Academic literature on the topic 'Cinéma – Technique – Anthropologie'

This article explores the use of ethnofiction, a technique emerging from the field of visual anthropology, which blends documentary and fiction filmmaking for ethnographic purposes. From Imamura Shōhei’s A Man Vanishes (Ningen jōhatsu, 1967) to Hou Hsiao Hsien’s Cafe Lumieré (Kōhi jikō, 2003), Japanese cinema, including Japan-set and Japan-associated cinema, has employed ethnofiction filmmaking techniques to alternately exploit and circumvent the structural barriers to filmmaking found in everyday life. Yet the dominant understanding in Japanese visual ethnography positions ethnofiction as an imported genre, reaching Japan through Jean Rouch and French cinema-verité. Blending visual analysis of Imamura and Hou’s ethnofiction films with an auto-ethnographic account of my own experience of four years of visual anthropology in Kansai, I interrogate the organizational barriers constructed around geographical perception and genre definition to argue for ethnofiction as a filmmaking technique that simultaneously emerged in French cinema-verité and Japanese feature filmmaking of the 1960s. Blurring the boundaries between Japanese, French, and East Asian co-production films, and between documentary and fiction genres, allows us to understand ethnofiction as a truly global innovation, with certain regional specificities.

Abstract This essay revisits Samuel Beckett’s prose text The Lost Ones by situating it within the broader contexts of anthropology and documentary cinema. The period of its composition (1965–1970) coincides with Beckett’s concentrated work for, and direct involvement in, film and television, an experience that was also reflected in his drama and prose fiction. Reading the text’s narrative voice as adopting the technique of extradiegetic voice-over—the ‘voice of God,’ a common feature of classical documentaries—the essay explores Beckett’s critique of such a representational strategy.

Deploying concepts of professional memory and communities of practice, this article draws on interviews with two generations of film projectionists in Brno in the Czech Republic to investigate the profession of film projectionist as a phenomenon at the boundaries of memory studies, sociology, social anthropology and film history. From this standpoint, a study of cinema employees’ professional memory revises and refines the concept of cinema memory as examined from the cinemagoer’s perspective. The article sets out the key tropes of projectionists’ memories and discusses them in the context of the legal background, professional status, standards of good practice and relationships within the professional community. Analysing the conditions under which the professional identity of film projectionist has been formed, it takes into account the current obsolescence of traditional screening techniques and analyses the significance of film screening quality and the related perception of the projectionist as a creator of a screening as significant motifs in projectionists’ memories.

The article discusses the methodological problems one faces while working with the feature films in research on Soviet daily urban life. In the cultural anthropology of Soviet society, three methodological concerns should be highlighted. First, feature films are rarely thought of as providing reliable data and play marginal role in anthropological research. Second, the study of Soviet cultural politics in general and feature films in particular, requires bringing diverse disciplines in humanities in a synthesis. Third, the apparent lack of specific methodological guidelines for such analysis can be explained by the ongoing controversies in the theory of cinema and competing approaches to film studies. We found that although in the anthropology of Soviet society feature films are seen as an effective instrument of culture politics, there are but a few cases of studies focusing on feature films. At the same time the expressive potential of cinema and the viewer’s perceptions make films an important source for studying daily city life. On the one hand, the visual imagery of such films contains elements of urban life that are familiar to the viewer and thus provide a context that is understandable and intuitively legible. On the other hand, through the use of various dramatic and cinematographic techniques, certain norms of urban life are established in regard to daily practices, for instance, showcasing desirable images of urban dwellers. Therefore, analysis of feature films can shed light both on the reality of urban life and on its norms constructed in accordance with the goals of culture politics. In order to distinguish these two types of representations of urban living, it is necessary to take into account the conventions of the cinematic language evolved in different periods of Soviet history; the key points of culture policy; the actual social and economic opportunities enjoyed by Soviet urban dwellers. Therefore, findings in the field of film studies, culture studies and history of Soviet society provide the necessary context for the analysis of Soviet cinema as an anthropological source. Semiotics and deconstruction are among the main approaches to the study of elements of the cinematic language and mechanisms underlying the construction of ideological messages that these elements convey. In this study, we relied on protocol schemes developed by Helmut Korte as a methodological tool for film analysis.

