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portolani redux skip to main skip to sidebar portolani redux essays and articles on the theme of gender politics implications for freedom democracy and the family segunda feira 24 de setembro de 2007 a white wedding a white wedding by roger sandall o seguinte texto foi publicado no site do autor roger sandall é um antropólogo australiano que observa e denuncia as aberrações de muitos dos seus colegas descreve as atitudes verdadeiramente desumanas de certos antropólogos cujas posições são inspiradas pelo relativismo pósmoderno sub marxista tão querido de certos sectores da academia can it be true did a woman anthropologist actually compare the ceremony at which young masai girls are genitally mutilated to a white wedding yes she did it s true the anthropologist s name is or was melissa llewellyn davies mfa in case you re wondering the initials do not stand for master of fine arts they stand for marxist feminist anthropologist ms llewellyn davies compared genital mutilation to a white wedding in her chillingly misleading narration for the film masai women a disappearing world production you can buy it today from cd universe for 13 49 i was reminded of this episode when ayaan hirsi ali passed through sydney recently it should be said that on the subject of female genital mutilation and the cultures where this abhorrent practice is found her own writing in infidel and the caged virgin is the place to start the general circumstances in which helpless girls have the labia minora clitoris and sometimes more than this inadvertently cut off could not be better described and explained moreover ms hirsi ali also tells us that it is still practiced by somali and moroccan immigrants in europe today but it s ms llewellyn davies we re concerned with here her film was made at a time when interviewing indigenous informants was relatively new and was felt to add authenticity as it usually does if the purpose is to honestly elicit information it can be valuable if on the other hand it is used for political purposes by the film maker it may add nothing useful whatever ms llewellyn davies purpose in masai women is to deliberately misrepresent a cruel and painful tribal custom so instead of asking the masai girl herself how she feels about it she seeks the opinion of a traditionalist masai woman who is all too keen to draw a confusing veil of romance over the whole thing ms llewellyn davies then uses this interview to distract us from the bloody centerpiece of the event mind you our mfa never speaks of genital mutilation this ugly phrase never passes her lips instead she talks loftily about the female circumcision ceremony but what on earth is that for most of us female circumcision hovers vaguely between anatomical improbability and oxymoron and is rather puzzling secondly she uses blandly euphemistic imagery to distance neutralise and conceal the gory surgical aspect of the occasion for a girl she tells us clitorodectomy is her farewell to childhood and also to her family village because she will leave to be married soon afterwards the ceremony is thought to transform a giggly girl into a mature and thoughtful woman no doubt it does most of us would stop giggling in fact some of its victims not only stop giggling they later die or suffer the misery of life long urinary and vaginal complications next we see a young girl being prepared for the operation and a few close ups of her head being shaved she looks tense anxious bewildered and on the edge of tears at this point the cine camera image abruptly stops the photographic record stops the live sound stops regarding the grim ongoing reality of the event the screen goes blank is this perhaps what jean baudrillard meant by the extermination of the referent certainly the referent ie the giggly girl is not just silenced but eliminated after a number of scenes in which she is seen looking confusedly toward the camera no doubt wondering if these white british film makers are going to be there all the time she bids farewell to childhood by abruptly disappearing into the darkness of a mud floored hut ms llewellyn davies now has a problem if she s honest she will try to convey the reality of what is taking place and audiences everywhere who have read anything about clitorodectomy and infibulation audiences today who have been reading ayaan hirsi ali s clear and honest account will see in the mind s eye a helpless child victim having her external genitalia cut off with a razor blade by some fumbling half blind elder working without anaesthetic in semi darkness cutting bloodily this way and that but that of course would give a most unfortunate impression of masai culture what to do back in the 1960s a new york film producer turned down a depressing movie script with the memorable advice look joe you don t get it i make happy pictures about happy people with happy problems as a film maker ms llewellyn davies belongs to the same euphoric school with the girl conveniently out of the way she feels free to construct another reality one that entirely displaces and replaces the reality suffered by the victim with an imaginary creation of her own instead of searing pain and humiliation and helplessness genital mutilation