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Pikisi kwaiyai! (pictures tonight!): The screening and reception of ethnographic film in the Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea
Author(s) -
Connelly Andrew J
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
the australian journal of anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.245
H-Index - 25
eISSN - 1757-6547
pISSN - 1035-8811
DOI - 10.1111/taja.12144
Subject(s) - ethnography , narrative , repatriation , new guinea , visual anthropology , sociology , anthropology , value (mathematics) , media studies , history , ethnology , art , literature , archaeology , machine learning , computer science
Ethnographic films hold great historical value for the communities in which they were filmed, yet people in source communities often lack access to them. Visitors engaging in ‘visual repatriation’ of ethnographic film can enrich both sides of the ethnographic exchange. I review my experiences screening ethnographic films with Trobriand Islanders, their reactions, and the various ways in which local communities regain ownership of these films, including re‐narration and renaming. My findings reiterate how source communities' reception of, and uses for, ethnographic film can sharply differ from the filmmakers' original agenda.