Core Response #2: Julia

This week's readings (especially the one by professor Seiter) helped me formalise some ideas I have been thinking about a lot this semester, specially in regards to the intersection of television and ethnography. Generally speaking, when we think about an ethnographic methodology applied in a media studies context, the obvious first thought goes to documentary work. Documentarians have a certain responsibility to consider an ethical approach to their interviews and their content curation. They are generally trying to create an accurate narrative out of reality, and therefore the tie to ethnographic work is quite clear. On another level, we have the non-ethical documentary practice that is reality TV. While reality TV also grounds itself in a certain measure of reality, the ethnographic practice behind it is less tangible. While the narrative begins in the realm of what is real and naturally observable, this format relies heavily on producer interference to move and manipulate the narrative in new directions. Although it is important to note that this kind of author manipulation is not unheard of in purely anthropological work either. Ultimately in these cases, ethnography seems to rely on a tether to reality and a desire to record a version of said reality.

However, this week helped me push past some of these ideas of ethnographic work based in reality, and led me to consider ethnographic work within the realm of fiction. Frequently, content creators will prepare for film or TV projects by interviewing people similar to the characters they want to depict, or by immersing themselves in the physical context of their narratives for a period of time. This formula resembles a lot of basic ethnographic projects that find their roots in a colonial and relativist anthropological practice. In the past couple of decades, many producers have started to realise the importance of putting people in charge of their own stories when depicting the experience of a certain identity. In this new formula, writers and directors are encouraged to pursue a more auto-ethnographic method, and to offer viewers a perspective into places and communities that they have been a part of. This new ethnographic approach leads to wonder how these projects might affect audiences differently. Indeed, when creators show audiences a part of their world, is the audience also taking part in ethnographic work? Does the experience of watching television become inherently ethnographic? 

In relation to our previous readings, I am also interested in considering the way that the notion of the cultural forum works in the context of ethnographic work. Is this desire to equalise opinions and showcase social tensions technically a part of a greater anthropological framework?