The article substantiates the need for a comprehensive study of the processes of the formation of Soviet identity by means of cinema in the 1920–50s. The article analyses the possibilities of feature films as a special instrument of influence, as an important semantic technology that helped to consolidate the postulates and principles of a new era in the public consciousness, and to model an impeccable image of the country. Cinema constructed a new social reality, laid the basic values of the emerging Soviet reality, formulated a civilisational super-task, created ideal behavioural patterns, gave birth to socio-cultural stereotypes and guidelines that determined the worldview, ideological, political, economic, economic, aesthetic content of the new living space; all the said instead of reflection of numerous realities of the Soviet era. The article substantiates the choice of the chronological framework of the study and gives a historiographical analysis of the problem. It reveals the cross-cutting themes of the Soviet cinema of the 1920–50s, the period that influenced the formation of a new identity. It also formulates possible approaches to the scientific understanding of the proposed topic and outlines a circle of the most promising research tasks. In particular, it notes the need for a systematic study of the methods, techniques and forms of representation of Soviet reality and everyday life by cinema in its key sociocultural models (family, everyday life, school, work, leisure, holiday, etc.) and concepts (“peoples’ friendship”, “happy Soviet Motherland”, “labour feat”, “public enemy”, “proletarian solidarity”), which acquired the qualities of the life coordinates of a Soviet person and largely determined its world outlook. The conclusion is made about the complexity, multidimensionality and multi-level nature of the proposed topic, which covers different aspects of life – everyday, historical, ideological, socio-cultural, artistic and creative ones. The choice of an interdisciplinary approach is substantiated as the optimal methodological basis for research, which combines the cognitive arsenal of history, social philosophy, cultural anthropology and history of arts.

In the years following the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement, American cinema was looking for a way to appropriately address the issue of police brutality against people of color. Filmmakers, often inspired by real-life events, began developing stories focused on the trauma of witnessing lethal police violence. Three films released in 2018 – Blindspotting (dir. Carlos López Estrada), Monsters and Men (dir. Reinaldo Marcus Green) and The Hate U Give (dir. George Tillman Jr.)– emphasize how the aftermath of such experiences affects young people of color and their communities. This article aims to explore the role of witness testimony in trauma-centered narratives and examine how the contemporary American cinema visualizes racial trauma. To achieve that, the films will be analyzed within the context of trauma studies, including theories regarding both individual and cultural trauma. Moreover, studies focused on the socialization of Black children will help demonstrate the transgenerational impact of trauma. All three films share common motifs: they represent the psychosomatic aspects of trauma through similar cinematic techniques and see value in witness testimony, even if it requires personal sacrifices from the protagonists. They also portray parents’ worry about their children’s future within a prejudiced system and the struggle to prepare them for it. All these issues have been previously addressed in the public and academic discourse and are now being reflected in cinema. Film proves to be a suitable medium for representing trauma of witnessing police brutality and cinema will most likely remain a vital part of the debate about dismantling racist systems for years to come.

Space and place are two complex concepts in literature. These can in turn affect the course of characters, situations and the plot of story. Presently in visual media, especially in movies; a relation between nature and surroundings can be traced. Both nature and surroundings influence each other. Malayalam cinema is going through many different paths which are always open for study. Each movie in it is incomparable in plot, techniques and narration. A relation between surroundings and characters can always be drawn. Keith H. Basso is an important cultural anthropologist who found a noticeable connection between nature and human beings. Nature always creates mystery and wonder. Nature always has a great influence in the human evolution and culture formation. Tagore’s ‘The Religion of Forest’ says the link between forest and ancient Indian culture. In the same essay, Tagore represents the European belief on nature as a war between good and evil. ‘IyobintePustham’ is analysed in both these views. The forest depicted in the movie can be interpreted as a provider and protector to its character. In another sense, it mirrors the goodness and the evils in the mind of characters. Forest is an important archetype in human history and culture.

