Anthropology Beyond Text Analysis

With concise and detailed reference to two examples, discuss what are the most unique contributions that an anthropology beyond text can bring to the discipline.

Anthropology from the offset has tried to obtain a scientific grounding and basis, for the study of humans. In attempting to establish objectivity, documentation of research away from written text has often been susceptible to scrutiny. Many early anthropologists as Taylor stated, expressed a sense of: ‘fear that films will somehow destroy or discredit their anthropological makers and viewers.’ (1996:67) Whereas others were merely stubborn to succumb to modernisation of the subject. Mead argues: ‘more words have been used, disputing the value of, refusing funds for than effort put

Ethnographical film is an audio-visual medium created from fragments of shorter clips, often following a story line, documentary style, or theme. It has been praised in the past for a life-like portrayal of other peoples, with Mead arguing that the behaviour film captures can be preserved for future generations, passing down rituals and language to predecessors. (1975:4) Granting all of this, aspects of the medium such a subtitles and background commentary can: ‘often impart authority's authority to the most fragmented images.’ (MacDougall 1978:413) Film finds it hard to detach itself from predispositions and cannot be as open-ended as other methods such as photography. Therefore, despite photo sequencing and captions being able to: ‘help “illustrate” the story or enhance the products appeal.’ (Becker 1978:4) Photographs can act as a medium between ethnographic writing and film as unless completely staged can: ‘arouse widely varying interpretations,’

Clifford discusses the attachment of authors in their texts as intangible (1986:17). Whereas, MacDougall analyses limitations in ethnographic film as: ‘the camera can never be everywhere at once,’ and that visual anthropology can: ‘leave a significant gap in our understanding,’ (1978:12). Therefore, although socialisation into a certain society can limit the validity of anthropological practices it does not mean they aren’t valuable. If there was no editing or restraints to fieldwork, it could continue to be endless and no conclusions would ever be made. However as argued earlier, photography does give a good medium for the viewer to make their own assumptions about the piece and Sontag describe it as: ‘movies and television programs light up walls, flicker, and then go out; but with still photographs the image is also the object,’