Visual Anthropology in Sardinia

228 Pages·2014·3.24 MB·English

by  Silvio Carta

Silvio Carta
NSEC
NEW STUDIES IN EUROPEAN CINEMA
S
i
lv VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY
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C
a IN SARDINIA
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Visual Anthropology in Sardinia explores the technique, style and methodology of V
i
s
documentary films about Sardinia, investigating how such films construct differ­ u
a
ent experiences and identities, and reflecting on the advantages of the medium of l

A
documentary film over written ethnographic texts.
n
t
h
r
Following a discussion of theoretical developments in the area of visual anthropo­ o
p
logy in the twentieth century, the author turns to case studies of documentary o
l
filmmaking related to Sardinia from the fascist era onwards, offering a survey of o
g
the particular and somewhat peculiar filmic ethnographic discourse established y

i
in relation to Sardinia, which has been constructed to a large extent as an ‘Other’ n

S
to peninsular Italy. The subject is a complex one, ranging across the fields of film
a
r
studies, anthropology, literary and cultural studies and, to some extent, philosophy. d
i
The book enriches scholarship not only on the cultural construction of Sardinia in n
i
a
the popular, political and intellectual imaginary and in its relation to Italy, but also
on visual epistemologies and the ethics and practice of ethnographic filmmaking.
SILVIO CARTA completed his PhD in Italian Studies at the University of Birmingham.
His articles and reviews have appeared in Visual Anthropology, Visual Anthropology
Review, Visual Studies, Visual Ethnography, Journal of Italian Cinema and Media
Studies, Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, Political
Communication and Studies in Documentary Film.
PETER LANG
www.peterlang.com
Silvio Carta
NSEC
NEW STUDIES IN EUROPEAN CINEMA
S
i
lv VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY
i
o

C
a IN SARDINIA
r
t
a

Visual Anthropology in Sardinia explores the technique, style and methodology of V
i
s
documentary films about Sardinia, investigating how such films construct differ­ u
a
ent experiences and identities, and reflecting on the advantages of the medium of l

A
documentary film over written ethnographic texts.
n
t
h
r
Following a discussion of theoretical developments in the area of visual anthropo­ o
p
logy in the twentieth century, the author turns to case studies of documentary o
l
filmmaking related to Sardinia from the fascist era onwards, offering a survey of o
g
the particular and somewhat peculiar filmic ethnographic discourse established y

i
in relation to Sardinia, which has been constructed to a large extent as an ‘Other’ n

S
to peninsular Italy. The subject is a complex one, ranging across the fields of film
a
r
studies, anthropology, literary and cultural studies and, to some extent, philosophy. d
i
The book enriches scholarship not only on the cultural construction of Sardinia in n
i
a
the popular, political and intellectual imaginary and in its relation to Italy, but also
on visual epistemologies and the ethics and practice of ethnographic filmmaking.
SILVIO CARTA completed his PhD in Italian Studies at the University of Birmingham.
His articles and reviews have appeared in Visual Anthropology, Visual Anthropology
Review, Visual Studies, Visual Ethnography, Journal of Italian Cinema and Media
Studies, Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies, Political
Communication and Studies in Documentary Film.
PETER LANG
www.peterlang.com
VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY
IN SARDINIA
NEW STUDIES IN EUROPEAN CINEMA
VOL. 19
EDITED BY
WENDY EVERETT & AXEL GOODBODY
Peter Lang
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Silvio Carta
VISUAL
ANTHROPOLOGY
IN SARDINIA
Peter Lang
Oxford • Bern • Berlin • Bruxelles • Frankfurt am Main • New York • Wien
Bibliographic information published by Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek
Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche
Nationalbiblio grafie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at
http://dnb.d-nb.de.
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Carta, Silvio, 1981-
Visual anthropology in Sardinia / Silvio Carta.
pages cm. -- (New studies in European cinema ; 19)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Includes filmographies.
ISBN 978-3-0343-0998-1 (alk. paper)
1. Visual anthropology--Sardinia. 2. Motion pictures in ethnology--Sardinia. 3.
Ethnographic films--Sardinia. 4. Documentary films--Sardinia--History and criti-
cism. I. Title.
GN347.C37 2014
301.0945’9--dc23
2013027766
Cover image: Sardinian folk costumes (Quartu Sant’Elena). Credit: Silvio Carta.
ISSN 1661-0261
ISBN 978-3-0343-0998-1 (print)
ISBN 978-3-0353-0677-4 (eBook)
© Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2015
Hochfeldstrasse 32, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland
[email protected], www.peterlang.com, www.peterlang.net
All rights reserved.
All parts of this publication are protected by copyright.
Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the
permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution.
This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming,
and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.
This publication has been peer reviewed.
Printed in Germany
A Laurita

Contents
List of Figures ix
Acknowledgements xiii
Chapter 1
Documentary Film and Observational Cinema in Sardinia 1
Chapter 2
Representation of Culture through
Ethnographic Film 33
Chapter 3
Illustrative Documentaries:
A Dominant Way of Seeing 51
Chapter 4
Banditi a Orgosolo: An Anthropological Film 99
Chapter 5
Tempus de Baristas: Transcultural Cinema 127
Conclusion 173
Filmography 177
Bibliography 183
Index 201