Mysterious objects: exploring imaginary community, community imagination and cinematic translations of Scottish oral traditions within documentary film production and post-production

Abstract

ABSTRACT This essay explores the multimodal translation of Scottish community oral cultures to cinema through a critical reflection upon aspects of the production and post-production of a feature-length documentary film, Mysterious Object. Guided by the work of cultural studies authors such as James Clifford and Stuart Hall, alongside reference to oral cinemas elsewhere in the world (such as the work of Apichatpong Weerasethakul in Thailand, indigenous filmmakers in North America, and the films of Gaston Kaboré and Ousmane Sembene in West Africa) reflection focuses upon some of the ironies, imbalances and contradictions inherent within the imperfect processes of transition when translating orality to screen. Discussion explores in particular the impact of cinematic translation upon changing experiences of time, the authority of the oral storyteller, and the manner in which an oral cinema may serve to articulate the collective imagination of the community.