Complexity in Postmigrant Narratives of I-Docs

Abstract

What epistemological potential do participatory organized web documentaries offer in comparison to 'conventional' documentaries? Does a closer analysis reveal differences between different participatory approaches? And what role does the construction of complexity play in terms of emancipatory effects? These are the initial questions of my contribution which deals with an epistemology of participatory web documentaries in relation to the construction of complex knowledge worlds. It starts with a theoretical deconstruction of different notions of participation and their application in web documentaries. In doing so, the constructed frames of reference and narratives, the functioning of the developed self-designs as well as the negotiation processes of design are also examined with respect to their epistemological potential. Still, the concept of participation calls for differentiation and clarification in general and its use in individual cases; all too often the term "participation" has been used vaguely and turned into an umbrella term under which medial interactivity and participation, social and political participation, and cultural perception and recognition are conflated. It is precisely the equation of media participation with social and political participation that seems problematic here. From the perspective of a critique of dividuation inspired by Gilles Deleuze and presented for example by Michaela Ott, participation seems to make sense only if it critically reflects the passivization imposed by digital communication and the entanglement of individuals in a complex network of social, cultural, and technological references – hence also normalized, stereotypical patterns of perception and cognition. Ultimately, this requires an examination of antagonistic, polyphonic, multi-perspectival and multi-media, thus also media self-reflexive forms of expression on different levels, which must be negotiated in their interplay. In short, such enganglements require an examination of the medial construction of relational forms of complexity, which is the prerequisite for participation to have an emancipatory effect at all. The paper will fathom this theoretical context by an analysis of paradigmatically selected participatory web documentaries, examining different forms of complexity with regard to their epistemological and emancipatory potential. Thus, I will argue for a methodological shift of perspective that leads from an analysis of works to an analysis of their processuality. This – in the end, makes it necessary to recognize that it is also a question of how the various notions of participation – ranging from strategies of voice-giving realized in web-documentaries to dimensions of engaged listening – can contribute in their own respect to the development of polyphonic, multifaceted perspectives and make doing documentary a medium for negotiating positions and a means for self-empowerment of the stakeholders involved in these processes.