“Couple in a Cage” dir. Coco Fusco
November 26th, 2007
The film “Couple in a Cage” documented the “reverse ethnography” performed by Coco Fusco and her collaborator Guillermo Gomez-Pena. The experiment allowed Fusco and others to see how “the gaze” and “othering” was performed first hand by people who would in normal circumstances consider the co-conspirators to be civilized members of Western society.
While watching the film I felt uncomfortable with the extreme performance as well as the reactions, which ensued because of the performances. I find it really strange that no one really protested the fact that these people were in a cage, an almost barbaric way to treat a fellow person. Although it has been done for many centuries previously, especially in the case of Saartjie Baartman, otherwise known as Hotentot Venus, who exhibited for her abnormally large behind. However, we would think that these types of practises had ended a long time ago, which should be enough for people to protest. One gentleman did comment on it, but that wasn’t the reaction of most people. In one scene, Fusco and Gomez are in the cage at a party and people are paying the male to show his genitalia to them. This act in particular was disturbing to me, and I would argue was actually too far for the purposes of this experiment. It was interesting to note that people actually paid for this at the expense of those “others”, but it seemed wrong and unnecessary none-the-less.
The gaze performed by those audience members was very similar to the gaze Laura Mulvey discusses. She insists that the gaze has a psychological relationship to power, and that the gazer is superior to the object of the gaze. Thus in the case of the couple in a cage, the people in the crowd, assumed more power than the couple. This was demonstrated when people were able to pay for the couple to perform some kind of act (ie. showing genitilia, telling a story, etc). The couple seemed to have very little control over how they were treated.
In her article “The Other History of Intercultural Performance,” Coco Fusco comments that “the cage became a blank screen onto which audiences projected their fantasies of who and what we are. As we assumed the stereotypical role of the domesticated savage, many audience members felt entitles to assume the role of the colonizer, only to find themselves uncomfortable with the implications of the game” (152). In the article I found it very surprising that people actually said that it made sense that the people were caged because they could attack or and basically because these people were different (157). Furthermore, Fusco describes Homi Bhabha’s essay “The Other Question” (153) as explaining, “how racial classification through stereotyping is a necessary component of colonialist discourse, as it justifies domination and masks the colonizer’s fear of the inability to always already know the Other.” She continues, explaining that her experience within the cage has shown that despite living in a society where democracy and equality are predominate ideologies; ideas of colonialism have been internalized within society’s population. This can be seen through the audience’s reactions of horror, humour, and voyeuristic curiosity.
The film demonstrated the array of reactions, however it would have been nice to have commentary or a voiceover from the artists talking about their experience in the cage, their interactions with the people and observations of the people. The article written by Coco Fusco provides context but as a film it would have been beneficial for the medium.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Thursday, November 15, 2007
“Cannibal Tours" dir. O'Rourke
November 13, 2007.
The ongoing colonialist ideas of the “Other” have been documented through an array of media and texts. Most recently, the Red Campaign, which seeks to raise funds for AIDS in Africa through Western consumerism, released its promotional ads that included the model Gisele posed with Masai, an African. The image of Masai as the stereotypical tribal African beside Gisele the “civilized” beautiful white model perpetuates ideas of the “Other, ” as Masai is only represented through a stereotype. The image gives no context to who Masai is. The Red campaign is problematic on many other levels but throughout the campaign there is a consistent usage of “othering” messages.
In the film “Cannibal Tours,” director Dennis O’Rourke confronts how the Western world has continuously exploited and “othered” certain groups that are considered primitive. However, what I really enjoyed about the film was that O’Rourke took a more complex approach then just demonizing the tourists who came to New Guinea. He showed both the tourists and the New Guineans in contentious positions. The tourists, in my view, were portrayed as dumb and silly. They were very much the stereotypical tourists, with their camera’s slung around their necks speaking in staccato to the New Guineans, in hopes they would be better understood. On the other hand, the New Guineans allowed themselves to be objectified and exploited by the tourists.
They performed their culture, exaggerating parts for entertainment and spectacle. O’Rourke highlights these problematic behaviours in his film. For example, before leaving the island, the tourists’ faces were “painted by Iatmul village men with designs traditionally used to decorate the skulls of their deceased ancestors, [then the tourists] are seen dancing in slow motion on the deck of the ship. We hear the music of Mozart in the background…” (Lutkehaus 428). This scene is especially problematic as it displays a kind of “blackface” or performance of the Black “Other” based on stereotypes. However as Lutkehaus continues, these acts allow people a “momentarily escape. It’s like erotica” (429).
