The subject of the film was the Hauka movement. The Hauka movement consisted of mimicry and dancing to become possessed by British Colonial administrators. The participants performed the same elaborate military ceremonies of their colonial occupiers, but in more of a trance than true recreation.
The Hauka movement, according to some anthropologists was a form of resistance that began in Niger, but spread to other parts of Africa. According to some anthropologists, this pageant, though historic, was largely done to mock their authority by stealing their powers. Hauka members were not trying to emulate Europeans, but were trying to extract their life force – something "entirely African".
This stance has been heavily criticized by anthropologist James G. Ferguson who finds this imitation not about importing colonialism into indigenous culture, but more a way to gain rights and status in the colonial society. The adoption of European customs was not so much a form of resistance, but to be "respected by the Europeans."[2]
Les maîtres fous offended both colonial authorities and African students alike. Indeed, the film was so controversial that it was banned first in Niger, and then in British territories including Ghana.[2] The film was considered offensive to colonial authorities because of the Africans' blatant attempts to mimic and mock the "white oppressors". On the other hand, African students, teachers, and directors found the film to perpetrate an "exotic racism" of the African people.[2]
maîtres, fous, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, november, 20. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Les maitres fous news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message Les maitres fous French le mɛːtʁ fu The Mad Masters is a 1955 short film directed by Jean Rouch a well known French film director and ethnologist It is a docufiction his first ethnofiction a genre he is considered to have created Les maitres fousDirected byJean RouchRelease date1955 1955 Running time28 minutes 1 36 minutes long cut CountryFranceLanguageFrench Contents 1 Historical background 2 See also 3 References 4 Further reading 5 See also 6 External linksHistorical background editThe subject of the film was the Hauka movement The Hauka movement consisted of mimicry and dancing to become possessed by British Colonial administrators The participants performed the same elaborate military ceremonies of their colonial occupiers but in more of a trance than true recreation The Hauka movement according to some anthropologists was a form of resistance that began in Niger but spread to other parts of Africa According to some anthropologists this pageant though historic was largely done to mock their authority by stealing their powers Hauka members were not trying to emulate Europeans but were trying to extract their life force something entirely African This stance has been heavily criticized by anthropologist James G Ferguson who finds this imitation not about importing colonialism into indigenous culture but more a way to gain rights and status in the colonial society The adoption of European customs was not so much a form of resistance but to be respected by the Europeans 2 Les maitres fous offended both colonial authorities and African students alike Indeed the film was so controversial that it was banned first in Niger and then in British territories including Ghana 2 The film was considered offensive to colonial authorities because of the Africans blatant attempts to mimic and mock the white oppressors On the other hand African students teachers and directors found the film to perpetrate an exotic racism of the African people 2 See also editVisual anthropology Ethnographic film Ethnofiction DocufictionReferences edit http www newwavefilm com french new wave encyclopedia les maitres fous shtml and http www roninfilms com au feature 5765 maitres fous les from rouch collection html a b c FergusonFurther reading editJames G Ferguson 2002 Of Mimicry and Membership Africans and the New World Society Document American Anthropological Society See also editMaitres fous net a web site devoted to the study of Jean Rouch s films Les maitres fous at Savage Minds notes and queries in anthropology Les maitres fous article at Documentary Educational Resources The Poesis of Mimesis in Les maitres fous article by Prerana Reddy The Ethnographer s Eye Ways of Seeing in Anthropology article by Anna Grimshaw Les maitres fous article by Natalie Mildbrodt Jean Rouch s Cine Ethnography at the conjunction of research poetry and politics article by Lorraine MortimerExternal links editLes maitres fous fr at French Diplomacy Les maitres fous at IMDb nbsp International Jean Rouch SYMPOSIUM Society of Visual Anthropology Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Les maitres fous amp oldid 1190966665, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
