Title: A vision of the Canadian aboriginal North in Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)
Variant title:
- A filmed representation of the Canadian aboriginal North: Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)
Source document: Beyond the 49th Parallel: many faces of the Canadian North. Le Calvé Ivičević, Evaine (Editor); Polić, Vanja (Editor). 1st edition Brno: Masaryk University, 2018, pp. 147-164
Extent
147-164
Stable URL (handle): https://hdl.handle.net/11222.digilib/digilib.81459
Type
Article
Language
English
Rights access
open access
License: Not specified license
Description
This article aims to explore the representations of the North in the 2001 Canadian film Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner), directed by Zacharias Kunuk. It was the first feature film to be written, directed and acted completely in Inuktitut, the language of Canada's Inuit people. Set in the vast Arctic landscape in a distant past, the Inuit legend of Atanarjuat and his older brother Amaqjuaq depicts the indigenous philosophy deeply embedded in the Inuit oral tradition. Atanarjuat represents an attempt of the Inuit peoples in Canada to offer an inside view of this popular legend. By resisting appropriation, the film accomplishes its initial goals: to show how for thousands of years Inuit communities have survived in the Arctic, and to introduce the new storytelling medium of film which becomes a tool to re/enforce a sense of pride and belonging to the Inuit community in the Canadian north. The views of Raheja (2007), Ginsburg (2002), Clifford (2000). MacDougal (1997, 1994), Ruby (1996) and other ethnographers and film critics have been employed to support our findings.
Cette recherche se concentre sur l'analyse d'un film canadien, Atanarjuat (La Légende de l'homme rapide), réalisé en 2001 par Zacharias Kunuk. Ce film constitue le premier film long métrage écrit, réalisé et interprété en inuktitut, la langue des Inuits du Canada. Située dans le vaste paysage de l'Arctique, dans un passé lointain, la légende inuite de Atanarjuat et de son frère aîné Amaqjuaq (Strong One) met en scène des motifs indigènes profondément ancrés dans la tradition orale inuite. Atanarjuat illustre un effort des Inuits au Canada pour offrir une vue de l'intérieur de cette légende populaire indigène. Opposant une puissante résistance à l'appropriation, la version filmée de cette légende inuite authentique atteint brillamment ses objectifs initiaux: elle montre comment les communautés inuites ont survécu et prospéré dans l'Arctique pendant des milliers d'années et recourt à un nouveau support narratif filmique pour aider les communautés inuites à re/bâtir leur fierté et leur sentiment d'appartenance dans le Nord canadien. Les lectures de Raheja (2007), Ginsburg (2002), Clifford (2000). MacDougal (1997, 1994), Ruby (1996) et d'autres ethnographes et critiques de cinéma viennent étayer nos conclusions.
Note
- This research was supported by the project 178014 granted by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development of the Republic of Serbia.
References
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[2] Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner). Dir. Zacharias Kunuk. Perf: Natar Ungalaaq, Sylvia Ivalu, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Lucy Tulugarjuk. Los Angeles: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. 2003. Film.
[3] Nanook of the North: Dir. Robert Flaherty. The Criterion Collection. 1922. DVD.
[4] The Silent Enemy: An Epic of the American Indian. Dir. H. P. Carver. Perf: Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance, Molly Spotted Elk. Paramount Pictures. 1930. Film.
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[6] Clifford, James and Manuela Ribeiro Sanches. 2000. "The Art of Tacking: An Interview-Dialog." Entrevista com James Clifford. Etnográfica, Vol. IV (2), 2000, 371–388.
[7] Coleridge, S. T. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (text of 1834). Chicago: The Poetry Foundation. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/43997 Web. 29 Sept 2015.
[8] Garcia, Chris. 2009. "Apocalypto is an insult to Maya culture, one expert says". Austin American-Statesman. 6 Dec. 2006. In: Media and the Apocalypse. Ed. Kylo-Patrick R. Hart and Annette Holba. Bern: Peter Lang, 184.
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[10] Ginsburg, Faye D. 2002. "Screen Memories: Resignifying the Traditional in Indigenous Media." In: Media Worlds: Anthropology on New Terrain. Eds. Faye D. Ginsburg, Lila Abu-Lughod and Brian Larkin. Oakland: University of California Press, 39–57. | DOI 10.1525/tran.2006.14.1.109
[11] Ginsburg, Faye D. 1995. "Mediating Culture: Indigenous Media, Ethnographic Film, and the Production of Identity." In: Fields of vision: Essays in film studies, visual anthropology, and photography. Eds. Leslier Devereaux and Roger Hillman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 211–235. | DOI 10.1525/9780520914704-014
[12] Gombay, Nicole. 2009. "'Today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow': Reflections on Inuit Understanding of Time and Place." In: Orality in the 21st century: Inuit discourse and practices. Proceedings of the 15th Inuit Studies Conference. Eds. Collignon B. & Therrien M. Paris: INALCO.
