Cinema of John Marshall / Edition 1

by Jay Ruby

Overview

The Cinema of John Marshall explores the life and art of the pioneering ethnographic filmmaker. Its centerpiece is an autobiographical essay in which Marshall assesses his forty-year involvement with the San peoples (Bushmen) of South Africa and his films, from the 1957 award winning The Hunters to his current work in progress, Death by Myth. The book weaves together the political economy of San dispossession, history and ethnography, personal narratives of historical importance, and expositions of film techniques and film language. The first English language study of the man and his work, The Cinema of John Marshall conveys the complex unity of Marshall's life: the filmic, the intellectual, the political, and the human.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9783718605576
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	09/08/1997
Series:	Visual Anthropology , #3
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

Table of Contents

An Argument about Film Introduction-Death by Myth Going to Nyae Nyae Learning to Film Water, History and What to Shoot Change and Slots Learning from Film Put Down the Camera and Pick Up the Shovel: An Interview with John Marshall Photographic Essay of the Early Expeditions: (1951-1958) to Study the Ju/'hoansi of Nyae Nyae Death by Myth: Ethnographic Film and the Development Struggle The Future of the Bushmen's Past: Developing People and Pictures Hot Footage/Cold Storage: The Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Archive Filmography of the Works of John Marshall from 1951-1991 Filming and Learning:

Editorial Reviews

"John Marshall's lively and forthright style makes gripping reading, reflecting his own personal character. Marshall presents his heartfelt methodology for making anthropologically and socially meaningful films, and the book offers a unique and multidimensional view of the work of a pioneering filmmaker." — Allison Jablonko of Mills College, Oakland, California
"This book demonstrates powerfully that documentary film is a major component of contemporary ethnography." — Paul Stoller of School of American Research and West Chester State University, Pennsylvania

From the Publisher

John Marshall's lively and forthright style makes gripping reading, reflecting his own personal character. Marshall presents his heartfelt methodology for making anthropologically and socially meaningful films, and the book offers a unique and multidimensional view of the work of a pioneering filmmaker.

Allison Jablonko

This book demonstrates powerfully that documentary film is a major component of contemporary ethnography.

Paul Stoller