Speaking Nearby: Kimi Takesue’s Itinerant Gaze (opens in new tab)

Is it possible to look without trying to grasp the object of one’s gaze? Traditional ethnographic documentaries, much like the written ethnographies that preceded them, have attempted to explain a given culture to those who don’t belong to it, assuming the position of a trained “knower” who can make sense of unfamiliar customs and beliefs. But there have always been problems with this approach, some methodological, others ethical and political. The modernist crisis of meaning and transparency...