A twin-article to the first academic reception of Sensory Ethnography Lab films in the Czech language
2019, Biograf Journal
“Into the messy worlds. A love letter to the films that inspire my own approaches to cinematography and anthropology.”
- Full title: Echoes of the Silent Revolution: Fifteen Remarks on Sensory Ethnography Lab Films
- Original title: Ozvuky tiché revoluce: Patnáct poznámek k filmům Sensory Ethnography Lab
- Author: Pavel Borecký
- Journal: Biograf Journal (69-70), 113-134 pages, 2019
- Access: paywall
- Language: Czech
- Key words: sensory ethnography, Visual Anthropology, post-humanities, more-than-human, qualitative research methods
Abstract
In the last decade, the audiovisual projects of the Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard University received unprecedented international recognition across art film and social science communities. They aroused excited admiration (especially among cinephiles), but also a plain rejection (especially among academic institutions).
In her article on “ethics of staring”, Tereza Bernátková claims that SEL consistently aims at updating the forms of representation and knowledge-creation; thanks to the methodological playfulness, downplayed linguistic interpretations, and orientation towards a body. In response, I present fifteen points, in which I evaluate Bernátková’s argumentation and refer back to my own practice inspired by the scholarship in question.
The analysis is structured in three layers – ethical, aesthetic and political. First, I show how SEL creates ethically embedded means for counter-visuality (Mirzoeff). Second, I discuss how hyper-realistic forms of sensory ethnography relate to the affect theory (Massumi), and, third, how these film interventions could be received as a cultural critique of late capitalist societies (Otto). Finally, I argue for the use of sensory ethnography in the interdisciplinary research of the so-called entangled vision (Borecký)
If Bernátková’s paper highlights the strands of SEL’s oeuvre to revive the documentary practice, I advocate for the contribution of Sensory Ethnography Lab films in contemporary anthropology. As such, the article can also be read as a general reflection on the role of audiovisual methods in the humanities and social sciences.
Table of Contents
- Summary of the Argument
- Ethics and Sensory Ethnography Lab
- Aesthetics and Sensory Ethnography Lab
- Politics and Sensory Ethnography Lab
- Conclusion
Ozvuky tiché revoluce – Full Article