Les maîtres fous: Difference between revisions
Content deleted Content added
m grammar |
m →External links: recat |
||
| (24 intermediate revisions by 22 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{more citations needed|date=November 2016}} |
|||
{{Infobox |
{{Infobox film |
||
| name = Les maîtres fous |
| name = Les maîtres fous |
||
| image = Les_maitres_fous_title_still.jpg |
| image = Les_maitres_fous_title_still.jpg |
||
| image_size = |
|||
| caption = |
| caption = |
||
| director = [[Jean Rouch]] |
| director = [[Jean Rouch]] |
||
| producer = |
| producer = |
||
| writer = |
| writer = |
||
| narrator = |
| narrator = |
||
| starring = |
| starring = |
||
| cinematography = |
| cinematography = |
||
| music = |
| music = |
||
| editing = |
| editing = |
||
| distributor = |
| distributor = |
||
| released = 1955 |
| released = {{Film date|1955}} |
||
| runtime = 28 minutes<ref>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</ref><br/>36 minutes (long cut) |
|||
| runtime = 36 minutes |
|||
| country = |
| country = [[Cinema of France|France]] |
||
| language = |
| language =French |
||
| budget = |
| budget = |
||
| gross = |
| gross = |
||
}} |
}} |
||
'''''Les maîtres fous''''' (The Mad Masters |
'''''Les maîtres fous''''' ({{IPA|fr|le mɛːtʁ fu|lang}}; "The Mad Masters") is a 1955 [[short film]] directed by [[Jean Rouch]], a well-known [[France|French]] [[film director]] and [[ethnologist]]. It is a [[docufiction]], his first [[ethnofiction]], a [[genre]] he is considered to have created. |
||
==Historical background== |
==Historical background== |
||
The subject of the film was the [[Hauka]] movement. The [[Hauka]] movement consisted of mimicry and dancing to become possessed by [[United Kingdom|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 subject of the film was the [[Hauka]] movement. The [[Hauka]] movement consisted of mimicry and dancing to become possessed by [[United Kingdom|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. |
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. |
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."<ref name="Ferguson">Ferguson</ref> |
||
''Les maîtres fous'' offended both colonial authorities and African students alike. |
''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]].<ref name="Ferguson"/> 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.<ref name="Ferguson"/> |
||
==See also== |
==See also== |
||
| Line 42: | Line 43: | ||
==References== |
==References== |
||
<references /> |
<references /> |
||
{{cite paper |
|||
| author = James G. Ferguson |
|||
| ⚫ | |||
| publisher = American Anthropological Society |
|||
| year = 2002 |
|||
| format = Paper}} |
|||
== |
== Further reading == |
||
| ⚫ | |||
== See also == |
|||
* [http://www.maitres-fous.net/ Maitres-fous.net] – a web site devoted to the study of [[Jean Rouch]]'s films |
* [http://www.maitres-fous.net/ Maitres-fous.net] – a web site devoted to the study of [[Jean Rouch]]'s films |
||
* [http://savageminds.org/2007/06/16/les-maitres-fous/ ''Les maîtres fous''] at Savage Minds (notes and queries in [[anthropology]]) |
* [http://savageminds.org/2007/06/16/les-maitres-fous/ ''Les maîtres fous''] at Savage Minds (notes and queries in [[anthropology]]) |
||
* [http://www.der.org/films/mad-masters.html ''Les maîtres fous''] – article at Documentary (Educational Resources) |
* [http://www.der.org/films/mad-masters.html ''Les maîtres fous''] – article at Documentary (Educational Resources) |
||
* [http://www.africanfilmny.org/ |
* [http://www.africanfilmny.org/2000/the-poesis-of-mimesis-in-les-maitres-fous-looking-back-at-the-conspiratorial-ethnography-of-jean-rouch/ The Poesis of Mimesis in ''Les maîtres fous''] – article by [[Prerana Reddy]] |
||
* [ |
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=uRq1HF-z1w0C&dq=les+maitres+fous+jean+rouch&pg=PA98 The Ethnographer's Eye: Ways of Seeing in Anthropology] – article by Anna Grimshaw |