At the turn of the 1930s, the Soviet film industry actively released documentary films about life of remote regions of the country, giving its audience an opportunity to make virtual trips across the “sixth part of the Earth.” This phenomenon had a political background: unification of leading creative and scientific forces for creation of the screen image of a multi-structured, multinational, and successfully developing socialist country within the frameworks of state project “Cinema Atlas of the USSR.” The article is to introduce into scientific use an archival documentary “Jews on the Earth” (1927) directed by Abram Room, a film telling about the state program for Jewish settlement of the northern Circum-Pontic region. The socio-political, cultural, and ideological context of its creation is analyzed. The study draws on little-known visual and textual archives, as well as on data of the Soviet periodicals and excerpts from the screenwriter V.B. Shklovsky’s theoretical heritage. Due to specifics of silent cinema, the film “Jews on the Earth” is a kind of cinematic text, consisting of approximately equal number of alternating film frames and text credits written by Vladimir Mayakovsky and Lily Brick. The film story is a sequence of episodes describing agrarization of the Jewish population, its “exodus” from the destroyed miasteczkos to the fertile southern lands. In the course of the research, it becomes obvious that this film is an example of the propaganda films describing the success of early Soviet colonization projects. The method used by Abram Room when working on the “Jews on the Earth” was a creative combination of the documentary and feature film techniques, allowing the film not just to convey dry information, but also to highlight socio-cultural context of the events. The film’s significance was in its contribution to the visual chronicle of the Soviet colonization and to the development of the myth of existence of the Jewish community in the USSR. It is concluded that this film, even overcoming the frameworks of purely propagandistic narration and becoming an outstanding phenomenon of cinematographic art, remains a significant example of the visual anthropology of the Soviet period, as well as a multilayered historical source that has not lost its relevance for modern scientific study.

The author analyzes the monograph “Utopian discourse in Russian culture of the late 19th – 21st century. Literature. Painting. Cinema”. The review determines the position of this book in modern science of projective models of the future. A key aspect is the continuity of previous studies on the category of utopia, and above all, B. F. Egorov, whose memory the book is dedicated to. The transition of modern art beyond the utopian genre is noticed. This confirms the appropriateness of the discursive technique. The author emphasizes the relevance of the traditional conversation about environmental problems and expresses bewilderment at the disregard by Western philologists of Russian fiction and scientific literature. As an unquestionable advantage of the monograph, its modern anthropological approach to the psychological details of private narrative utopias is noted.

The film industry has been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. The number of moviegoers continues to shrink, and now more films are shown via streaming or on-demand platforms. Drive-In Cinema is presented to provide entertainment for watching movies in the car to the public as well as helping filmmakers in Indonesia. Drive-In Cinema itself is an activity of watching movies in the car. This Drive-In cinema activity was initially not popular enough in Indonesia but has been popular in several countries. The researcher raised the issue of the drive-in cinema's marketing public relations strategy in building the company's brand image. In this case, PR marketing carried out by the Senja Alam Sutra Drive-In company, Tangerang, is to be known to the public. This study uses qualitative research methods with descriptive study methods. Data is collected by using interviews, observation, and documentation techniques. The results show that: first, the pull strategy used by Drive-In Senja is to collaborate with the mass media and actively use social media to publish engaging content. Second, the push strategy is to hold promos and get benefits from content creator followers. Third, the passing strategy used is by collaborating with MSMEs. Industri perfilman terpukul karena pandemi Covid-19. Jumlah penonton bioskop terus menyusut dan kini penayangan film lebih banyak melalui streaming atau platform on demand. Bioskop Drive-In dihadirkan dengan tujuan memberikan hiburan menonton film di dalam mobil kepada masyarakat sekaligus membantu pelaku usaha perfilman di Indonesia. Bioskop Drive-In sendiri merupakan aktivitas menonton film di dalam mobil. Aktivitas bioskop Drive- In ini awalnya belum cukup popular di Indonesia, namun sudah popular beberapa negara. Peneliti mengangkat persoalan bagaimana strategi marketing public relations bioskop drive- in dalam membangun brand image perusahaan. Dalam hal ini, marketing PR yang dilakukan perusahaan Drive-In Senja Alam Sutra, Tangerang, agar lebih dikenal masyarakat. Penelitian ini menggunakan metode penelitian kualitatif dengan metode studi deskriptif. Pengumpulan data dilakukan dengan teknik wawancara, observasi dan dokumentasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: pertama, pull strategy yang digunakan Drive-In Senja adalah bekerja sama dengan media massa dan aktif menggunakan media sosial sebagai publikasi konten menarik. Kedua, push strategy yang digunakan adalah mengadakan promo-promo dan mendapatkan keuntungan dari pengikut content creator. Ketiga, pass strategy yang digunakan adalah dengan berkolaborasi bersama UMKM.

