I was very focused on the machinima for Digital Anthropology this week. On Wednesday night I went to a Japanese Stammtisch for the first time to try and find some Japanese voices for the interviews. I connected with one person who I met again at a café on Thursday, to explain my project in more detail. We were supposed to meet again on Friday, but they cancelled.
I also hired a voice actor on Fiverr, but was not happy with the results, despite a quite elaborate retake. Next week I’ll meet my old Japanese tutor to see if he can help me. And K can probably contribute with a real recording too, rather than the sketches he did last week. If the Stammtisch person agrees I have the three voices I need, without having to use the Fiverr voice.
In addition I contacted a Japanese music producer and got permission to use his music in my machinima. He would have contributed a voice too if he was in town, he said.
But the most important thing was that I came to a sort of crisis where I questioned this whole research project. I filmed myself as I elaborated on it, because I want to include my doubts in the machinima. Not sure about the results, but I’ll have a new chance next week when me and my classmate R in New York will discuss our projects in a Zoom meeting.
For Theory & History Unit 8 next week I read Zora Neale Hurston’s text on “negro expression”, which felt very dated. But I think that just by substituting “racial group” for “culture” it becomes a valid (auto-)ethnographic study.
Finished Donald L. Donham’s The Erotics of History, which fits so well into my upcoming essay in Theory & History. Excellent analysis of the fetish. Brilliant critique of the notion of sexuality/ies. And when he referenced Marcel Mauss’ The Gift I could say that I had read that text – only last week! The joy it brings to get the references. It shows how well our lecturer in Theory & History has curated the readings. And how well I’ve curated my own. 😉
Friday I went to a bike shop with S. He now rides a smashing Fuji Track 2019.
Study
Theory and History of Social and Cultural Anthropology
Unit 8: Culture-Personality (Benedict), Auto-Ethnography (Hurston), Early Women Anthropologists
- Hurston, Zora Neale (1934): Characteristics of Negro Expression. In Negro: An Anthology, edited by Nancy Cunard, 1934.
Extra – readings related to my research
Theory & History essay
- Donham, Donald L. (2018): The Erotics of History: an Atlantic African Example – the rest of the book, pp. 18-100 (excluding notes, etc). 👊
Digital Anthropology essay and machinima
- Boellstorff, Tom, Bonnie Nardi, Cecilia Pearce, and T.L. Taylor (2012): Ethnography and Virtual Worlds. Handbook of methods:
- 7: Interviews and virtual worlds research (pp. 113-128)
Other
Articles
- The Economist: After a day of drama, a stalemate over aid to Venezuela
- The Economist: How far will Pope Francis go in rooting out sexual abuse?
- Sveriges Radio/Cecilia Uddén, Kairo: Igår hängdes nio unga män
Film and TV
- Hair (1979, 121 min)
- Vasaloppet 2019
Podcast
- Money talks: How companies change when white men don’t run the show (21 min)
- Influencerpodden/Anton Granlund: 68. Alexander Bard (69 min, non-https link)
- Sveriges Radio Snedtänkt/Kalle Lind: Om Cia Berg (72 min)
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