Danger

     In watching Mad Masters and reading the article by Kien Ket Lim, I was drawn to the question of danger. When watching the film, this concept particularly interested me in that Jean Rouch is inherently placing himself in danger in order to film the possession rite of the Hauka movement practiced by the Songhay migrant workers from Niger. Especially given the nature of this possession, I think that there is certainly a component of danger involved in observing this practice. If I were in Rouch’s place, I would certainly be fearful that one of these possessed individuals might lash out at me in a way that could cause me harm, were I to make a wrong move. In addition, the fact that I would also be filming this ceremony would also cause me to be fearful of the reaction by the possessed. This filming would be a change from the normal surroundings of the possession, and the response to this change may not necessarily be the most welcoming. This idea of danger is addressed again in Lim’s article as these “Camera People” are referred to as “hunters of images” who “seemingly have no concern for their own visibility (as one would say, “for their own safety”)”. This reinforces the fact that these filmmakers may very well be placing themselves in dangerous situations, sometimes unknowingly. In addition to the danger to self, we must also consider the danger to society that these filmmakers present to the societies being filmed. Although the filming presents the opportunity for a greater global understanding of cultures and practices, it also presents the danger of incorrect portrayal due to misinterpretation. Is there a way to effectively protect against this danger given the fact that cultural and language barriers often do exist? And does this overall concept of danger outweigh the potential benefit of ethnographic filmmaking?