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Anth 477 Ethnographic FilmDr. Joseph Gaughan 2011

The University of Michigan-Dearborn

Final Research PaperResolving the Objective/Subjective Dichotomy and

Participatory Approaches for Ethnography

Introduction

Ethnographic films and their makers were criticized for their misleading appearance of objectivity,

particularly when the product and its reception or consumption has been closely influenced by cultural and

technological advancements, many of which are commonly reflected in commercial media. I argue that the

cultural aspectespecially in academias influence on education and epistemologyis at the heart of the

problem for misperceptions of objectivity and the continued belief in objectivism. The colonial origins, literary

and media influence, and perpetuation of objectivism from the natural sciences has led to its adoption in other

fields of scholarly, professional inquiry, and among the general public. To illustrate these points, I use land

planners and ethnographic film makers. The field of land planning and management (for urban and/or natural

areas) is a fitting analog to ethnographic film because land planners work as ethnographers in several capacities

for their work, which is ideally informed through a balance of scholarly principle, scientific inquiry, and

continued community engagement even after the completion of their initiatives. In creating the processes for

recording and presenting information, ethnographic film makers are similar to land planners because they

principally act as designers who seek to form objective intentions, actions, and the realization of their initiatives

in context with various communitieseducational and cultural authorities as well as the cultures of their

audiences and subjects alike. These societal notions of objectivity also influence our capacity to recognize andcomprehend the phenomena of participatory engagement, trance, and possession by augmenting the

presentation of these phenomena out of context.

Ethnography and Anthropology as Transdisciplinary

If ethnographic film is a discipline of planning and design with respect to how ethnographers describe

and articulate human cultures, then by nature of epistemology, principles from other planning and design

disciplines should be applicable to ethnography as well. An ethnographer must convey accurate impression and

understanding of a dynamic topic (culture[s]) via contextual inquiry to an audience so that they may better

perceive or understand the reality of our relationship with other entities. Science in a very basic sense is crucial

to this endeavor; it is a rational process for discerning the truth of our perceptions and realities. Anthropology

is driven by existential, behavioral, organismal, and evolutionary inquiry. In this paper we shall focus on the

former two, though evolutionary and organismal processes are of significant bearing to anthropology.

Nonetheless, all of these interests share common ground in that they are subject to scientific study within the

discipline. Furthermore, evidence of the values from these disciplines should also be widespread. This

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Final Research Paperimplicates two important ideas: 1) that ethnography, (and in turn the greater discipline of anthropology) is a

transdisciplinary scientific process, and 2) that anthropological knowledge is enriched by studying what is not

familiar to an individual human being, including non-humans, which makes ethnography applicable and

relevant to all aspects of the world when seeking to characterize the context of our humanity through the

study of our selves and others.

Ethnography is a branch of anthropology dealing with the scientific description of individual cultures

(American Heritage Science 2002). Ethnographic film makers must seek to characterize the human cultures of

interest and their other contextual influences, ultimately seeking to present this conception of a culture to

another community as well. Land planners work with abiotic (non-living systems like rivers, rocks, air), biotic

(living communities of plants, animals, microbes, humans), and human cultural communities which are at

minimum particular to the planners geographical area of focus. Though land planners occasionally do not

investigate human cultures, the necessity of characterizing and discerning abiotic and biotic features to make

informed decisions for their planning is a demonstration of ethnography in a broad sense. They also frequently

designate the geophysical spaces for use by human communities, so their work is intimately connected to the

principles of anthropology on an applied level. This is ideally grounded in the study and application of the

natural sciencesthe assumed progenitor to other scientific and educational disciplines (Nelson 2007, Lewis

1973, Heshusius 1994). In the context of this paper, I can then refer to land planners and ethnographic film

makers as ethnographers, though it would be prudent to either devise or re-discover a concept that capturesthe distinctive systematic process that these professions share in their practice.