||
* [http://ccms.ukzn.ac.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=240&Itemid=43 ''Les maîtres fous''] – article by Natalie Mildbrodt |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080626183343/http://ccms.ukzn.ac.za/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=240&Itemid=43 ''Les maîtres fous''] – article by Natalie Mildbrodt |
||
* [http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr_17/LMfr17a.html Jean Rouch's Ciné-Ethnography: at the conjunction of research, poetry and politics] – article by Lorraine Mortimer |
* [http://www.latrobe.edu.au/screeningthepast/firstrelease/fr_17/LMfr17a.html Jean Rouch's Ciné-Ethnography: at the conjunction of research, poetry and politics] – article by Lorraine Mortimer |
||
| Line 61: | Line 59: | ||
* [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/actions-france_830/documentaire_1045/diffusion-non-commerciale_5378/collections-dvd_5373/grand-ecran_10336/hommage-jean-rouch_10341/les-maitres-fous_10628/index.html ''Les maîtres fous''] (fr) at French Diplomacy |
* [http://www.diplomatie.gouv.fr/fr/actions-france_830/documentaire_1045/diffusion-non-commerciale_5378/collections-dvd_5373/grand-ecran_10336/hommage-jean-rouch_10341/les-maitres-fous_10628/index.html ''Les maîtres fous''] (fr) at French Diplomacy |
||
* {{IMDb title|0048363|Les maîtres fous}} |
* {{IMDb title|0048363|Les maîtres fous}} |
||
* [http://www.societyforvisualanthropology.org/2008symposium_rouch.html International Jean Rouch SYMPOSIUM] (Society of Visual Anthropology) |
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20080706124002/http://www.societyforvisualanthropology.org/2008symposium_rouch.html International Jean Rouch SYMPOSIUM] (Society of Visual Anthropology) |
||
{{Jean Rouch}} |
|||
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maitres Fous}} |
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maitres Fous}} |
||
[[Category:1955 films]] |
[[Category:1955 films]] |
||
[[Category:French films]] |
[[Category:French short documentary films]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
[[Category:Films directed by Jean Rouch]] |
[[Category:Films directed by Jean Rouch]] |
||
[[Category:French documentary films]] |
|||
[[Category:Anthropology documentary films]] |
[[Category:Anthropology documentary films]] |
||
[[Category:Ethnofiction films]] |
[[Category:Ethnofiction films]] |
||
[[Category: |
[[Category:1955 short documentary films]] |
||
| ⚫ | |||
Latest revision as of 22:44, 11 December 2024
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (November 2016) |
| Les maîtres fous | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Jean Rouch |
Release date |
|
Running time | 28 minutes[1] 36 minutes (long cut) |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
Les maîtres 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.
Historical background
[edit]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]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- James G. Ferguson (2002). "Of Mimicry and Membership: Africans and the "New World Society"" (Document). American Anthropological Society.
See also
[edit]- Maitres-fous.net – a web site devoted to the study of Jean Rouch's films
- Les maîtres fous at Savage Minds (notes and queries in anthropology)
- Les maîtres fous – article at Documentary (Educational Resources)
- The Poesis of Mimesis in Les maîtres fous – article by Prerana Reddy
- The Ethnographer's Eye: Ways of Seeing in Anthropology – article by Anna Grimshaw
- Les maîtres fous – article by Natalie Mildbrodt
- Jean Rouch's Ciné-Ethnography: at the conjunction of research, poetry and politics – article by Lorraine Mortimer
External links
[edit]- Les maîtres fous (fr) at French Diplomacy
- Les maîtres fous at IMDb
- International Jean Rouch SYMPOSIUM (Society of Visual Anthropology)