Introduction
Manakamana tells the story of strangers in a cable car. This documentary, which is directed by Stephanie Spray and Pacho Velez, was released in 2014. It received various award nominations and was described as an unforgettable ethnographic movie. The documentary focuses on people’s faces as they enjoy the ride to an ancient temple in their different cable cars. The viewer can tell several things about the characters in the film based on their physique, dressing, and facial expression. For example, some of the characters are young while others are old. Since the film is set in Nepal, the viewer can also easily differentiate between the locals and the foreigners. All the reactions can then be used to reveal the individual hopes and dreams of the passengers highlighted in the film. This essay analyzes the film, taking into account its use of visual anthropology and sensory ethnography.
Body
Representation of Culture in the Film
As stated, the film is set in Nepal and thus, refers to the Nepalese culture in various ways. The first representation of the Nepalese culture can be derived from the characters. Their body language, faces, clothing, and behavior reflect various cultural attributes of the people of Nepal. Visual anthropology can be used to construe the culture of the Nepali people. In regard to facial expressions, the different individuals that take the ride feel differently about their environment and the people with them, as deduced from their facial expressions. The first people in the car are an elderly man with a child. The man’s facial expressions indicate an authoritative and protective nature. In Nepali culture, men are tasked with ensuring their families are protected.
This is clearly brought out by the reactions of the elderly man. The child is inquisitive and looks around his surroundings. In Nepali culture, women are highly submissive to men. This is highlighted through sensory ethnography by the behavior of the first couple that takes the ride. The woman is timid and rarely looks at her husband directly. The man rarely responds to his wife. The cultural difference between men and women is also illuminated by the first three elderly women traveling together. They are talkative and jovial, unlike the women who travel with their husbands. It is important to note that younger generations appear to be more interested in the surroundings and use modern devices such as phones and cameras to take pictures of the beautiful landscapes below them.
The Nepali culture is also brought out by choice of clothing. One can confidently tell the locals from tourists based on how they are dressed. For example, the local men have a small hat on while foreigners do not. Additionally, local Nepali women have a sari on while foreigners do not. Nepali women also have a red patch on their forehead, distinguishing them from foreigners. Having realized this, one can then link the behavior of the characters in the film with some deeper attributes of the Nepali people. For instance, the woman who rides a car alone keeps looking down. She appears tired and withdrawn. These characteristics are prominent in the lower castes of the Nepali culture. A different woman also rides a car alone, but she is more confident and looks at her surroundings comfortably. The second woman has lighter skin, while the first woman has darker skin. It can be concluded that the second woman is in a higher caste compared to the first woman due to both her skin color and her behavior.
It can be argued that sound and motion are also key in reflecting the way of life of the Nepali people using sensory ethnography of the film Manakamana. Scenes that involve the locals are quiet with little motion compared to those that involve foreigners. For example, the first elderly couple is quiet. In fact, the man barely speaks to his wife. The woman makes a bit of conversation about the changing scenery, but the man does not respond. On the other hand, the scene with the two younger women is significantly different. The women speak a lot and tell each other about their lives and ambitions. The same can be said about the three Nepali women who make the conversation all through their ride. Interestingly, two elderly men also speak and play some music throughout their ride. This demonstrates the strict relationship between genders in the culture, where the same genders can freely talk and interact while different genders are restricted by cultural laws.
Camera
The use of the camera in the film is simplistic. As Pink explains, mainstream anthropology is critical in ensuring successful visual anthropology and sensory ethnography. It is crucial for the directors to remain focused and understand that the film is not only about the storyline but also about a representation of culture. The simplistic use of the camera allowed the directors to tell a captivating story while maintaining the cultural trait of an ethnographic film. The first notable aspect of the camera work employed is the use of a fixed camera all through the film. One can argue that a camera was fixed at one end of the car all through the ten rides recorded. Due to this, the shots are a bit shaky as they are affected by the motion of the car. It is important to mention that the shaky camera enhances the concepts of visual anthropology and sensory ethnography further.
Pink explains that visual anthropology should be ‘user-friendly.’ The shaky camera makes the film applicable and real, thus, ‘user-friendly.’ The term ‘user-friendly’ can also be used to refer to the unedited shots used in the final film. It can be argued that the director wanted the film to be an observational one. However, as McDougall explains, there is more to observational cinema than meets the eye. Whether the shots were edited or not is not of importance. What is more important is that the viewer believes that the film was not edited. The fact that the movie is made to appear as if the viewer is inside the cable car looking at the characters by default guides the camera work. In a more practical sense, if the viewer was in the car with the characters, his or her vision would also be jumpy and raw. The directors were able to attain this effect by proper utilization of ethnographic concepts in visual anthropology that touch on camera usage.
Sensory Ethnography and the Future of Visual Anthropology
The use of sensory ethnography as depicted in the film highlights the importance of the use of the same concept in the future of visual anthropology. Anthropology can be defined simply as the study of the way of life of a group of people. In order to be scientifically relevant, the study of any culture must be void of bias. Sensory ethnography ensures that no form of bias is used to describe or study culture as it allows the viewer to identify the cultural aspects on his or her own. To make the process more effective and free of prejudice, the film has to be presented in as raw a form as possible. This premise is supported by Grimshaw and Ravertz, who claim that observational cinema (sensory ethnography) is a form of intellectual inquiry into the culture. According to Taylor, who agrees with the premise, visualizing theory allows for an easier understanding of complex concepts. Taylor, an anthropologist, goes further to state that cross-cultural filmmaking is of great importance to the evolution of anthropology and how people study culture.
Sensory Ethnography and Design Research Method
According to Pink, sensory ethnography is increasingly being used for research purposes in applied anthropology. There are various ways in which the film Manakamana can be used as a design research method. First, the film does not show any form of bias, thus, any researcher can ethically acquire information about the culture of the Nepali people freely. It is also important to note that sensory ethnography allows the researcher to come up with his or her own hypothesis and arguments. For instance, if a researcher was studying the relationship between men and women in the Nepalese culture, he or she could interpret the various behaviors of couples in the film differently.
If the hypothesis chosen was trying to test mutual respect between men and women, then the reactions, body language, and behavior of the couples in the film would be evidence enough to either prove or dispute the stated hypothesis. Pink goes further to state that in anthropology, observation is a key element of reach. Through sensory ethnography, a researcher can observe the behavior of the people of interest without necessarily being in their midst, like in traditional anthropological research. In turn, the researcher can save time and resources while still delivering the expected quality of the study. It is also important to note that the used film can be analyzed later on for different studies. For example, Manakamana is undiluted documentation of the reaction and relationship between people and their surroundings. Therefore, it has many components that can interest cultural researchers.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Manakamana is a film that tries to depict the culture of the people of Nepal. It is successful in showing the different reactions of people to each other and their surroundings while, at the same time, also showcasing the relationship between culture and modernity. Visual anthropology has been accepted in the academic field due to its increasing usage and reliability. From the selected film, one is able to deduce several aspects of the Nepalese culture. For example, the relationship between genders is pronounced in the interaction between the man and his wife while taking the cable car ride to the temple. The two appear withdrawn and out of place, rarely looking at each other. The relationship between the same genders is captured in the fourth, fifth, and tenth scenes. For instance, the fourth scene highlights three elderly women taking the ride to the temple. They are talkative and happy, which sharply contrasts with the scene of the man and his wife.
Bibliography
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