Uncovering the challenges of the Western narrative
26 August 2024
In our latest #RTFA discovery, we've uncovered a 20-minute documentary called ‘Educational Film: India’, which was commissioned by a Christian missionary for the Devon Educational Library in the 1960s, 20 years after India’s independence. The documentary highlights the different cultures and religions in India and was filmed before the independence of Pakistan and Bangladesh, two important neighbouring countries that were once part of British India. The narrative of the documentary highlights how the collections retain content that reflects the remnants of empire.
Prayer time
In this first clip, we're invited into a gathering space with an unnamed family praying to Krishna (a significant deity in Hinduism, Krishna is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness and love). The iconography of the flute helps us realise that Krishna is depicted here as the divine lover. The warm, fading 16mm film, accompanied by the sounds of the ringing bell and horns of the shanka, invites us into a space of intimate worship. As the camera pans to the individuals, we can make out an inscription of the Shri Ram mantra in a Bengali script in the right-hand corner, (suggesting this scene is set within the Bengal region) surrounded by objects of worship and images reflecting Krishna's divinity.
The lack of analysis of this intimate moment of spiritual practise gives us an insight into the descriptive nature of the archive's moving image collection and its catalogue, which fails to identify the great cultures and global majority shown throughout the documentary. As the UK'slargest regional film archive, we still have much to improve when it comes to connecting the collection to underrepresented narratives. A key ambition of 'Reimaging the Film Archive' is how can we overcome language and representation barriers. The moving image is no different from other artforms that represent the Orient or the Global East.
Orientalism
Edward Wadie Said (1935-2003) was a Palestinian-American philosopher, academic, literary critic, political activist, and one of the founders of postcolonial studies. He's known for his book Orientalism (1978), a foundational text that critiques the cultural representations that form the basis of Orientalism — how the Western world perceives the Orient (The East and South Asia).
When one studies a subject, one reconstitutes it in some way, using one’s own methods, experiences, and those of the tradition one is part of.
Edward Said, author of 'Orientalism’
Said argues that individuals reshape and reinterpret issues and cultures through the lens of their experiences and the traditions to which they belong. 'Educational India', aimed at educating the Southwest and other regions about the greater world beyond, is another testimony that reflects the Western view of India, its people and its culture. It excludes the contributions of people from the culture itself.
This minimal representation is no surprise however. Our moving image archive relies heavily on historic Western narratives and perceptions, which makes the 'Reimagining the Film Archive' programme and its goal to balance and create a legacy around representation in the collection even more important.
Vocal absence
The commentary in this video clip discusses the diverse religions and caste systems in India, using outdated terms like 'Mohammadens' to refer to Muslims, a term used by early orientalists.
The vocal absence of global majority groups gives us an opportunity to reassess our approach to representation in the film archive and ensure it reflects contemporary thinking. The programme, funded by the BFI and National Lottery, has given us the space to reclaim and expand the narratives of the moving image collection to create a legacy for the future.
By Zahra Khanum, Discovery Media Assistant (RTFA programme)