is presented as a happy problem with a happy victim in a happy culture because the girl herself might prove an unreliable witness she is of course not allowed to speak instead our marxist feminist anthropologist consults a masai woman who s all for it is the girl happy asks the mfa brightly referring to the girl now under the knife very happy the woman replies part of the ritual is to brew mead from sugar and honey her father drinks and her mother drinks they wear charms and they are happy it is at this point that a ruminative ms lewellyn davies vouchsafes that all things considered when you stop to think about it as of course academics are wont to do it s a bit like a white wedding but was it like a white wedding for the victim was she laughing with joy as she said farewell to childhood or did she scream with pain and terror surprisingly we know the answer to these questions not from the film itself or from the cold lips of ms llewellyn davies but from an article by dr peter loizos an anthropologist telling us how the film was made according to his 1993 report on the editing of masai women the girl s agony was in fact recorded on audio tape during filming and a lively debate took place in the cutting room later about how the issue should be handled one view was that perhaps the girl s screams should be heard thus giving symbolic expression to what was visually too horrific the anthropological sensitivity of the editors is touching though one is bound to wonder what exactly ms llewellyn davies contributed to the lively debate and how she influenced its outcome in the film that was finally produced there s no sound whatever of the girl s ordeal her screams were edited out and replaced by the voice and image of an older tribal woman smilingly telling us how happy she is while ms llewellyn davies whose bleak british diction has to be heard to be believed pours a bland sociological interpretation over everything those interested in general arguments about truth and lies in documentary film making are referred to an essay at this site where these matters are discussed at greater length see matters of fact for the story of the editing of masai women see peter loizos innovation in ethnographic film university of chicago press 1993 august 2007 postado por patrícia lança às 00 39 nenhum comentário marcadores anthropology feminism africa marxism postagens mais antigas página inicial assinar postagens atom arquivo do blog 2007 5 julho 4 setembro 1 a white wedding aims and purposes patrícia lança has other blogs portolani and portolani special which publish material on a variety of subjects this blog however will be devoted exclusively to themes related to gender politics and the culture wars serious comments are welcome but will be moderated in order to avoid the kind of nonsense and vulgarity which inevitably arise when these subjects are mentioned statement of principles the author a feminist of the old school subscribes to the principles of classical liberalism and does not favour criminalization or prohibition of any behaviour that does not harm other people liberals believe that individuals are free to pursue their own life styles provided they do not interfere with those of others liberals can never condone attempts to silence the free expression of opinion in appropriate forums on any grounds whatsoever this freedom does not of course apply to private spaces which is why comments here will be moderated those who feel unfairly restricted possess the freedom to institute their own blogs or websites where they can freely give reign to whatever google or the relevant server does not prohibit portolani redux aims to restore some rationality and balance to the discussion of subjects which despite the hilarity they arouse in the frivolous have become increasingly important in the last two or three decades restoring rationality in this area involves exposing and criticizing attempts at censorship in the name of spurious claims to protect minorities in a free society nobody can be above criticism or demand undue privilege and immunity good manners cannot be legislated into existence and can only become generalized by practice and example where there is discrimination against individuals to prevent them from exercising their legimate rights this should be denounced what should also be discussed is what these rights are and whether they need to be extended accordingly this space will discuss such controversial questions as legislation about and provision for abortion adoption rights marriage entitlement family breakdown and the european demographic crisis invitation serious contributions to this discussion beyond the normal size of a comment are welcome they may be sent to the author by e mail to be considered for publication as normal posts subject to comment limit to number of words 750 words language english portuguese spanish or french relevant links and references to books and publications are also welcome e mail patamar lanca org link list o insurgente portolani portolani special other sites visit other portolani sites portolani portolani special and portolani books still under construction the owner of these sites also writes together with a distinguished team of bloggers for o insurgente