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Visual Psychological Anthropology: A Vignette and Prospectus

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Afflictions

Part of the book series: Culture, Mind, and Society ((CMAS))

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Abstract

The chapter proposes that ethnographic film can be a meaningful method in psychological anthropology, specifically recommending adapting the technique of person-centered ethnography to visual psychological anthropology (VPA). VPA can be used to create films that are character-focused, affective, and experience near, rendering internal and intersubjective worlds in a culturally contextualized manner. VPA can faithfully depict the subjective experience of mental illness specifically by de-emphasizing diagnosis and symptomatology in favor of emotion and character development. Calling upon the six-part Afflictions series, the first documentary series about mental illness in the developing world, as an example of VPA, the chapter introduces the films to be discussed throughout the book: The Bird Dancer, Kites and Monsters, Family Victim, Ritual Burdens, Memory of My Face, and Shadows and Illuminations.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA

    Robert Lemelson & Annie Tucker

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  1. Robert Lemelson
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  2. Annie Tucker
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Lemelson, R., Tucker, A. (2017). Visual Psychological Anthropology: A Vignette and Prospectus. In: Afflictions. Culture, Mind, and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59984-7_1

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