STELLA.
IN THE MAKING
Four months ago I set out to create my own ethnographic film. Though I had no experience with a professional camera prior to taking a visual anthropology course, I nevertheless attempted to capture and create the short ethnographic film: In the Making. The ethnographic film portrays my brother-in-law, a self-employed individual living in Brighton.
Visual anthropology as a discipline, has often struggled with representing the other while maintaining collaboration and inter-subjectivity (Banks and Morphy, 1997). On one hand, there is an intimacy and complicity between the subject and the filmmaker and on the other hand, the subject is distanced from ‘reality’ as to what the anthropologist; the filmmaker, is looking for. For example, Flaherty’s controversial film Nanook of the North (1922) was highly criticised for its staged scenes (Marcus, 2006). However, the performance of Nanook (not his real name) implied a deeper relationship with Flaherty. Hence, it can be argued that the staged scenes were the result of a long-term relationship with the filmmaker. Flaherty believed that in order to film a society, you have to live with them and get to know them (similar to Malinwoski’s view 1922). Therefore, throughout the film I attempted to maintain a collaborative stance. This wasn't difficult as John and I have known each other for many years.
I tried to take advantage of my life-time of getting to know John, hence, the current film is an outcome of an ongoing development of trustful, ethical and respectful relationship. Understanding a culture, is through spending time with them. This idea is closely linked with the Malinowskian notion of fieldwork; an initiation ritual of having to get lost in order to understand the other. Yet to my surprise, even though I have come to know John all my life, it was thanks to the process of this short film that I really came to know John and his view point on certain issues raised in the film.
Moreover, borrowing MacDougall’s (1998) conceptualisation of inter-subjectivity as a way of constructing reality, the first point I had in mind, when editing the film, was that the filmmaker will never seen the film as the audience will. This is because the film is simply a glimpse of a created experience, a fragmented reality - if you will. Secondly, the distinction between the filmmaker and participant is an abstraction as they are both part of each other. Through the interactions, each is constructing each other. As a result, in an ethnographic film, collaboration is anything but a choice. It has to happen otherwise the ethnographic film will not be produced and the ethnography will not be written. This is why, throughout the editing process, I tried to include John’s opinion and feedback so that the final product would have the stamp of not one authoritative figure, but one of collaboration. I did so by removing the filmmaker as the sole authority whilst I was filming. This is particularly shown in the scene where John is inside the house producing music and my presence is reflected on the window. I chose to draw myself into the light as the recognisable figure so to maintain a reflexive attitude throughout the process of filming.
At this point, it is worth pointing out two distinct personal realisations that emerged throughout the filming process. Firstly, I purposefully included multiple scenes In the Making where I filmed outside the house (apart from the obvious construction scenes, which took place in the small veranda). This was my attempt to demonstrate that, regardless of my close relationship with John, which allowed for an emic perspective, I was still able to obtain an etic perspective; a perspective from the outside (both literally and metaphorically). These two different approaches were essential since I am trying to explain a social reality observed while conducting fieldwork. As a result, my personal and participatory experience whilst filming became a form of knowledge in itself. Secondly, whilst filming I recognised that miscommunications and chance encounters give unexpected insights. For example, when I arranged to meet with John for filming he was ill. At first, I got worried. All my ideas for locations and scenes came crashing down. However, once I met with him, day after day, the filming narration and locations came out organically. Without pushing for things to happen, I realised that sometimes it is ok to just go with the flow and allow the camera and the participant to lead.
By eschewing the control afforded by my individual authorship, I embraced the possibilities for new and unanticipated outcomes. This led to the overall film and themes. As mentioned in this blog and film, self-employment has been growing in the UK and especially in Brighton. John is a fraction of those who choose to become self-employed. John willingly became self-employed so that he can, as he puts it, “push [his] music forward”. Often times, being a self-employed musician in the early stages does not allow for high income. Thus, John decided to shift some of his focus to carpentry. Young self-employed people can hold a highly vulnerable labour market status in terms of pay levels and job security and though self-employment is often pushed as the route to economic success, this isn’t always the case. The insecurities and misconceptions that come with it are the stuff of nightmares, however, as John chose to focus on the positive aspects that come with it, autonomy, flexibility and freedom, he continues to chase self- employment. In doing so, he demonstrates that the risk of following your passion(s) is worth the risks of being self-employed.
References:
Banks, M. and Morphy, H. (1997). Rethinking visual anthropology. New Haven: Yale University Press.
MacDougall, D. and Taylor, L. (1998). Transcultural cinema. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Malinowski, B. (1922). Argonauts of the Western Pacific. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul LTD.
Marcus, A. (2006). Nanook of the North as Primal Drama.Visual Anthropology,[online] 19(3-4), pp.201-222. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/08949460600656543[Accessed 9 April 2019].
Nanook of the North.(1922). [film] Directed by R. Flaherty. Arctic Circle.