Filming Fading Faces

Abstract

If you agree with Ruby, as many anthropologists and educators are beginning to, then you have reason to cheer. The much-needed and long-awaited National Anthropological Film Center is now a reality. Established last fall at the Smithsonian Institution, the center celebrated its official opening on May 1. Since the 1960's, movie-minded anthropologists have been agitating for a permanent film archive that would collect, protect and preserve the millions of feet of anthropological film that are shot each year (SN: 5/19/73, p. 321). Now, with funding from the National Science Foundation, the archive exists. E. Richard Sorenson, director of the new center, is a strong defender of the necessity of properly preserving and producing anthropological film. Until quite recently, he says, the evolution of human culture and organization has diverged in isolated regions of the world. But now, Sorenson feels, are entering a new period in human history. Cultural divergence is coming to a halt. Various types of human societies (hunter-gatherer, nomadic, etc.) are rapidly disappearing from the face of the earth. And with them, considerable information on human adaptability and potential is also vanishing. To whatever degree allow such data to vanish, warns Sorenson, we diminish our ability to understand our own species. Fortunately, the technology that has led to the convergence of societies has also produced the quiet, portable film equipment that makes it possible to document social and behavioral situations before they vanish. Fostering such work will be among the goals of the film center. Already in existence, however, are thousands of valuable films. All such material represents a scientific and humanistic resource, Sorenson contends, that should not be allowed to deteriorate. A 1926 film by Matthew Sterling, for example, documents the first meeting of New Guinea aboriginal peoples with technological society. This rare film, apparently lost, was found decaying in the stacks of the Smithsonian. With the help of Sterling (before his recent death) the film was reconstructed and is now a permanent part of the archive. Similarly, thousands of feet of film are disregarded by some anthropologists as they edit and select only that which interests them. But the outtakes, too, can be extremely valuable if properly labeled and indexed for a film archive. Someone recording child behavior, for instance, might discard footage that would be useful to someone interested in documenting social interactions or facial expressions. The National Anthropological Film Center will collect and preserve, but it will also be involved in producing films. An excellent example of the type of film the center is interested in was presented at the center's opening. For several years, Sorenson has been involved with Norman Miller, project director of the American Universities Field Staff (AUFS). Together, they have come up with what they regard as an innovation in anthropological film. The AUFS is a consortium of ten uniTaiwan women, political and religious beliefs in Afghanistan (right) and rural economics of China Coast Islands are among the film projects of