Anarchival Materiality in Film Archives: Toward an Anthropology of the Multimodal

Abstract

In this article, we propose an anthropology of the multimodal, based on research‐creation work in fugitive film archives. We foreground the material dimension of anthropological research and describe film technology and its use in anthropology as ideologically and materially situated. Through our work with magenta film, we theorize anarchival materiality as a force of entropy in archives and collections. Attention to anarchival materiality raises questions about the persistence and reliability of the products of contemporary multimodal practices in anthropology.

Sensate memory: An introduction to the special issue

“…Secondly, current debates on multimodality are complicated and enriched by Takaragawa and co-authors’ observations that a multimodal anthropology should also offer an “anthropology of the multimodal” (2019: 518, emphasis in original; Smith and Hennessy, 2020: 117) by interrogating the production, circulation, and dissemination of media in a widely unequal world. In their words, “Multimodal anthropologies can just as easily reinforce existing power structures by dressing up neocolonial practices of extraction, inclusion, and appropriation in new language” (2019: 518).…”

“…An illuminating example of an “anthropology of the multimodal” (Takaragawa et al, 2019: 518) is Smith and Hennessy’s analysis of “fugitive” objects in archives (2020: 115). Their work, which includes video and installations, shows that archived objects and materials can change over time—becoming dangerous or sticky, and shifting shapes or textures.…”

Multimodal Anthropology

“…Ces supports audios développent une connaissance sensorielle de la culture de résistance à l'intérieur de l'espace public pour exposer des révolutions passées, ou encore des mouvements anti-impérialistes contemporains d'autodétermination (Fahmy 2020 ;Siamdoost 2017). D'autre part, les anthropologues des études muséales développent des approches éphémères au sein de leurs pratiques archivistiques (Smith et Hennessy 2020) tandis que les conservateurs de médias ethnographiques utilisent de nouvelles plateformes numériques pour étendre leur portée à de nouveaux publics mondiaux (Verstappen et al s.d.). Grâce à des méthodes participatives critiques et à l'utilisation de nouvelles plateformes et technologies numériques, la multimodalité élargit à la fois les formes de développement du savoir anthropologique et la capacité des anthropologues d'atteindre de nouveaux publics mondiaux.…”