[13] Herrington, Laura, "Fourth World Film: Politics of Indigenous Representation in Mainstream and Indigenous Cinema" (2011). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 601. https://scholar.colorado.edu/honr_theses/601
[14] IsumaTV. 2006. Web. www.isuma.tv February 15, 2018
[15] Lovgren, Stefan. 2006. "Apocalypto" Tortures the Facts, Expert Says. In: National Geographic News. 8 Dec 2006 Web. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061208-apocalypto-mel_2.html. Web. 27 Sept 2015.
[16] MacDougall, David. 1997. "The Visual in anthropology." In: Rethinking visual anthropology. Edited by Marcus Banks, Howard Morphy; New Haven; London: Yale University Press: 276–295.
[17] MacDougall, David. 1994. "Whose Story Is It?" In: Visualizing Theory : Selected essays from V.A.R., 1990–1994 / edited by Lucien Taylor. New York: Routledge: 27–36
[18] Ma, Sheng-mei. 2013. "The Myth of Nothing in Classics and Asian Indigenous Films." In: CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 15.2 (2013). Ed. Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press. Web: 27 Sept 2015. | DOI 10.7771/1481-4374.2223
[19] Mayer, Sophie. "Breaking your reservation: The rise of indigenous cinema," Sight and Sound Magazine, June 10, 2015. Available at: https://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/no-reservationsthe-rise-of-indigenous-cinema/
[20] McGuire, Mark. 2006. "'Apocalypto a pack of inaccuracies.' Maya experts say Gibson's violent film wrong historically." In: San Diego Union Tribune. 12 Dec 2006. Web. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20061212/news_1c12mel.html. 29 Sept 2015.
[21] Morton, W. L. 1970. "The 'North' in Canadian History." In: Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada. Ser. IV., Vol. 7 (1970), 31–40.
[22] Norcliffe, Glen and Paul Simpson-Housley (eds.). 1992. A Few Acres of Snow: Literary and Artistic Images of Canada. 1992. Toronto: Dundurn Press.
[23] Peet, Elizabeth. 2015. "No Reservations: The Rise of Indigenous Cinema." The Wilson Quarterly, Jul 11, 2015. Available at: https://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/no-reservations-the-rise-ofindigenous-cinema/
[24] Raheja, Michelle. "Reading Nanook's Smile: Visual Sovereignty, Indigenous Revisions of Ethnography, and Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)." In: American Quarterly. Volume 59, Number 4, December 2007: 1159–1185. | DOI 10.1353/aq.2007.0083
[25] Ruby, Jay. 1996. "Visual Anthropology." In: Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology. Eds. David Levinson and Melvin Ember. New York: Henry Holt and Company, vol. 4:1345–1351.
[26] Siebert, Monika. 2006. "Atanarjuat and the Ideological Work of Contemporary Indigenous Film-Making." Public Culture 18, no. 3 (2006), 1–28. | DOI 10.1215/08992363-2006-018
[27] Smith, Ariel. 2015. "Indigenous Cinema and the Horrific Reality of Colonial Violence." Indigeneity, Education & Society, February 13, 2015. Available at: https://decolonization.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/indigenous-cinema-and-the-horrific-reality-of-colonial-violence/
[28] Sutton, Peter. 1978. "Some observations on Aboriginal use of filming at Cape Keerweer." Paper presented at Ethnographic Film Conference. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, May 13, 1978.
[29] Wilson, Pam. 2009. "Indigenous Cinema and Visual Language(s): Why Should We Be Teaching These Films?" In Media Res Cinema Journal. May 07, 2009. Available at: http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/about-media-res-0
[30] Worth, Sol and John Adair. 1972. Through Navajo Eyes: An Exploration of Film Communication and Anthropology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
[2] Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner). Dir. Zacharias Kunuk. Perf: Natar Ungalaaq, Sylvia Ivalu, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Lucy Tulugarjuk. Los Angeles: Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. 2003. Film.
[3] Nanook of the North: Dir. Robert Flaherty. The Criterion Collection. 1922. DVD.
[4] The Silent Enemy: An Epic of the American Indian. Dir. H. P. Carver. Perf: Chief Buffalo Child Long Lance, Molly Spotted Elk. Paramount Pictures. 1930. Film.
[5] Jaguar. Dir. Jean Rouch. Perf: Damouré Zika, Lam Dia, Amadou Koffo, Illo Gaoudel. 1967. Les Films de la Pléiade. Film.
[6] Clifford, James and Manuela Ribeiro Sanches. 2000. "The Art of Tacking: An Interview-Dialog." Entrevista com James Clifford. Etnográfica, Vol. IV (2), 2000, 371–388.
[7] Coleridge, S. T. The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (text of 1834). Chicago: The Poetry Foundation. http://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/43997 Web. 29 Sept 2015.
[8] Garcia, Chris. 2009. "Apocalypto is an insult to Maya culture, one expert says". Austin American-Statesman. 6 Dec. 2006. In: Media and the Apocalypse. Ed. Kylo-Patrick R. Hart and Annette Holba. Bern: Peter Lang, 184.
[9] Gibson, Mel. Production Notes, Chapter 2. Official Apocalypto Web site. http://apocalypto.movies.go.com/. Web. 28 Sept 2015.
