ETHICS OF ETHNOGRAPHIC FILM

Ethnographic Film: When does the Anthropologist Become Too Involved?



Ethnographic Film: When does the Anthropologist Become Too Involved?

Introduction

Anthropologist needs to be fully involved in ethnographic film. Following example explains it in a detailed and comprehensive way. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, over 700,000 people in the United States are without proper shelter on any given night, and that number is steadily increasing. A lot of those people are women. New York is a great example of a city filled with homeless people. During the tragedy of 9/11 (WTC attack) New York lost nearly 80,000 jobs, and many people have turned to soup kitchens and food pantries. What can be done to diminish this major problem that modern cities encounter? One way to do it is to present this problem on an ethnographic film and call people around the world for their help in the form of money, clothing, food, apartments and offers of jobs to these people.

We decided as a group of 3 students to do an ethnography film on a group of homeless women. We are going to take 2 years to make our film. Our highest purpose on doing this film is to help these women in various ways. We also want to offer a different perspective on the people who are often referred to as "vagrant," "beggar" and "bum." if there could be a little less hatred directed at people in the street, because of our film, that would make a huge difference. There are certain myths who state that homeless people (including women) into the cities are, if not active, then latent, robbers and plunderers, prostitutes and pimps and carriers and transmitters of contagious diseases. We want to show people the real aspect of the lives of these women and show to people all over the world that homelessness is simply a state where the problems of the individual exceed the resources of the individual. The myths about homelessness have to be dispelled. After all, every one of us can be in their position.

Ethnographic Film: When does the Anthropologist Become Too Involved?

None of the questions we raise in our film are new, and we have no better answers to them than does anyone else. In this context, though, it should be noted that our choice of informants is purposeful. Giving a voice to people, such as these women, who would otherwise be marginal or unheard, has always been politically important as a way of working against authoritarianism, and for a greater degree of democracy and understanding between people (McDougall, 1998). But today it is perhaps even more important than ever before, as a way of counteracting the growing divides between people. We live in an age, supposedly, of greater and greater communication and interaction between peoples. Yet, across the world, increasing inequalities are resulting in tension and fear, and that in turn is resulting in the middle classes barricading themselves off, literally and metaphorically, from the poor - the outsiders who ...