Henry, Rosita, and Vávrová, Daniela (2016) An extraordinary wedding: some reflections on the ethics and aesthetics of authorial strategies in ethnographic filmmaking. Anthrovision, 4 (1). pp. 1-19.

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Abstract

In attempting to create visual narratives, ethnographic filmmakers often face intractable dilemmas of choice, both ethical and aesthetical, in what to sacrifice from many hours of footage of complex socio-cultural practices and performances. How do we author a narrative that can be understood and appreciated by a broader audience without diminishing the integrity of the lifeworld of the characters? How do we convey the intricacies of the social relationships at stake while, at the same time, leaving some space for experiential freedom in viewing the film? These are some of the questions that we have grappled with in the making of An Extraordinary Wedding, a film about contemporary marriage and brideprice exchanges in the Western Highlands of Papua New Guinea. In this piece we reflect upon the ethics and aesthetics of the authorial strategies we have employed in this work-in-progress.

Item ID:	46850
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	2198-6754
Keywords:	ethnographic film; visual anthropology; Papua New Guinea; Western Highlands; research ethics; brideprice
Date Deposited:	15 Jan 2017 23:25
FoR Codes:	44 HUMAN SOCIETY > 4401 Anthropology > 440107 Social and cultural anthropology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	95 CULTURAL UNDERSTANDING > 9503 Heritage > 950306 Conserving Pacific Peoples Heritage @ 40% 97 EXPANDING KNOWLEDGE > 970116 Expanding Knowledge through Studies of Human Society @ 60%
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