[10] Ginsburg, Faye D. 2002. "Screen Memories: Resignifying the Traditional in Indigenous Media." In: Media Worlds: Anthropology on New Terrain. Eds. Faye D. Ginsburg, Lila Abu-Lughod and Brian Larkin. Oakland: University of California Press, 39–57. | DOI 10.1525/tran.2006.14.1.109
[11] Ginsburg, Faye D. 1995. "Mediating Culture: Indigenous Media, Ethnographic Film, and the Production of Identity." In: Fields of vision: Essays in film studies, visual anthropology, and photography. Eds. Leslier Devereaux and Roger Hillman. Berkeley: University of California Press, 211–235. | DOI 10.1525/9780520914704-014
[12] Gombay, Nicole. 2009. "'Today is today and tomorrow is tomorrow': Reflections on Inuit Understanding of Time and Place." In: Orality in the 21st century: Inuit discourse and practices. Proceedings of the 15th Inuit Studies Conference. Eds. Collignon B. & Therrien M. Paris: INALCO.
[13] Herrington, Laura, "Fourth World Film: Politics of Indigenous Representation in Mainstream and Indigenous Cinema" (2011). Undergraduate Honors Theses. 601. https://scholar.colorado.edu/honr_theses/601
[14] IsumaTV. 2006. Web. www.isuma.tv February 15, 2018
[15] Lovgren, Stefan. 2006. "Apocalypto" Tortures the Facts, Expert Says. In: National Geographic News. 8 Dec 2006 Web. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/12/061208-apocalypto-mel_2.html. Web. 27 Sept 2015.
[16] MacDougall, David. 1997. "The Visual in anthropology." In: Rethinking visual anthropology. Edited by Marcus Banks, Howard Morphy; New Haven; London: Yale University Press: 276–295.
[17] MacDougall, David. 1994. "Whose Story Is It?" In: Visualizing Theory : Selected essays from V.A.R., 1990–1994 / edited by Lucien Taylor. New York: Routledge: 27–36
[18] Ma, Sheng-mei. 2013. "The Myth of Nothing in Classics and Asian Indigenous Films." In: CLCWeb: Comparative Literature and Culture 15.2 (2013). Ed. Steven Tötösy de Zepetnek. West Lafayette: Purdue University Press. Web: 27 Sept 2015. | DOI 10.7771/1481-4374.2223
[19] Mayer, Sophie. "Breaking your reservation: The rise of indigenous cinema," Sight and Sound Magazine, June 10, 2015. Available at: https://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/no-reservationsthe-rise-of-indigenous-cinema/
[20] McGuire, Mark. 2006. "'Apocalypto a pack of inaccuracies.' Maya experts say Gibson's violent film wrong historically." In: San Diego Union Tribune. 12 Dec 2006. Web. http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/uniontrib/20061212/news_1c12mel.html. 29 Sept 2015.
[21] Morton, W. L. 1970. "The 'North' in Canadian History." In: Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada. Ser. IV., Vol. 7 (1970), 31–40.
[22] Norcliffe, Glen and Paul Simpson-Housley (eds.). 1992. A Few Acres of Snow: Literary and Artistic Images of Canada. 1992. Toronto: Dundurn Press.
[23] Peet, Elizabeth. 2015. "No Reservations: The Rise of Indigenous Cinema." The Wilson Quarterly, Jul 11, 2015. Available at: https://wilsonquarterly.com/stories/no-reservations-the-rise-ofindigenous-cinema/
[24] Raheja, Michelle. "Reading Nanook's Smile: Visual Sovereignty, Indigenous Revisions of Ethnography, and Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner)." In: American Quarterly. Volume 59, Number 4, December 2007: 1159–1185. | DOI 10.1353/aq.2007.0083
[25] Ruby, Jay. 1996. "Visual Anthropology." In: Encyclopedia of Cultural Anthropology. Eds. David Levinson and Melvin Ember. New York: Henry Holt and Company, vol. 4:1345–1351.
[26] Siebert, Monika. 2006. "Atanarjuat and the Ideological Work of Contemporary Indigenous Film-Making." Public Culture 18, no. 3 (2006), 1–28. | DOI 10.1215/08992363-2006-018
[27] Smith, Ariel. 2015. "Indigenous Cinema and the Horrific Reality of Colonial Violence." Indigeneity, Education & Society, February 13, 2015. Available at: https://decolonization.wordpress.com/2015/02/13/indigenous-cinema-and-the-horrific-reality-of-colonial-violence/
[28] Sutton, Peter. 1978. "Some observations on Aboriginal use of filming at Cape Keerweer." Paper presented at Ethnographic Film Conference. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies, May 13, 1978.
[29] Wilson, Pam. 2009. "Indigenous Cinema and Visual Language(s): Why Should We Be Teaching These Films?" In Media Res Cinema Journal. May 07, 2009. Available at: http://mediacommons.futureofthebook.org/imr/about-media-res-0
[30] Worth, Sol and John Adair. 1972. Through Navajo Eyes: An Exploration of Film Communication and Anthropology. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.