A Research Film Program in the Study of Changing Man [and Comments and Replies

Abstract

In dealing with human culture, researchers must often work with phenomena to which they cannot return because the passage of time irrevocably changes their makeup and because ethical and human considerations make it impossible to manipulate their subject in the laboratory under experimental conditions. Many believe that the loss of such information about the development and responses of man in many now disappearing diverse environmental and cultural milieus could be of critical importance to our knowledge about, and even to the survival of, our species. The problems posed by these limitations on the study of man can be mitigated by a research cinema film concept and method wich allows repeated review of selected aspects of human behavior and culture for careful scientific study. The research cinema film is a potent tool for immediate, intensive work on the documentation and study of changing man, including those cultural groups hitherto so isolated that they have retained diverse patterns as yet uninfluen...