The concept of objectivity has been closely tied to the natural sciences and noted particularly for the

development of Anthropology (Lewis 1973) during times of intensive imperialistic hegemony. Lewis (1973)

asserts that cultural influences (societal structures) strongly affect the practices of individuals within the

period. To analyze this in some of our current or former practicesof ethnographic film, land planning, and

prevailing epistemic and academic research processes in generalwe may look to Buckminster Fuller's

principles of comprehensive anticipatory design science as described by Ben-Eli (2007). Ben-Eli defines design

as the process of realizing intentions, and delineates the concept into a recursive spiral of three stages:

intention, action, realization; all of which are informed by the context and body of an experience (2007). Ethical

and communication analysis also share similar structures with the process of design, and is a topic of great

concern in the field of ethnographic film. Any human endeavor may be examined by its intentions, actions, and

consequencesfor concepts are a product of human design too. By extension, communication and formal

education are acts of design in themselvesthe transfer of information can be influenced by the context in

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Final Research Paperwhich and how it is conceived, imparted, and received. Particular to theoretical applications for film, an

ethnographer may collect footage of an event, and subsequently present it to an audience.

The worldviews of the audienceindividuals and institutionsare reasonably exposed to external

cultural influences that are particular to their geophysical and geocultural location, which can also affect how

they receive the information communicated from the event presented by the ethnographer.

Origins of Influence and Views

On the origins of objectivity, ecofeminist economist Julie Nelson illustrates notions of distance for ob-

jective purity through macho cultural and historical origins of natural science:

Reacting to a medieval world view in which humans were perceived to be embedded in a sac-

red, living natural world, the rising scientific worldview placed the scientist outside of, and

above, nature. The scientist was imagined as autonomous, rational, interested in hard know-

ledge, disinterested, and male. (Nelson 2007)

Antithetical to this ideal view of science may be the discipline of aesthetics, which literary theorist Terry

Eagleton explores through the topic of aesthetics and subjectivity. Literary theorist Terry Eagleton (1988)

associates the initial conception of aesthetics with social, psychical and political reconstruction on the part of

the early European bourgeoisiewhat we may see as the subjective aspects of culture. [A]esthetic cognition

mediates between the generalities of reason and the particulars of sense; the aesthetic partakes in the

perfection of reason but in a confused mode. Aesthetics is thus the sister of logic, a kind of inferior feminineanalogue of reason, at the level of material life. (Eagleton 1988) In these characterizations, the concept of

removal or distance for objectivity and theory, and particular, sensational, material reality for subjectivity

appear completely opposed. Objectivity thus came to be associated with detachmentdetachment from

social influences, detachment from the object of study, detachment from other researchers, and detachment

from practical concerns (Nelson 2007).

Beyond philosophical literary discussion, these views are demonstrated in academic and professional

fields too. The enduring influence and stability of institutions of higher education makes them powerful change

agents for communities and cultures. They frequently inform professional leaders and decision makers, employ

members of the general public, and prepare the future workforce by successfully educating students. All of

these individuals disseminate ideas to become commonplace throughout the general public.

Value for objectivism and in broader context, objectivity, is especially visible in the natural sciences

(Nelson 2007, Heshusius 1994, Lewis 1973), from which sociology (Hanson 2008), economics (Nelson 2007),

education (Heshusius 1994), and anthropology (Lewis 1973, MacDougall p. 118 in Hockings 2003) many discip-

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Final Research Paperlines drew methodology from. As an applied interdisciplinary field, the teachings in many land planning courses

stem from the natural sciences, and MacDougall has noted in ethnographic film (p. 118 in Hockings 2003): [i]t

is this self-denying tendency of modern observational cinema that I should like to examine in particular. It is

the tradition in which I was trained, and it has an obvious affinity to certain classical notions of scientific meth-

od. More than just anthropology, the natural sciences emerged concurrently with the bolstering proliferation

of Western imperialistic hegemony beginning in the age of enlightenment and arguably into our past century of

the 1900s.

Ideals of Objectivism: Shortcomings for Objectivity through Dichotomy and Distance

A distinction between objectivity and objectivism exists. While scientists aspire toward objectivity, the

belief in objectivity sometimes leads to objectivism. The concept of objectivism was coined by Evelyn Fox Keller

(Nelson 2007) and refers to the notion of achieving absolute objectivity by being a removed observer to the

system of study (the word objectivism has been used throughout this paper as such). Nelson (2007) describes

objectivism as a romantic belief in the possibility of connection-free knowledge from an outside-of-nature,

perspective-free viewpoint. Objectivism has shortcomings in at least four dimensions: 1) it holds the concepts

of objectivity and subjectivity as an absolutely dichotomous paradigm for critically understanding reality; 2)

belief in separation from the system of study and the inquiring ethnographer then excludes the credibility of

experiential learning and particular subjective events for individuals; 3) it can also beguile individuals and

institutions to mistakenly perceive that the tools they use will yield objective results; 4) by nature of itsinequitable distribution of power, it can objectify the entities under study.

