Description
Book SynopsisExamines key works, filmmakers, and theorists, from Andre Bazin and the Italian neorealists, to American documentary films of the 1960s, to extended discussions of the ethnographic films of Herb Di Gioia, David Hancock, and David MacDougall. This book describes the importance of observational work in experimental anthropology.
Trade ReviewArguing from the works of André Bazin, Colin Young, Herb Di Gioia, and others, the authors make a case for continuous long shots, respectful engagement with subjects, a humanistic perspective that values the quotidian of people's lives, and a reluctance to indulge in pre-information about the subject matter of films' targeted topics. . . . Recommended.July 2010
* Choice *
Observational Cinema is a fascinating and much-needed study of an important body of work.
* American Ethnologist *
Grimshaw and Ravetz offer an appealing study of the observational cinematic method in ethnographic research. XVI, No. 3, 2010
* Anthropological Notebooks *
Table of ContentsContents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Part One.
1. What Is Observational Cinema?
2. Social Observers: Robert Drew, Albert and David Maysles, Frederick Wiseman
Part Two.
3. Observational Cinema in the Making: The Work of Herb Di Gioia and David Hancock
4. Observational Cinema on the Move: The Work of David MacDougall
Part Three.
5. Rethinking Observational Cinema
6. Toward an Experimental Anthropology
Notes
Filmography
Bibliography
Index