La première partie de la thèse comporte une analyse personnelle des influences précoces qui se sont exercées sur l'auteur. On y découvre les germes et les motivations de son étude ethnographique écrite et filmée de la "tribu" des physiciens des hautes énergies. La thèse décrit les aspects théoriques et pratiques de la méthode de travail de la cinéaste-anthropologue-auteur. Une analogie est présentée entre le rôle du physicien des particules dans notre société et celui du forgeron en Afrique occidentale. L'un et l'autre apparaissent, chacun dans sa propre société, comme les gardiens de la connaissance. La physique des particules est très complexe et très difficile à comprendre pour les non-initiés. L'auteur, observateur plein de curiosité mais sans penchant scientifique inné, exprime son sentiment que la meilleure méthode pour essayer de comprendre cette société complexe et difficile d'accès est celle des approximations successives. Une partie importante de la thèse est consacrée à cette méthode et à son application dans le cadre considéré. D'un point de vue plus pratique, l'auteur décrit en détail le tournage et le montage du film "l'énergie invisible", qui accompagne la thèse écrite. Ce film est en partie une illustration de l'état de confusion qui va souvent de pair avec la découverte scientifique. La thèse écrite souligne le fait que les physiciens travaillant très souvent aux limites extrêmes de notre connaissance scientifique et technique st trouvent dans une situation à haute risque. Il n'existe pour ainsi dire pas de garantie qu'une nouvelle technique fonctionnera comme prévu et encore moins qu'un appareillage complexe, précis et couteux apportera des découvertes importantes. L'auteur décrit aussi le CERN, le laboratoire européen pour la physique des particules, ou a été tourne le film, et discute certains des problèmes importants auxquels ce laboratoire doit faire face. Notions pour terminer que les CERN est un remarquable sujet
The thesis begins with a personal account of the early influences on the author, in which one finds the seeds of this filmed ethnographic study of a "tribe" of high energy physicists. The thesis documents the filmmaker anthropologist author's method of working from both a theoretical and practical point of view. The author makes an analogy between the role of the particle physicist in our society and that of the blacksmith in West Africa. One point of comparison is that each is the "keeper of knowledge" for his society. The physicist is keeper of a knowledge which is very difficult for the non-initiated, such as the author, to understand. As a curious outsider who is not scientifically inclined, the author feels that the best method with which to try to understand this complicated and difficult society is one of successive approximations. A significant section of the thesis is given to an explanation of this method of learning. From a more practical point of view, the author describes in detail the process of shooting and editing the film "invisible energy". The film which accompanies the written thesis. "Invisible energy documents the confusion inherent in scientific discovery. In the written thesis, the author underlines the fact that physicists, who are working at the very limits of our technological and scientific knowledge, are usually working in a situation of risk. There is no guarantee that a new technology will work as planned, or that an extremely expensive piee of equipment will lead to important new discoveries. In addition, the author describes, CERN, the European laboratory for particle physics, where the film takes place, and discusses some of the important issues facing cern. Today. It is worth noting that cern is a fascinating area for study not

