Title : | Scenes from Yongning: Media creation in China's Na villages | |
Author : | Blumenfield Kedar, T. | |
Publisher : | United States -- Washington : University of Washington, 2010 | |
Pages : | 462 | |
Abstract : | This dissertation project used collaborative research methodologies to examine visual representation practices in an ethnically diverse region of southwest China. The Na people living in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, also known as Mosuo, have been subject to intense scrutiny from researchers, journalists, media producers and tourists. They play an active role in television program production but lose control over the final phase of media production, video editing and post production work. Narratives that distort their words are often added over images taken without regard to the original meaning or context. To counter unethical filmmaking and writing practices, I partnered with Moso Folk Museum directors Ruheng Duoji and Onci Archei in a collaboration that resulted in the Moso Media Project. We organized a digital video training course (2005) and the first-ever Moso Film Festival (2006), showcasing films about Na people and initiating dialogue among community members and leaders. Designing a project that promoted conversations among community members helped foreground the ethics of research and representation, an important intervention in a place frequently examined and misrepresented by outsiders. Complementary ethnographic research conducted in Yongning explored gendered ethnicity, representational politics, and authenticity in media productions and representations about Na people, including the Yunnan New Film Project and music videos produced by the Lijiang Lugu Lake Tourism Management Committee. This research examined the role of the Chinese state in media production through promotion of the culture industry and analyzed how independent documentary filmmakers navigate national and local media politics. Scenes from Yongning makes three key contributions to scholarship. First, it demonstrates how international collaborative work can extend beyond the research phase and make use of visual materials to engage non-literate community members. Second, it profiles media production processes from an ethnographic angle, considering perspectives of diverse stakeholders from within and beyond Na communities as Na culture becomes commodified for the consumption of media audiences. Finally, it portrays the interactions between Na and their myriad visitors to depict a side of Na culture that is seldom examined: their adaptation to intense gazes from outsiders and their agency in creating their own representations. | |
URL : | http://ezproxy.auckland.ac.nz/login?url=http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=2159217621&Fmt=7&clientId=13395&RQT=309&VName=PQD | |
Subjects : | Cultural anthropology Asian Studies Multimedia Communications Museum studies Film studies | |
Linked guides : | Chinese Film Studies | |
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