The exploitation of those considered primitive is also discussed in the article “A World Brightly Different: Photographic Conventions 1950-1986”, which discusses how National Geographic relies on images of the erotic “Other.” Significantly, the author suggests that the Western world depends on these representations to define themselves (90). Furthermore, “the absence of violence or illness [in the National Geographic, help to] reflect back to Americans their own self-image as a relatively classless society…” (103). By shunning the poor, the ill and the hungry, those in first world nations are able to feel better about their positions in the world. This is particularly interesting in the case of the film; the New Guineans perform the images and stereotypes that are assigned to them by the Western world. By doing this, they receive a more positive response from tourists who are more willing to pay for pictures with the tribal-dressed people and buy cultural artefacts.
Despite the exploitation of the “Others” by the tourists, I really appreciated how O’Rourke portrayed the New Guineas with agency. One of the town’s elders, who speaks throughout the film, has several insights that would show that the New Guinean people knew that the way they were portraying themselves was for their benefit (in terms of money). When asked why they allow the tourists to come, he answers that it’s because they have money, they buy the carvings and they pay for pictures. However he also comments that when the tribe’s children go off to school, the children buy pictures of their own village (which have been made into postcards by tourists). Therefore, the New Guinean group has come to rely on the money made from their own exploitation; sending their own children to school is reliant on the revenues made from tourism.
The ongoing colonialist ideas of the “Other” have been documented through an array of media and texts. Most recently, the Red Campaign, which seeks to raise funds for AIDS in Africa through Western consumerism, released its promotional ads that included the model Gisele posed with Masai, an African. The image of Masai as the stereotypical tribal African beside Gisele the “civilized” beautiful white model perpetuates ideas of the “Other, ” as Masai is only represented through a stereotype. The image gives no context to who Masai is. The Red campaign is problematic on many other levels but throughout the campaign there is a consistent usage of “othering” messages.
In the film “Cannibal Tours,” director Dennis O’Rourke confronts how the Western world has continuously exploited and “othered” certain groups that are considered primitive. However, what I really enjoyed about the film was that O’Rourke took a more complex approach then just demonizing the tourists who came to New Guinea. He showed both the tourists and the New Guineans in contentious positions. The tourists, in my view, were portrayed as dumb and silly. They were very much the stereotypical tourists, with their camera’s slung around their necks speaking in staccato to the New Guineans, in hopes they would be better understood. On the other hand, the New Guineans allowed themselves to be objectified and exploited by the tourists.
They performed their culture, exaggerating parts for entertainment and spectacle. O’Rourke highlights these problematic behaviours in his film. For example, before leaving the island, the tourists’ faces were “painted by Iatmul village men with designs traditionally used to decorate the skulls of their deceased ancestors, [then the tourists] are seen dancing in slow motion on the deck of the ship. We hear the music of Mozart in the background…” (Lutkehaus 428). This scene is especially problematic as it displays a kind of “blackface” or performance of the Black “Other” based on stereotypes. However as Lutkehaus continues, these acts allow people a “momentarily escape. It’s like erotica” (429).
The exploitation of those considered primitive is also discussed in the article “A World Brightly Different: Photographic Conventions 1950-1986”, which discusses how National Geographic relies on images of the erotic “Other.” Significantly, the author suggests that the Western world depends on these representations to define themselves (90). Furthermore, “the absence of violence or illness [in the National Geographic, help to] reflect back to Americans their own self-image as a relatively classless society…” (103). By shunning the poor, the ill and the hungry, those in first world nations are able to feel better about their positions in the world. This is particularly interesting in the case of the film; the New Guineans perform the images and stereotypes that are assigned to them by the Western world. By doing this, they receive a more positive response from tourists who are more willing to pay for pictures with the tribal-dressed people and buy cultural artefacts.
Despite the exploitation of the “Others” by the tourists, I really appreciated how O’Rourke portrayed the New Guineas with agency. One of the town’s elders, who speaks throughout the film, has several insights that would show that the New Guinean people knew that the way they were portraying themselves was for their benefit (in terms of money). When asked why they allow the tourists to come, he answers that it’s because they have money, they buy the carvings and they pay for pictures. However he also comments that when the tribe’s children go off to school, the children buy pictures of their own village (which have been made into postcards by tourists). Therefore, the New Guinean group has come to rely on the money made from their own exploitation; sending their own children to school is reliant on the revenues made from tourism.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
“Twilight,” Anna Deavere Smith
November 5, 2007.
“Twilight”, a one-woman show performed by Anna Deavere Smith displays several different views of the frustrations experienced by people around Los Angeles after the results of the Rodney King case were announced. What I really enjoy about this film is the range of characters Smith plays. Although some or her performances are quite cartoonie (ie. the Korean woman) the overall message Smith is going for is much more important. According to Carol Martin’s interview with Anna Smith, she tires to “capture the personality of a place by attempting to embody its varied population and varied points of view in one person”- herself (46). It is very important that she has decided to show all points of view of an issue.