1) Dichotomous shortcomings

In its parts or whole, this epistemic view of objectivism is upheld by many in the academic community,

and even those outside of academia. Sociologists Greiffenhagen and Sharrock (2008) ask: In an important

sense, the difference between subjectivism and objectivism often boils down to the question: Is reality

represented in individuals perceptions or is reality something external to them? To characterize the

dichotomous view of objectivism and subjectivism as opposing conceptions, they cite Osterlund and Carlile

(2005) as an example in how it is seen within scholarly literature:

The split between subjectivism and objectivism has led to two theoretical constituencies that

rarely account for each other []. Those scholars who focus on the individual, his or her know-

ledge, actions, intentions or goals, leave the nature of the world or environment relatively un-

explored. Those in the other set emphasise [sic] the world and its structures, while individuals

and social structures are assumed to exist as uniform entities.

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Final Research PaperIn this view, Grieffenhagen and Sharrock point out that answers for understanding reality are pursued

through information from particular perceptions in a micro scale, or through overarching external information

in a macro scale at the expense of particular individual perspectives (2008).

The notion of absolute separation between objectivity and subjectivity is problematic as the subjective

values of an individual or institution can comprise greater comprehensive rational and objective articulations of

reality when considered on a larger conceptual scale. This meta-conceptualization is similarly reflected by

Grieffenhagen and Sharrock (2008), who propose that the dichotomous view should be abandoned because an

objectivist conception was retained in all their iterations for analyzing subjectivity. However, even this realiza-

tion presents problems with understanding what we can know: under this meta-conceptual version of objectiv-

ity, we assume that we can consistently, consciously, rationally recognize and subsume the concept of subjectiv-

ity from an objectivist viewpoint at all times. Anthropology now relies upon multiple methods in an effort to

understand and impart what is true of humanity. Among them are the disciplines of aesthetics, which fre-

quently presents particular events or evokes what might not have been realized or described through objective

description, and of science, which relies heavily on conscientious, systematic objective processes for discerning

what is true. Though not absolute, the communication of aesthetics can describe and evoke the salience of a

topic to its audiences in ways that objectivity lags to describe explicitlythe complex particularity of an event

make this an impossible feat.

2) Detached reasoning and particular sensationThe concepts of aesthetics and subjectivity, and science and objectivity, are reasonably synonymous to

an extent. In exclusively electing one of the two concepts without acknowledging their overlap, researchers

and professionals have neglected significant and important information relevant to their interests. As methods

of knowing, objectivity and subjectivity cannot be attained as absolute concepts in reality and held in mind as

absolutely diametric. At minimum the concepts could be seen as a continuum, but this diametric view for

understanding reality prevents or discourages many scholars from acknowledging the significance of another

dimension for the concept: that of distance vs. engagement. Objectivity and subjectivity denies their presence

and context among the events that take place. Furthermore, the notion of distance or removal as a requisite

for objectivity has a close association to inequity between ethnographer and their subject(s).

Philosopher and economist Amartya Sen (1992) has used the term positional objectivity to describe

an objective inquiry in which the observational position is specified (rather than being treated as an

unspecified intrusion--a scientific nuisance). Sen has argued that any attempt at position-independent

objectivity must build on positional views (i.e., be trans-positional), rather than ignore the position-

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Final Research Paperdependence of views (Nelson 2007). An emerging answer to this problem comes from the concept of

participation and a meta-conceptualization of objectivity and subjectivity.

Hanson (2008) works to discern between issues in sociology commonly used to create a

quantitative/qualitative divide-subjectivity versus objectivity, systematization, quantification and

generalization, and proposes that these issues are indistinguishable at the epistemological level.