Le cinéma français forme une institution transnationale dans laquelle ses promoteurs adoptent des valeurs sociologiques libérales et cherchent à les promouvoir dans les contenus visuels. Par quels mécanismes la valeur marchande des images des longs-métrages de fiction est-elle réactualisée et réinvestie dans les espaces de sa fabrication ? Comment la valeur marchande anticipée des photographies de longs-métrages de fiction français s’inscrit-elle dans le processus de fabrication ? Avec quels paradigmes les professionnels de l’image regardent-ils les photographies de films qu’ils fabriquent ? A partir d’une enquête de terrain de plusieurs mois dans des espaces de fabrication de la photographie de longs-métrages de fiction français et une trentaine d’entretiens auprès de différents professionnels du secteur, cette thèse vise à montrer que dans le processus de fabrication, la valeur anticipée du produit est un paradigme de la perception visuelle qui organise le visible de l’image et façonne les rapports de production. Les techniciens image sont une catégorie de professionnels qui agissent en tant que groupe affinitaire, qui mobilisent des systèmes socio-techniques inscrits dans un marché du matériel image, et qui utilisent un regard professionnel, marqué par la projection dans une valeur marchande de l’image, et également un regard situé en fonction de leur position dans les rapports de production. Le regard des professionnels de l’image, insérés dans des rapports de production, assurent une existence et une intelligibilité à la photographie par mobilisation de sa valeur marchande anticipée dans le processus de fabrication lui-même
French cinema is a transnational institution whose promoters embrace liberal values and seek to promote them through visual content. What are the mechanisms by which the market value of feature-film images is updated and reinvested in the spaces where they are made ? How does the anticipated market value of photographs of French feature-length fiction films influence the production process ? With what paradigms do image professionals look at the photographs of the films they make ? Based on a field work lasting several months in photography production facilities for French feature-length fiction films, and through thirty interviews with various professionals in the sector, this thesis aims to show that in the context of the the production process, the anticipated value of the product is a paradigm of visual perception that organizes the visibility of the image and shapes the relationships which produce it. Image technicians are a category of professionals who act as an affinity group, who mobilize socio-technical systems inscribed in a market logic for image material, and who deploy a professional gaze, characterised by projection into the domain of market value, as welle as a gaze situated according to their position in production relations. The gaze of image professionals, embedded in production relationships, ensure the existence and intelligibility of photography by mobilizing its anticipated market value in the production process it self

Thèse de recherche entièrement filmée sur le terrain pendant dix ans (1978-1987). D'abord, par une interrelation avec les personnes filmées, appréhension cinématographique directe du réel quotidien des paysans égyptiens dans l'ensemble de la vallée du Nil : les us, les coutumes, les traditions orales, les techniques, les gestes qui se prolongent depuis l'époque pharaonique jusqu'à nos jours. 1979-1980 : naissance de l'expérience dans le delta ou l'image devient un miroir et met en confiance les paysans dans leur culture ; le thème du pain devient le sujet principal qui unifie l'expérience et résume tout le sens de la vie. 1981-1982 : approfondissement de la dimension de la vie et de la mort à travers les peintures de l'époque pharaonique. Les murs des temples et des tombeaux sont les miroirs qui reflètent les scènes de la vie quotidienne que l'on retrouve encore dans les villages qui les entourent. Le thème du pain s'élargit pour englober la vie et la mort : on retrouve le pain du soleil et le pain des morts des pharaons dans les rites, les techniques des villages de Haute-Egypte d'aujourd'hui-même. La stratégie du tournage s'élabore instinctivement et collectivement (co-réalisations avec les personnes filmées). 1982-1983 : mise en place du premier cinéma du réel de la vallée du Nil, à Louxor. Après un stage de formation pour l'utilisation de moyens de tournage légers, naissance des premiers films réalisés par des paysans égyptiens sur leur propre image. Dressé dans la cour du village, l'écran devient un miroir devant lequel le public s'applaudit. 1983-1984 : la Nubie égyptienne. Les aspects de la vie quotidienne témoignent par l'architecture traditionnelle avec ses voutes de terre de l'authenticité et la continuité d'une culture millénaire. La maison reste un miroir qui reflète l'harmonie et l'équilibre entre l'homme et son environnement. 1985-1986 : couronnement de la recherche par l'important projet de musée audio-visuel de la civilisation égyptienne, en cours d'élaboration. Musée-miroir de la continuité d'une identité culturelle depuis l'antiquité jusqu'à nos jours : il s'agit d'établir la liaison entre le regard sur les objets anciens et leur correspondance dans la vie d'aujourd'hui à travers les images du film qui font revivre les bas-reliefs et les peintures d'autrefois. Cette recherche présente un exemple applique d'anthropologie visuelle qui utilise les moyens audio-visuels en les partageant avec les personnes filmées. Ce qui caractérise cette expérience, c'est que les documents filmes ne se transforment pas en archives mais deviennent un miroir qui a pour fonction de préserver une culture et de participer à son développement.

