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Grimshaw, A., Ravetz, A., 2009.

Rethinking observational cinema

Output Type:Journal article
Publication:Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute
ISBN/ISSN:1359-0987
Volume/Issue:15 (3)
Pagination:pp. 538-556

'Observational cinema' has long been central to debates in visual anthropology. Although initially hailed as a radical breakthrough in ethnographic filmmaking, the genre was subsequently criticized as naïvely empiricist and lacking in reflexive sophistication. In this article, we make a new case for observational cinema. It grows out of a renewed attention to practice. We argue that observational work be understood not as preliminary to anthropological proper but as a distinctive form of anthropology in its own right. © 2009 Royal Anthropological Institute.