Ethnographic film: technology, practice and anthropological theory

Abstract

Despite the enthusiasm of the pioneer generation of anthropologists by the camera as a means of ethnographic research, the film was left out of the anthropological project for almost the entire course of the last century. However, a combination of technological advances and recent changes in theoretical paradigms in anthropology now offers the possibility of greater integration of film within ethnographic research. This article pretend to identify the basis for this theoretical incorporation and discusses some of the practical ways for which the film can now be used as a means to generate ethnographic understanding.