Blog 3 Blurring Boundaries

The blurring boundaries section of class was an interesting and sometimes hard to grasp.  The films were valuable since they were not like anything viewed so far.  The films helped to see the problems with main ethnographic films and what some people were doing to get their view out there.  Even if some of the films were considered artsy, the message was still clearly there people just have to think about it.  The film Reassemblage was one of the harder films to watch, since it repeated the same sequences many times, but after reflecting upon the film, it made some sense about the way she edited the film and the choice of little narration.  The articles were a little confusing, but very informative on the films that we watched and the ways that some anthropologists think.  The reviews of The Forest of Bliss were useful in seeing the different ways that anthropologists view one another and the use of some artistic ways in ethnographic films. 

            Concerning The Forest of Bliss, and the articles associated with it, Chopra and Ostor seem to understand the film and their view of the film was one that seemed to go along the same lines as my thought.  The film was a good ethnographic film that people just have to think just a bit and try to interpret the film for themselves.  The film showed the importance of the river to the religion and how close the people of India are with their religion.  The film’s use of no subtitles was interesting, if a person does not know a thing about India, there are many inferences that can be found by watching this film if one just pays attention.   Making a film is hard enough as it is, and you cannot please everyone, some of the scenes in the film were hard to watch, like the dogs eating each other, or the bodies just floating in the river, but having those scenes in the film helps the viewer get a sense of what it would be like to travel there.  The film showed it like what a person would see if it was their first time being there and taking in all of the surroundings.  The film blurred boundaries in that it was different from all other ethnographic films in that, there was no narration or translation, which was a good way to structure this particular film since there is sometimes just quick little scenes, letting the film play out seems like a good way to let the story be told.   When the critics of The Forest of Bliss wrote their articles, some of their thought processes were out there.  Most of the authors just criticized Gardner’s reputation and did not pay any attention to the critiquing the film. 

            With the film by Trinh T. Minh-ha, confusion set in right away, while reading the articles and watching the film Reassemblage.  The film is choppy, some of the same lines and film sequences are repeated many times, there were times that awkward pauses would come before we hear a narrator, and there are some things that would seem like it is not in the right sequence.   The film was a bit confusing, but it makes a good point on ethnographic films.  The first time viewing the film, it felt like there was no method to the madness, until you look at the big picture. The film got into the issues with ethnographic films, like how the west takes natives and thinks of only women who are barely clothed and take the entire culture out of context.  Trinh T. Minh-ha makes a statement about anthropology, but there is a point when it is asked, did she really get her point across or was it just put together a little to haphazardly for anyone else to understand?  The article about the film was also a little tiring to read.  It took a long time to read and was very lengthy.  Moore did a better job at explaining Trinh T. Minh-ha’s film for me than the Chen and Minh-ha.  It also felt like Minh-ha was trying to let the people of Senegal tell their own story about their culture instead of having some “expert” says what they know to be happening.  The essay by Chalfen explained the role of a native filming their own culture rather than having an ethnographic film maker would make it.  The way a native would film can show a different view of the culture that the film maker would not have thought to put in.  It shows the way the culture views themselves instead of trying to put what the film maker thinks is important.  Almost like the movie In Her Own Time: The Final Fieldwork of Barbara Myerhoff, from the parts that we watched it showed her story through her eyes as she was diagnosed with cancer.  The film was revealing about Myerhoff and the way that films could be made. 
            This section of class had an interesting set of videos that seemed to be experimenting in the style and form of ethnography and challenge what it means to make an ethnographic film.  From Trinh T. Minh-ha’s Reassemblage, which challenged the way anthropologists think about the way they make films and how westerners think about other cultures other than themselves, to The Forest of Bliss, which had no translation, no music just the ambient noise in the background, and did not have a narrator telling the audience what was happening in the scene or explaining the significance of a certain ritual or symbol.  The articles within this section were also a little different from before, they seemed to be thick and challenging to read.  Overall, this section was very informative on the different styles that did and did not work out in ethnographic films and how writing ethnographic papers have progressed through the years.