive recording instrument’ and an important role in his investigations and research. The term Roach uses himself to describe his research style is the term, “provacation.”

To other’s Rouch is described as a ‘radical empiricist’ who finds importance in fieldwork and time. Rouch found importance in establishing long-term relationships and while filming the Dogon and Songhap People, Rouch visited them every year for 50 years. His groundbreaking filming decisions and techniques made those who viewed his films question what they were seeing and provoked much response and emotion. Those who were filmed went back and forth between acknowledging the camera and ignoring it, questioning whether or not Rouch had hired actors or was filming real people. This filmmaking process was called ‘informant-feedback method’ and involved collaboration between Rouch and those being filmed.

‘Chronique d’un ete’ was one of Rouch’s best-known works and greatly influenced documentary filmmakers. The film touched on real life and real experiences and appears to be brilliantly unrehearsed. There are three aspects to this film that made it innovative and unique. First the sound equipment became mobile and flexible so that people were able to be filmed in their natural habitats and did not have to haul themselves down to a recording studio. Secondly, the technique of ‘jump-cutting’ became possible and in Rouch’s words, “we realized we could cut in the middle of a shot and even shorten phrases” (Lorizos, 59). Thirdly, “there was a clear acceptance of the Film-makers as agents, as producers of the reality being filmed” (Lorizos, 59).

In a conversation between Rouch and Marceline this change and monetous period in filmmaking is illustrated. In the interview, Rouch asks Marceline why he is hesitant and nervous and Marceline responds by saying, “I’m intimidated because at a given moment you have to be ready…” Rouch responds by saying, “If you say something you don’t like, it can always be cut out.” This was an unbelievable change from the way films were edited before and hard for some to believe.

Rouch was a pioneer and inspirations for many filmmakers that followed him. Lorizos sums up his work in four ideas; “Collaboration with the subjects, Bringing their voices into the films, allowing their dreams and fantasies to take shape and adding a mode of documentary which was not documentation- realism” (Lorizos, 64). He was highly respected, looked up to and continues to be a great inspiration and teacher for ethnographic filmmakers today.

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.

Garland Article

I was greatly intreged this week by the Garland’s article on Bushman tourism in Namibia. My sister just returned from a four-month research trip in Namibia and although most of her time was spent in the desert she did have some unique experiences interacting with the Namibian people. From her experiences most of the bigger villages she visited were full of tourists and had somewhat of an unauthentic feel to them. She said that the shops were filled with touristic souvenirs that tended to be ridiculously marked up and that these villages were not most desirable places for travelers like her to be. However, to these tourists it did not matter that a show was being put on for them and the pieces and artwork being sold may not be completely authentic or of the best quality. To these tourists the only thing that mattered was that the souvenirs were from Namibia and that were sculpted and created by Namibians.

Tourists rather than travelers as Garland expresses, are not concerned with authenticity but easily satisfied with men dressing up in loin clothes and dancing around. This same intrigue of the “others” can be seen in the traveling show and the video of the caged couple. For many tourists I think this is due to time and an urge for understanding. I believe that “rich tourists” usually have limited travel time and want to experience everything in a short amount of time, which affects their ability to detect authenticity. These types of tourists are satisfied seeing stereotypical routines and people and are pleased that they will be able to understand and describe what they have seen when they return home.

The best times my sister had, was when she happened upon a small village or tribe and was welcomed in for dinner or a drink. She said they would perform for the group she was traveling with and graciously welcome them into their homes. As Garland expresses in this article, “there is no competition, you share everything”. These experiences for my sister were authentic, genuine and very memorable. She was able to experience their culture and interact with the people on a different level then most tourists. This quest for authenticity is desired by some but not by all. I believe the more one travels and experiences the world, the more authenticity becomes important.

Week 2 Reading

This weeks readingconsisted of two articles, Clifford’s article discussed ethnographic surrealism and the Stoller’s article discussed the emergence and rise of African Art. Clifford’s article described surrealists as being intensely interested in exotic worlds. There was a “radical questioning of norms and an appeal to the exotic, the paradoxical, the insolate.” Clifford described reality as being no longer a given and a know environment. Ethnographer’s are describes as being something of a surrealist because they shift and recreate realities. I really enjoyed the quote by Mauss, which compares ethnology to the ocean: “Ethnology is like the ocean. All you need is the net, any kind of net; and then if you step into the sea and swing your net about you’re sure to catch some kind of fish.”

Stoller’s article was very interesting and talked about the emergence of Tribal art and the popularity it has in New York City today. Tribal art has made a name for itself and is considered ‘high art’ found in the streets of NYC but also in many museums and in collectors homes around the world. ‘High Art’ is described as giving an educated person a “transcendental aesthetic experience” which is pared with high ceiling, a beautiful building and a wide space. I found it interesting that Tribal art is known to be an inspiration for many other art styles and techniques such as surrealist art and cubist art. I also found it very interesting the way in which this art is traded and moved from place to place. Trading is always done within the family and is done in a very honest manor. In NYC this same family trading system is used and much of the money vendors make today is used to support their families back home. I wonder if this art has any value where it is made? How much more is it appreciated outside of Africa and especially in NYC?

Walking through street fairs in NYC I am constantly seeing African and Tribal art being sold. I do always wonder if the art being sold is real or not. It all looks very similar to me and I actually rarely stop by any stand because I assume it’s not really from Africa. However, after reading about the trading system and the warehouse in Chelsea I will likely now stop and talk to one of the men or woman selling the art and ask where it is from and what their story is. Maybe someday I will get lucky and stumble upon a gem, a real piece of art. I am fascinated by this art form as are many and wonder if it’s because of the exotic, foreign and ancient feel or if it’s something else. This article was really informative and I would like to learn more about the trading system, street vendors and high sellers of Tribal art in NYC.

Reading 3

Authentic Primitive Art

Errington’s article discusses the category of art that is known as Primitive art. There is much discussed about what categorizes primitive art, how it is recognized and how it is becoming increasingly popular today. I found the discussion of framing to be fascinating. The concept that something becomes “art” as soon as it is boxed in, surrounded and presented with some sort of frame. Something that is known to be real life becomes only a representation of reality when it is framed. Whether the frame is a stage or black box theater, pedestal or actual wooden border, this frame creates a separation from the viewer and what object or fine art is being displayed.

I wonder how much different an experience at a museum would be if all the art on display was not presented in such a formal and framed way. Would the respect for the pieces on display be the same and would they ‘wow’ us as much as they do when they are lit, raised up and surrounded by magnificent boarders?

I found the discussion of prototypes to be very interesting. We create prototypes all the time and when we do we have a certain, specific image in mind. The example of the robin being the prototype of a bird was something that I had not heard before. The prototype of High Primitive Art did not have to be a piece that inspired such famous artists such as Picasso but it did have to look like it could have. There was no need for proof but the image and look of it had to be something that he might have considered inspirational.

In the end of the article Errington says, “ People are beginning to realize that primitive art can look just as sophisticated as ones in sterling silver.” This art form is respected not only for it’s history, untouched cultural affiliation but also its exotic form draws collectors and viewers to it as it becomes more and more popular.