La thèse porte sur le quotidien des personnes âgées soignées à l’hôpital gériatrique Bretonneau, établissement spécialisé de l’AP-HP situé dans le 18ème arrondissement de Paris. Elle a pour objet d’étudier certains modes de prise en charge de ces malades en perte d’autonomie dits « dépendants » ou « déments », en privilégiant les approches non médicamenteuses novatrices (art-thérapie, socio-esthétique, psychomotricité). L’enquête de terrain, effectuée entre 2008 et 2010, s’est appuyée sur la méthode du film d’exploration, faisant de la caméra le principal instrument de la recherche. Il en résulte trois films documentaires : Hôpital de Jour (117 min.), Court Séjour (67 min.) et Long Séjour (120 min.). Tout en éclairant par petites touches le fonctionnement général de l’institution, ces films décrivent la vie quotidienne de quelques malades et font des pensionnaires de Bretonneau les personnages centraux de la représentation cinématographique. Une partie écrite analyse les stratégies et les résultats de l’enquête de terrain. Elle met l’accent sur les enjeux éthiques soulevés par la présence de l’observateur-filmeur dans un milieu particulièrement sensible et auprès de sujets très vulnérables. Les analyses détaillées portent sur les trois fils conducteurs principaux de la description filmique : les configurations de l’espace et de l’environnement matériel, les techniques corporelles appliquées à la perte d’autonomie, les rituels d’interaction soignants-soignés
This thesis deals with the daily life of the elderly who are patients at the Bretonneau Geriatric hospital, in Paris 18th arrondissement. It studies how these dependent or mentally-ill elders are cared for, focusing on innovative drug-free therapies (art therapy, esthetic therapy, psychomotricity).The field survey took place between 2008 and 2010 and used the method of exploratory filming, making the camera the main tool for the research. Three documentary films were made : Day Hospital (117 min), Short Stay (67 min) and Long Stay (120 min). While shedding some light on the way the institution works, these documentaries show the everyday life of a few patients and make them the main characters of the films. The written part analyses the strategy and the results of the field survey. It stresses the ethical issues raised by the presence of the filmmaker-observer in a highly sensitive environment and with very vulnerable subjects. The detailed analyses deal with the three main themes of the films : configuration of space and of material environment, physical techniques helping with loss of autonomy, interaction rituals between caregivers and patients

Funereal images are characterised by a peculiar dialectic tension between presence and absence that plays a crucial role in understanding the anthropological roots of image-making tout court. Building on Bazin and Eisenstein’s remarks about the longue durée of funerary practices aimed at preserving the visual appearances of dead bodies after their disappearance due to physical decay, this essay offers a genealogy of techniques that from casting, moulding and embalming eventually leads to the recording of images onto celluloid film. The death mask, in particular, with its capacity of capturing and fixing through the imprint process the traits of a face that was once alive, seems to respond to that same need to arrest time and ‘secure phenomena’ to which photography and cinema would later respond.