I hate to make the comparison, but “Twilight” reminds me of the film “Crash” (2004) directed by Paul Haggis. This is probably because both document different stories of similar occurrences. The comparison is also related to the portrayal of race relations within the Los Angeles area. However, what is most different is that Smith speaks for all racial groups, performing their most stereotypical and over-the-top personalities to get their messages across.
I find her overtly stereotypical and over-the-top performance of a personality to be somewhat problematic. She does this in her performances of the Korean people and black men. In the article, “Is Race a Trope? Anna Deavere Smith and the Question of Racial Performativity,” I find the final comment to be particularly interesting especially when applied to the content in the film. Smith refers to race as a trap—“a trap constructed by and upholding racism. And yet racism cannot simply be done away with my deeming the concept of race as a mere trap that we shouldn’t fall into, and that we can avoid by not invoking ‘race’. Race is a very real identity category which has become systemic, so to ignore racism would be to allow systemic racism to continue as it is.” The conclusion to the article congratulates Smith’s use of racial identity in her acting as performative. Be this as it may, I still believe Smith’s performing of race is problem because it relies on stereotypes.
I guess the question would then be, how should we act? If we decide not to perform race, are we considered “white-washed”? I know this is somewhat off topic to the film, but I think it’s important to ask? Is race performance imbedded so deeply that it’s all we know? It seems that the emphasis that Smith places on performing races brings their occurrence to the forefront.
The film “Twilight” shows the many faces and opinions of those who lived in LA at the time of the King verdict. Smith performs all of these while perpetuating problematic stereotypes of race.
“Twilight”, a one-woman show performed by Anna Deavere Smith displays several different views of the frustrations experienced by people around Los Angeles after the results of the Rodney King case were announced. What I really enjoy about this film is the range of characters Smith plays. Although some or her performances are quite cartoonie (ie. the Korean woman) the overall message Smith is going for is much more important. According to Carol Martin’s interview with Anna Smith, she tires to “capture the personality of a place by attempting to embody its varied population and varied points of view in one person”- herself (46). It is very important that she has decided to show all points of view of an issue.
I hate to make the comparison, but “Twilight” reminds me of the film “Crash” (2004) directed by Paul Haggis. This is probably because both document different stories of similar occurrences. The comparison is also related to the portrayal of race relations within the Los Angeles area. However, what is most different is that Smith speaks for all racial groups, performing their most stereotypical and over-the-top personalities to get their messages across.
I find her overtly stereotypical and over-the-top performance of a personality to be somewhat problematic. She does this in her performances of the Korean people and black men. In the article, “Is Race a Trope? Anna Deavere Smith and the Question of Racial Performativity,” I find the final comment to be particularly interesting especially when applied to the content in the film. Smith refers to race as a trap—“a trap constructed by and upholding racism. And yet racism cannot simply be done away with my deeming the concept of race as a mere trap that we shouldn’t fall into, and that we can avoid by not invoking ‘race’. Race is a very real identity category which has become systemic, so to ignore racism would be to allow systemic racism to continue as it is.” The conclusion to the article congratulates Smith’s use of racial identity in her acting as performative. Be this as it may, I still believe Smith’s performing of race is problem because it relies on stereotypes.
I guess the question would then be, how should we act? If we decide not to perform race, are we considered “white-washed”? I know this is somewhat off topic to the film, but I think it’s important to ask? Is race performance imbedded so deeply that it’s all we know? It seems that the emphasis that Smith places on performing races brings their occurrence to the forefront.
The film “Twilight” shows the many faces and opinions of those who lived in LA at the time of the King verdict. Smith performs all of these while perpetuating problematic stereotypes of race.
Friday, November 2, 2007
Police Brutality Re-framed Through Video
October 30, 2007.
The Rodney King trial demonstrated how the graphic representation of King’s beating by police could be manipulated through a barrage of tactics (including coding, highlighting and the breaking down/ overly complicating the graphic representation) to result in drastically different perceptions (Goodwin 607). These perceptions created a criminal and dehumanized image of King and resulted in the innocent verdict for the police involved.
After watching The Rodney King Case: What the Jury Saw in California v. Powell, I was perplexed with the idea that someone could be treated so brutally and then have their perpetrators’ actions sanctioned. In King’s case, the action taken by police seemed blatantly motivated by racism, as in many portions of the trial, King is referred to as being bear-like and similar to that of the gorillas in Gorilla’s in the Midst. He is also accused of being high on PCP and thus exerting super-strength. One of the police officers actually celebrates his actions that night by saying, “I haven’t beaten anyone like this for a long time” over his police radio. King’s lawyer Terry White used these indications of racism dismally; instead he relied completely on what the jury saw on the videotape.
