In defence of formal experimentation

Ondertitel:reflections on the dialogue between visual aesthetics and ethnographic knowledge through the making of the documentary film Flyoverdelhi (2004)

The present paper constitutes an exploration of the role of form and (visual) aesthetics in the construction and communication of ethnographic knowledge. It is based on the analysis of a documentary film entitled Flyoverdelhi (directed by the author of the article in 2004) that offers insights into the lives of young middle class men and women in Delhi at the dawn of India’s emergence as a superpower. Reflecting upon the process of making, screening and then re-analyzing the film (15 years after its making), this paper discusses different dimensions of the dialogue between content and form/aesthetics in the context of ethnography. Despite its focus on film and visual communication, the paper aims at raising questions that are common to ethnographers and anthropologists at large and discusses also the relation between ethnographic validity and authority. The paper contains links to visual materials available online hence making a claim for the importance of renewing practcies of publishing in the contextx of visual anthropology.

Jaar van publicatie:2018

Trefwoorden:A1 Journal article

BOF-keylabel:ja

Toegankelijkheid:Open