Key issues are the question of object and how object relates to subjectivity. Although positivism

is often cast as a model of object that denies subjectivity, precisely the reverse can be argued.

The science of light, surveying, engineering and physics are all quick to allow that object is a

theoretical ideal which must be approximated through human experience, social constructions.

(Hanson 2008)

Ethnographers still tend to uphold this ideal of distance for objectivity as suggested by MacDougall (p.

118 in Hockings 2003): [i]t is this self-denying tendency of modern observational cinema that I should like to

examine in particular. It is the tradition in which I was trained, and it has an obvious affinity to certain classical

notions of scientific method. In many scientific fields, interdisciplinary methods are heavily relied upon to

reveal multiple perspectives and methods for understanding, but the unanimous ambiguity these fields convey

between objectivity and subjectivity is a result of the objectivist ideal that seeks to evade specificity for

positional objectivity. Hanson affirms:

In practice objectivity is a theoretical ideal that is based in the recognition of humansubjectivity rather than the either/or dichotomy some scholars portray. In this sense

subjectivity is the objectivity of the social sciences and objectivity the subjectivity of the

physical and natural sciences. (Hanson 2008)

The perspectives for objectivity and subjectivity are ultimately informed by disposition, direct

perspective and experiencerationally processed or notwhile disposition is informed by previous experience.

Seen wholly, it is a dynamic process that oscillates into and out of rational focus. At a scholarly and epistemic

level, better objectivity can be achieved by acknowledging subjective experiences. By conceiving detachment

as a requisite for objective knowing, reality becomes an intangible, possibly baseless pursuit for other inquirers.

In films, we are frequently presented with the recorded events and little backdrop to the intentions some

experiences key to guiding the film makers focus, their relation to the subjects in the film, and even their

potential relationship to the audience it is being presented to. In academic writing, many authors will attribute

potential influences and disclose them in citation. Content and theoretical attribution, aside from credit to film

makers and grantors, is presented formally even today very rarely.

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Final Research PaperRather than acknowledging the significance of the event to their personal involvement and vice versa,

trained individuals (ethnographers, etc.) are encouraged to validate events primarily through removed

circumstantial documentation (measurements, notes, film, etc.) of both qualitative and quantitative nature, and

by seeing themselves as uninvolved with the events taking place around them. Ethically, the consequences of

external events can influence an individuals intentions, their actions, and the resulting consequences of their

actions. This for the individual then becomes a particularsubjective event driven with objective intentions.

The distant individualland planner, observational film maker and scholar alikeperceives this ethical

system strictly as a linear course of objective intentions, actions, and consequences, but may lack other

perspectives necessary and relevant to achieving their objective aspirations. For the accurate and precise

description of a complex entity such as a culture and its contexts, it is ethically unjustifiable to deny the

significance of other potentially valid insights for understanding the reality of their topic of study. Detachment

as a scholar objectifies or even subjugates the entities of study while creating a false pretense for the inquiring

ethnographer to act as an uninvolved individual. Lewis (1973) communicates similarly:

The act of detached observation, in effectively dehumanizing the observed, reduces him to an

inferior position. When the observer refuses to go beyond the faade of outward behavior and

become a part of the inner workings of the observeds existence, he presumptuously assumes

that his outside understanding of the observed is somehow more valid than the observeds own

involvement with life (Roszak 1969:222-23).This relationship of detachment implies an issue of power that is integrated and expressed in the ori-

gins of, and as we will later explore, even our current societal structuresincluding much of academia. Philo-

sopher Michael Foucault describes power (in a non-physical science sense) in this 1988 interview: [Power]

takes place when there is a relation between two free subjects, and this relation is unbalanced, so that one can

act upon the other, and the other is acted upon, or allows himself to be acted upon. (Foucault 1988). Anthro-

pologist Diane Lewis illustrates how anthropology relied heavily on this relationship differential through schol-

arly feminist perspective (feminist in the sense of power distribution and inequity rather than gender). She

contends that anthropology was a device of colonialismand depicted how scholars would deem studies by

native people of their own cultures as history or philology rather than anthropology (Lewis 1973 cites Levi-

