Anthropology as a Service
11th November - 6p.m. Ian Gulland Lecture Theatre
Deng in Beijing
2008 - Jingsi Li, Shumeng Dai, Yingshi Du, Jie Li - 30’
Ms Deng has worked in Beijing with her husband since 2000. Before, both
of them were farmers living in the countryside in Anhni province. They
want to earn more money in the big city to improve their quality of
life. In this situation, they have to face many difficulties such as
the problem of occupation, living conditions and leaving their child.
no You nor I
2008 - Felicity Aulino – 23’
Set in a Buddhist temple AIDS hospice in Lopburi, Thailand, this piece
provides a glimpse of how people approach death, and a touch of what
vocational caregivers can reveal about human communication and
connection.
Morokapel’s Feast – The story of a Kara hunting ritual
2008 - Steffen Köhn – 26’
This film tells the story of a hunt and its repercussions in the land
of the Kara, Lower Omo Valley, Ethiopia. Morokapel, a young man from
the village Chellehte, has succeeded in killing a leopard, which had
been attacking the livestock, with a self-made trap. He hands over the
magnificent leopard skin to his mother-brother Samo in the village
Labuk, who then holds for him a hunting ritual, a mirt, which endows
Morokapel with fame and a new status. The film-makers follow Morokapel
and his companions during these festivities, which take a surprising
turn the morning after the ceremony: A discussion breaks out, in which
Morokapels supporters try to deny Samo the right to the valuable trophy
through bending and re-interpreting of ritual rules.
The Second Tsunami
23’ – Juliette Yu-Ming Lizeray and Alessandro Jedlowski – 2008
this documentary tells the story of the village of Layeun in Aceh Besar
district, Aceh province, Indonesia, and its struggles around its
relocation. Through this case, the film highlights some of the central
issues in post-tsunami reconstruction and development, namely problems
over land, the tension between rights and entitlements, the
complexities of post-disaster aid coordination and the entrenched,
multifaceted manifestations of corruption. It is ultimately a critique
of the wave of aid that swamped Aceh after tsunami.
No such thing as a free lunch
2008 - Tate Lefevre - 18’
Freegans, a group of anti-capitalist, anti-consumerist activists – best
known for eating food found in the garbage – struggle to represent
themselves and their mission in the mainstream media.
Background to talk (6-7p.m.):
The question of ethical responsibility over production and
dissemination of ethnographic film unceasingly addresses researchers
and directors, but one has to make a living. Increasing employment of
ethnographic research for market products of global companies and the
US army’s deployment of anthropologists as mediators during occupation
of Afghanistan has prompted the labelling of “mercenary anthropology.”
Should one take a stance against such alliances or can ethnographic
film offer a voice to viable solutions for practical problems? Does
short-term gain and financial concern undermine the ethics of
anthropology or offer a stable role to the future of the discipline?
Can ethnographic film invert the flow of decisions offering a
humanistic ‘bottom-up’ perspective?
Guest Speakers:
Siamack Salari – C.E.O. of “everyday lives” / commercial and video ethnography
Michael Stewart – social anthropologist / film producer
Chair: Professor Pat Caplan