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Article: The Cinematic Griot: The Ethnography of Jean Rouch. (book reviews)
- Article from:
- Journal of Popular Film & Television
- Article date:
- September 22, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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In the tradition of Flaherty and Vertov, Jean Rouch has from 1941 achieved stunning ethnographic images in his abundant films on Sub-Sahara Africa, particularly among the Dogon of present-day Mali and the Songhay people of present-day Niger. He has recorded their history, their myth and belief system, as well as their uses of sorcery, rites and rituals, their migrations, and social changes in their society from 1943 forward, both through cinema verite methods (studied in part 2 of The Cinematic Griot) and through his 60 or more written pieces (some of which are studied in part 1). Professor Paul Stoller therefore calls him a "cinematic griot."
In 1941, Rouch, now 75 ...