Strauss 1966). The historical context of anthropologys emergence included the expansion of imperialist coloni-

al societal systems that were premised on this same notion of distance and dichotomy: western and non-west-

ern. These systems had significant influence on the actions of anthropologists, who in their work to character-

ize the cultures they studied as observers (theoretical anthropologists) or direct liaisons (field anthropologists)

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Final Research Paperto dominant European and subject non-white groups frequently informed economic and political approaches

toward the people of study (Lewis 1973), and Lewis finally explains that anthropologists actively sought to as -

sume the role of an outsider to their engagements. This imperialistic relationship is an intrinsic facet of an-

thropology in that the societal structures were established to learn who we (as scholarly members of Western

Euro/Neo-European Colonialist institutions) are as human beings by differentiating us from the subjects and

objects of our study.

A long-range goal of anthropology was the discovery of general laws and propositions about the

nature of mankind. The circumstances of its founding, that is, Western expansion and the dis-

covery of the non-Western world, meant that these laws and propositions were based on a

close study of the newly discovered primitives. However, an immediate and practical purpose

of anthropology was to fill in the gaps of Western mans knowledge about himself (Diamond

1964:432; Worsley 1964:11; for a parallel point of view, see Jones 1970:256). (Lewis 1973)

Under lens of Immanuel Kants view of ethics as articulated his categorical imperative essay, those

object to the study are being treated as a means rather than an end (Kant 1785). In the scheme of history and

anthropology, Lewis (1973) attributes the rationalization of colonial racism to this distanced approach between

a then tumultuous community of anthropologists, their relationship with the cultures of their study, and the

emergence of dissenting scholarly voices from 3 rd world nations bringing light to contradicting or altogether

false characterizations of underrepresented cultures.Beguiling Perceptions of Objectivity

Ethnographers must also be careful to distinguish from the ideal of objectivism and the use of

objective recording instruments (coined by Young p. 100 in Hockings 2003) or other impartial technologies

(notes, film, planning schemes, and even scholarly concepts) that may lead its beholder to mistakenly believe

that their resulting work shall be objective. Instruments, even concepts or cultures associated with objectivity,

can beguile their users. It is an inescapable duty for all ethnographers as they must interact with other people,

sometimes as representatives of a scholarly or professional discipline, and are encouraged to be mindful of

their subjects. Land planners work with complex abiotic, biotic, and cultural community systems which are at

least particular to their site of focusthe existence of these entities should prompt the planner to ensure that

they do not rely solely on indiscriminate tools which may be mistaken for being objective. For example, land

planner Ian McHargs Richmond Parkway land use planning study (McHarg 1971) included two questionable

rating schemes for social values which may reflect the personal socioeconomic values of the planner(s) who

designed the schemes. McHarg deemed land worth less than $2.50 per square foot, and residential values

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Final Research Paperworth less than $25,000 as most preferable for sites of highway development. If this were an oversight, it

displaced people of low-income from their residencies, and many of them were likely unable to relocate due to

the cost of living in the area. If it were intentional, it reflected McHargs personal socio-economic beliefs, and is

potentially suspect for class and racial discrimination.

Similarly, audiences and film makers may be apt to mistake film as objective:

...[F]ilm is not objective. It may OBJECTIFY, but that is a different matter. The first implies a

and quality of the finished film; the second describes what film does to the viewer. We wanted

to emphasise [sic] the structuring that went not only into filmmaking, but into every selective

process. (Young pg. 100 in Hockings 2003)

It is reasonable to dismiss this phenomenon as limited to particular styles of ethnographic film such as

the ideals of Dziga Vertovs cine-eye for cinema veritewhere the camera operates as a distinctive

independent entity capable of capturing reality beyond what may have been realized by participants or later

audiences (Hockings 2003)and observational ethnographic film styles, yet the discipline of anthropology itself

has been articulated similarly as a removed process. Anthropologist Claude Levi-Strauss stated that

anthropology is the science of culture as seen from the outside and the overall attitude of anthropology tends

to reflect that definition in the approach taken by many ethnographic films. Consider films made where the

presence of the camera and its possible crew is not acknowledgedsee Maya Derrens Divine Horsemen, and

Robert Gardners Dead Birds, and Mother Dao, The Turtle Like. Narration and music in these films,especially in Robert Gardners Dead Birds add to this sense of removal by including comments about the

people and events through a narrative that was recorded independent of the events taking place in film.

