Anthropologists in Films: “The Horror! The Horror!”

Abstract

Drawing upon 53 films featuring fictional representations of anthropologists, we explore in this article the popular depiction and perception of anthropology by examining portrayals of the discipline in film. Finding that 26 of the 53 can be categorized as horror films, we examine the role of anthropologists in these films as experts and mediators for seemingly alien "others" and how this lends itself to frequently heroic depictions. We draw parallels between this work and Conradian voyages into the "heart of darkness" as well as ethical dilemmas and controversies involving real anthropologists. We argue that this body of work represents an excellent opportunity for anthropological teaching while we also implore anthropologists to play more active roles in shaping public perception of the discipline in regard to both analysis and production. [anthropologists, movies, fiction, horror, films, anthropology discipline, engaged anthropology, ethics] RESUMEN Basados en 53 filmes enfatizando representaciones inventadas de antropólogos, exploramos en este artículo la descripción popular y la percepción de la antropología a través de examinar las representaciones de la disciplina en filme. Encontrando que 26 de los 53 pueden ser categorizados como filmes de horror, examinamos el rol de los antropólogos en estos filmes como expertos y mediadores por aparentemente foráneos "otros" y cómo esto se presta en sí mismo a representaciones heroicas frecuentemente. Trazamos paralelos entreéste trabajo y viajes Conradianos al "corazón de la oscuridad" así como dilemaséticos y controversias envolviendo antropólogos reales.Argumentamos que este cuerpo de trabajo representa una excelente oportunidad para la enseñanza antropológica mientras que también imploramos a los antropólogos jugar roles más activos moldeando la percepción pública de la disciplina con relación tanto al análisis cómo a la producción. [antropólogos, películas, ficción, horror, filmes, disciplina de la antropología, antropología comprometida,ética].

Fieldwork at sunset

“…We also must admit to feeling less reassured by the potential for diverse meanings and interpretations by the sheer volume of colorful, costumed performers and picturesque landscapes, and the dearth of supermarkets and laboratories, or nonwhite anthropologists, in our data set. With anthropology still thrust into public consciousness in other media through intrepidity and othering (Mac-Clancy 2005;Weston et al 2015), we question if the decidedly skewed visual resources that websites furnish encourage complex understandings-or if anthropologists have thought about what semiotic work they do at all.…”

“…While the former may attract soon-to-be-disappointed students, the latter is no boon for a bureaucratic era of enrolment anxiety. In fi lms, meanwhile, anthropologists enter as experts on alien Others, braving the wild to take on zombies, cannibals, and serial killers (Weston et al 2015). Th ese depictions foster little connection between anthropological expertise and the real-world issues, from Charlie Hebdo to Black Lives Matter, that a reinvigorated public anthropology is eager to address (e.g., Haugerud 2016).…”

Primitivist tourism and anthropological research: awkward relations★

“…While Malinowski and Mead promoted some of the public imagery now holding sway, on an ethnographic level it bears emphasis that the icon ‘anthropologist’ in tourist consciousness today is shaped much less by anthropologists’ actual activities than by popular predisposition and by media processes, such as prominent films like Avatar or the Indiana Jones franchise (di Leonardo ; Errington & Gewertz : 51; Weston, Lawson, Blell & Hayton ). The itineraries and expectations of individual tourists whom I have interviewed, or whose writings I have read, are much more commonly shaped by travel literature, and by National Geographic and other popular platforms of primitivist photography and television, than by writings or activities of any academic anthropologist.…”

Notions about the ethnologist/anthropologist profession in the film "Ring a Ring o' Roses"

“…Mi smo egzotični kod kuće, dvorske lude akademije, identifikovani s našim stigmatizovanim, trivijalizovanim predmetima proučavanja širom sveta, siromašnim, ne-belim, seksualnim manjinama u svakoj državi di Leonardo 1999prema Chalfen 2003 Bez obzira na činjenicu da javni imidž i identitet discipline direktno utiče na finansiranje istraživanja i na mogućnost zaposlenja diplomiranih antropologa (Shore 1996, 4), antropolozi su relativno kasno uočili značaj proučavanja popularnih reprezentacija sopstvene profesije u masovnoj kulturi (o predstavljanju antropologa u štampanim medijima v. Gusterson 2013). Predstave o disciplini i načini na koji se antropolozi portretišu u različitim žanrovima popularne kulure tek od prve polovine dvehiljaditih godina postaju tema antropoloških istraži-vanja (Chalfen 2003;MacClancy 2005;Salamone 2012;Weston et al 2015). Meklensi napominje da su antropolozi ignorisali popularne predstave o svojoj profesiji bez obzira na činjenicu da oni predstavljaju najpopularnije ili najpopularizovanije naučnike u fikciji (MacClancy 2005, 550).…”

“…Prvo veće istraživanje portretisanja lika antropologa u dugometražnim igranim filmovima sproveo je Veston sa saradnicima (Weston et al 2015). Analitičku građu za ispitivanje predstava o antropolozima i antropologiji činilo je 53 filma.…”