Indigenizing Documentary Films: Comparing Todd & Obomsawin's Still Photography - Essay Sample

Introduction

Alanis Obomsawin and Loretta Todd have indigenized traditional forms of documentary films. They both have recognized the power of animating still images and using them as a medium of storytelling. They utilize native talent and try to create a natural aesthetic which not only establishes an indigenous point of view but also expresses inherent facets of native cultures. The paper aims to compare Todd’s use of still photography in Forgotten Warriors to that of Obomsawin’s use in Our Nationhood.

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In both films, both directors utilize photographs which contribute massively to their narratives. For instance, the use of black-and-white pictures in the introduction of Forgotten Warriors assists in narrating their own story, especially when the faces of native American militias that fought during the Second World War are zoomed into (Todd 00.03.23- 00.03.30). The focus of the camera lies in the eyes of the soldiers and attempts to draw the audience's attention to obtaining the men's point of view. Later, a narration on the suppression of the aboriginals getting forced to fight for England overlaps the portraits of European dignitaries (Todd 00.03.58 – 00.04.20). The animated still photography and camera movement helps the audience to connect both scenes due to the combination of the historical photographs. The merging of the images creates a deeper meaning to the context of the scene. As suggested in Imagic Moments, the medium of motion pictures infuses the allays with a form of movement which underscores the vibrancy of the photographs (Schweninger 86). In contrast, Obomsawin utilizes a linear and chronological structure that reveals events as they keep unfolding. The editing style she uses is rhetorically straightforward since the photographs support the voice-over. The still photography provides illumination for the character's opinions. One striking sequence is a seven-minute-long historical montage in the film Our Nationhood, which seeks to protect indigenous land and resources. The importance of land is highlighted in striking montages.

The contrast between the two films is that Obomsawin’s documentary Our Nationhood utilizes a zoom-out function of black and white images to highlight the widespread number of logs that were harvested by non-native laborers (Obomsawin 00.43.11 – 00.43.35). The zoom in and out function allows the audience to raise questions about the meaning of the scene. Also, Obomsawin mostly creates her films around events, whereas Todd gives attention to the experiences and memories. Conversationally, one can ask why Native Americans hate getting photographed. Studying Schweninger’s fifth chapter, I Don’t Do Portraits, helps one to understand the hatred of taking photographs is due to the misrepresentation of the natives (Shweninger, 87). Controlling the camera and pictures gives the indigenous photographer the power to reshape history, giving them political control and visual sovereignty.

Work Cited

Obomsawin, Alanis. Our Nationhood. NFB Streaming, 2003.

Schweninger, Lee. Imagic Moments: Indigenous North American Film. University of Georgia Press, 2013.

Todd, Loretta. Forgotten Warriors. SMIL National Film Board, 1997.