The principle of objectivity in land planning is frequently articulated as the pursuit for a completely

disinterested, objective and removed planning method. This ensures a logical and swift decision making

process (personal communication Riebesell 2009). Objective planning can be demonstrably achieved with

respect to some static and quantifiable geophysical concerns. For example, when evaluating site suitability

based on geospatial criteria such as proximity to groundwater recharge zones, previously existing infrastructure,

there are parameters and particular situations from which solutions may be found through purely objective

Cartesian mathematical reasoning. Decision making from a disinterested, removed individual as the planner

is typically seen as a requirement for objective planning because they are more likely to provide new

perspectives which may not have been noticed from within the community involved in the planning process,

and can avoid special interests.

Furthermore, external cultural contexts that uphold objectivism suggest that the idea of separation has

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Final Research Paperbeen prevalent throughout other aspects of culture as wellsome of which remain well represented today.

Examine the academic and professional cultures of economists: In her counter-critique to papers dismissing

the Stern Reviews ethical claims, Nelson illustrates how the majority of economists have undermined the

credibility of their assessments and studies which they engage by upholding traditional notions of hard

science objectivism in their disciplines of the social sciences.

In teaching English composition, the use of I in academic papers is highly discouraged; students are

instead recommended to write in the third person. Granted, students may be liable to associate their identities

with claims that are not academically sound, but it is reasonable to suspect that this practice is encouraged

under the pretense of scholarly objectivism. Macdougal (p. 121 in Hockings 2003) notes that cultural

expectations informed by literaturetext, and filmelsewhere helped to reinforce this ideal of objectivism.

Books describe stories which take place without our direct participation in them. Many theatrical

performances today still do not break through the 4 th wallplays and actors rarely acknowledge or engage

the audience but instead perform in settings that allow the audience to see them carry on their actions in a

removed system. We watch fictional films where actors and events take place as though no camera existed.

This denial of the cameras presence is so strongly acculturated that Macdougal notes even in home movies

people wince when someone looks at the camera (p. 121 in Hockings 2003).

Acknowledging Subjectivity and Positional Objectivity

This problem of objectivism can be alleviated by acknowledging potential influences as a customarypractice of good scholarship. Nelson introduces philosopher and economist Amartya Sens concept of

positional objectivity as a way of acknowledging the relationship between the objectifying entity and its

subject. Attempts to maintain distance, potential biases, and narrow disciplinary focus are instead

demonstrations of the concept of objectivism. Acknowledging potentially subjective topics of interest,

increased disclosure and transparency leads to better objectivity according to Nelson. In broader methodical

efforts beyond literary academia, people recognize participatory engagement as a key component to the

knowing process. Community participation in the land planning process is often utilized as it provides the

opportunity for members to express their perspectives to the land planner before key decisions are made. In

analog with ethnographic film, the filming and editing of Nanook of the North is described by Jean Rouch

(Rouch p. 87 in Hockings 2003) as the birth of participant observation and feedbackboth methods which

are still emerging today in anthropology and sociology among other fields of study. Nevertheless, the

structure of interpersonal relationships within a social system tends to influence significantly the attitudes of

the participants (Lewis 1973). As social values are intrinsic to how we understand and interact with the

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Final Research Paperphysical natural world, exceptions to objective planning certainly exist when the planners or ethnographers

relationship with the people they engage is ignored. Furthermore, reasons for why the site evaluation and

planning process takes place altogether ought to be considered: what is the intention behind the planning or

filming process? These reasons inevitably arise from the values of the individual ethnographer, the

institution(s) to which they are beholden, the communities they work with, or a combination of the three.

On first impression, the presence of an authoritative narrator in Robert Gardners Dead Birds seems

to promote the credibility of the film. Yet this perceived credibility is undermined several times when the

narrator makes presumptuous claims about the subjects in the film with very little or no context to concur with

his statements. For example, Gardner comments about a little child Pua (phonetically spelled) and tells us that

his young mind wanders without having any visible inquiry or exchange with the subject, Pua, during or

after the film; soon thereafter Gardner tells viewers that Pua with no other children to play with and sleepy

from the hot sun, he picks an unsuspecting playmate and decides to doze. The results can reflect the values of

the designer of land planning or ethnographic film to reveal ignorance, ulterior motives, or at the least

unwarranted judgments made without having confirmed their assumptions with the subjects of their work.

