Capturing the Friedmans

Both the film "Capturing the Friedmans" and the reading by Michelle Citron are very interesting in terms of the way that home movies mediate and articulate relationships. Citron discusses in length the deceptive nature of both home movies and photographs in general. She states that photos and home movies inherently articulate a sense of authenticity, yet this is manipulative since they are only a particular captured moment chosen by the person behind the camera (usually the man or father). These images are unreal on many levels. Not only is the image edited by the cameraman, but they are often staged, planned, and posed. Also, importantly, they generally only capture the happy times, and they do not articulate the context in which they are made which could very well be unpleasant. Citron uses this context in order to discuss the ways that relationships are mediated through home movies. She notes that the father figure is often the one behind the camera (a sweeping generalization, in my opinion), therefore the wife and children are ultimately controlled by his gaze. The way in which the subject of the film is portrayed is completely up to the person behind the camera, thus the way that the cameraman selects what to film can be telling about the nature of the relationship between the person in front and behind the camera.

The way in which the film "Capturing the Friedmans" utilized home movie footage was extremely interesting. In the film, home movies were used in two shockingly different ways. First, they were used much in the same way that Citron described - to capture the happy moments and put across an image of familial happiness and normalcy. Later in the film, however, videos are shown that were taken throughout the process of Arnold and Jesse Friedman's child molestation court proceedings. These videos are a sharp contrast with the ones shown earlier in the film, and they give a first hand account of a family falling apart. It is startling as a viewer to see images like these, and it makes you wonder why anyone on earth would ever allow these moments to be captured on film and exposed to the world in the film. Through the various types of home movies, however, the viewer can see the types of relationships existing in this particular family, and the way in which the videos were shot is very telling of family dynamics. Through these videos, you can clearly see how strangely important home movies were to this family, for whatever reason. You can see their struggle for normalcy and their constant attempt to use playing in front of the camera as a way to forget their troubles (this is clearly seen in the tapes of both Arnold and Jesse's last nights before going to prison). In a sense, these videos captured many versions of the Friedman family - who they once were, who they actually are, and how they WISH to be.

For a Cultural Future: Francis Jupurrurla Makes TV

The Walpiri notion of "the law" is extremely interesting and unique to aboriginal culture. They consider the law to be the preservation of their culture and traditions, and it is extremely important to them that their law remain untainted by outisde forces. What is most interesting, however, is the fact that in their attempt to preserve their traditions and culture, they refuse to utilize any type of medium of transferring information other than the oral tradition, which is remarkably important to them. The Walpiri have an elaborate system of keeping the law, including an extensive network of story-telling, keeping certain information completely secret depending on gender, age, and class, a system of regulating all secrets and stories being told, and even censoring the memory of a deceased member of the group. Should any of these traditions be comprimised, the Walpiri would consider it damaging to their law.

This brings up an enormous amout of trouble when it comes to their broadcasting endeavors. Since ultimately the purpose of film, photography, sound recording, and printed word is to record history, it became a conflict of interest in the Walpiri culture. The Walpiri had to go through and figure out ways of incorporating modern recording technology into their culture without comprimising their traditions. They did this by being meticulous in what they allowed to be recorded, since some elements considered public in one area may be completely secret in another. Also, they continued to uphold the tradition of not mentioning a person ever again after they die and erasing all evidence of their life. This was done by blacking or whiting out a persons's image in photographs or destroying a tape if a deceased member is displayed too prominantly.

In reading this article, I found the entire thing pretty paradoxical. It is giving an account of a group of people who clearly value tradition, however refuse to use any means of recording it. Regardless of whether they allowed modern film technology into their culture, it seems bizarre to me that they hadn't established their own more practical system of recording their history.