The defendants, however, used the footage frame by frame to show that King was in complete control of the situation and the police present were following normal protocol for the situation; Charles Goodwin explains these tactics in his article, “Professional Vision”. Through coding schemes the defense was able to prove that the actions taken were based on King’s body movements and a system of escalation and de-escalation (Goodwin 616). This was especially successful in showing that the police were just following what they had been taught. In order to back this up, an “expert” was brought in to support the actions and perceptions the police had during the event. The use of an expert who was not present at the event, but who could support the actions of the police proved very valuable to the case.
The grouping of the police based on profession worries me however. Especially in the United States there is a high sense of respect for the men in blue by white America, especially after 9/11. Although the King beating occurred before 9/11, these ideologies probably still resonated with white America, which was probably why the trial was held in a Los Angeles suburb instead of in the inner-city where police brutality and corruption are more frequent. The anger and riots that ensued once the tapes were shown by the media demonstrated the already present distrust those who were lower class or not white had. It seems really problematic that the police were built as being a collective entity who acted in a responsible way while King was individualized and turned into an animal amongst over 14 police officers who could have easily restrained King in a much more humane matter.
Other tactics used by the police that Goodwin discusses are highlighting and reframing of the video. Similarly to the Kuleshov Effect (as discussed in class) the defense was able to give context to paused video/pictures that as a whole was not previously present. Instead of portraying King’s actions of having a “cocked” leg as being a reaction to being beaten and tasered, they were able to portray King as someone they had to fear and keep control over, thus ending the de-escalation period.
Overall this video showed that through convincing evidence that previously didn’t exist, and dismal representation from the prosecution, a black man could be beaten and dehumanized without the police being punished for it. Although in a re-trial, two of the police were found guilty, the fact that a result like this could happen brings into question how many other times have the police and those who are idealized by our culture gotten away with criminal acts of these and lesser proportions.
The Rodney King trial demonstrated how the graphic representation of King’s beating by police could be manipulated through a barrage of tactics (including coding, highlighting and the breaking down/ overly complicating the graphic representation) to result in drastically different perceptions (Goodwin 607). These perceptions created a criminal and dehumanized image of King and resulted in the innocent verdict for the police involved.
After watching The Rodney King Case: What the Jury Saw in California v. Powell, I was perplexed with the idea that someone could be treated so brutally and then have their perpetrators’ actions sanctioned. In King’s case, the action taken by police seemed blatantly motivated by racism, as in many portions of the trial, King is referred to as being bear-like and similar to that of the gorillas in Gorilla’s in the Midst. He is also accused of being high on PCP and thus exerting super-strength. One of the police officers actually celebrates his actions that night by saying, “I haven’t beaten anyone like this for a long time” over his police radio. King’s lawyer Terry White used these indications of racism dismally; instead he relied completely on what the jury saw on the videotape.
The defendants, however, used the footage frame by frame to show that King was in complete control of the situation and the police present were following normal protocol for the situation; Charles Goodwin explains these tactics in his article, “Professional Vision”. Through coding schemes the defense was able to prove that the actions taken were based on King’s body movements and a system of escalation and de-escalation (Goodwin 616). This was especially successful in showing that the police were just following what they had been taught. In order to back this up, an “expert” was brought in to support the actions and perceptions the police had during the event. The use of an expert who was not present at the event, but who could support the actions of the police proved very valuable to the case.
The grouping of the police based on profession worries me however. Especially in the United States there is a high sense of respect for the men in blue by white America, especially after 9/11. Although the King beating occurred before 9/11, these ideologies probably still resonated with white America, which was probably why the trial was held in a Los Angeles suburb instead of in the inner-city where police brutality and corruption are more frequent. The anger and riots that ensued once the tapes were shown by the media demonstrated the already present distrust those who were lower class or not white had. It seems really problematic that the police were built as being a collective entity who acted in a responsible way while King was individualized and turned into an animal amongst over 14 police officers who could have easily restrained King in a much more humane matter.
Other tactics used by the police that Goodwin discusses are highlighting and reframing of the video. Similarly to the Kuleshov Effect (as discussed in class) the defense was able to give context to paused video/pictures that as a whole was not previously present. Instead of portraying King’s actions of having a “cocked” leg as being a reaction to being beaten and tasered, they were able to portray King as someone they had to fear and keep control over, thus ending the de-escalation period.
Overall this video showed that through convincing evidence that previously didn’t exist, and dismal representation from the prosecution, a black man could be beaten and dehumanized without the police being punished for it. Although in a re-trial, two of the police were found guilty, the fact that a result like this could happen brings into question how many other times have the police and those who are idealized by our culture gotten away with criminal acts of these and lesser proportions.
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