Ultimately, the use of objective technologies and concepts are informed by particular individual or institutional

values. It is impossible and discrediting to consciously engage a subject and be (or even appear) entirely

removed from the entities involved in the study. In ethnographic film, MacDougal (p. 125 in Hockings 2003)

proposes participatory cinema as a way to validate the experience of film maker and film subjects. Inpractice objectivity is a theoretical ideal that is based in the recognition of human subjectivity rather than the

either/or dichotomy some scholars portray. In this sense subjectivity is the objectivity of the social sciences and

objectivity the subjectivity of the physical and natural sciences. (Hanson 2006)

In academia, the field of action research arose as a direct response to the social practices that reflect

imperialistic detachment. It tends to be democratic, acknowledges the validity of normative (subjective)

information, and values human participation.

Action research challenges the claims of a positivistic view of knowledge which holds that in

order to be credible, research must remain objective and value-free. Instead, we embrace the

notion of knowledge as socially constructed and, recognizing that all research is embedded

within a system of values and promotes some model of human interaction, we commit

ourselves to a form of research which challenges unjust and undemocratic economic, social and

political systems and practices. (Brydon-Miller et al. 2003)

The participatory view for research is relatively new and so too is its recognition in cinematography.

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Final Research PaperHowever, both of these styles are premised upon an ethos of engagement and place.

Action researchers work directly with the communities they intend to learn with, and ethnographic film makers

like Rouch reflect a similar preference for establishing his relationship with the people he seeks to understand

as a participant and observer to their events. Under traditional schemes of academic inquiry, we could at best

associate the credibility of an observed event by referring to a researchers publication, field notes, film, and

testimonial accounts for a trance experience that happened far away. Yet Rouch refers to the process of

cinematography as the cine-trance, and points to a synthesis between Vertov's cine-eye, which places

emphasis on the mechanicalalmost thought of as objectivenature of the camera as a passive deviceand

Flaherty's participant camera, both of which he advocates for as essential components to an ethnologist's

participation as a filmmaker. Lous Heshusius (1994) distinguished the participatory engagement processfor

making a film, watching a film, even learningby exploring participation from being a way of knowing to a state

of consciousness in itself by observing the First Nations Indians and ancient Eastern oriental cultures:

Theirs is not an alienated mode of consciousness that creates psychic distance between the

knower and the known. For Indians, the oneness of consciousness, as Highwater (1981, p. 67)

expresses it, is a "capacity for an integration of the self and the world that is learned."

(Heshusius 1994)

Rouch reflects this in his description for effective filming: [F]or me, then, the only way to film is to walk

about with the camera, taking it to wherever it is the most effective, and improvising a ballet in which thecamera itself becomes just as much alive as the people it is filming (Rouch in Hockings 2003). This approach

demands an element of intimate proximity with the subjects at hand. Revisiting Young, who paraphrases

MacDougall (pg. 100 in Hockings 2003) [f]ilm has a tendency to appear plausible, and thus to diminish the

importance of what it ignores. What film, and in turn, its audience, can ignore is the relationship between the

audience, the context of events taking place as the film is being screened, the events and subjects captured in

the film, and the respective contexts of the events taking place around the film makers throughout the

production of the film. Young (pg. 100) identifies two points in the film making process where film makers can

underrepresent or sensationalize an event based on what is being filmed, or by editing after having recorded

the events on film. Creating a highly removed physical and intellectual environment and presenting an exotic

topic such as trance from a detached context immediately fulfills one of the traditional notions for credible

objectivity. An individual with the title of ethnographer, anthropologist, or documentary film maker tends

to impress and audience by seeming credible and trained to share insights from their research abroad in exotic

places (again, a requisite for meeting the idea of objectivism). Even if the ethnographer is a well trained

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Works cited

Ben-Eli, M. (2007) Design Science: A framework for change. Retrieved February 10, 2011, from the

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