UNESCO Recognizes the John Marshall Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000
- John Marshall editing film, 1954, John Marshall Collection, HSFA, SI, 2008_8_3.
"It is essential to know and understand the deeply spiritual special relationship between indigenous people and their land as basic to their existence as such and to all their beliefs, customs, traditions, and culture." - UNESCO
The John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection, 1950-2000, held in the Anthropology Department's Human Studies Film Archives, has been added to UNESCO's Memory of the World Register.
-
≠Oma Tsamko, 1957/58, Still frame, A Kalahari Family, HSFA, SI, 2008_9_1g
The Marshall collection was one of 35 items chosen for its exceptional value as part of world documentary heritage. This designation places it within the esteemed company of the Diaries of Anne Frank, the Magna Carta, and League of Nations Archives. The collection is only the fourth documentary property held in a United States archive or library to be added to the Memory of the World Register.
Considered one of the seminal visual anthropology projects of the 20th century, Marshall's collection provides a unique example of sustained audiovisual documentation of one cultural group, the Ju/'hoansi of the Kalahari Desert in northeastern Namibia, spanning half a century. It is an unparalleled historical record not only of an indigenous people's traditional way of life and ties to the land but of the transformation of their life and the rapidly changing political and economic landscape that developed in concert with the struggle for Namibian independence.
- N!ai, /Gautcha, 1957/58, Still frame, A Kalahari Family, HSFA, SI, 2008_9_1i.
"The career of John Kennedy Marshall spanned a remarkable 50-plus years during which he became an innovator in the technical production of films as well as a leading voice in the ethics of ethnographic filmmaking," said Jake Homiak, director of the museum's Anthropology Collections and Archives Program. "During his lifelong association with the Ju/'hoansi (Bushmen) he became an advocate for those he documented, using his films as tools for education and empowerment."
-
- Poster, A Kalahari Family, 2002,HSFA, SI, 2008_8_2.
Marshall's work among the Ju/'hoansi culminated in 332 hours of film, 433 hours of video, 309 hours of audio, and supplementary paper documentation as well as 23 edited films and a five part video series, A Kalahari Family (2002). The latter details the Ju/'hoansi's story over time, Marshall's own evolving and innovative filmmaking style, and reveals his personal commitment to the Ju/'hoansi and their struggles. It is of note that Marshall created a foundation to aid their development and dedicated most of his adult life to advocacy on their behalf.
Upcoming Events:
The museum recently lauched a website:
A Million Feet of Film / A Lifetime of Friendship dedicated to the John Marshall Ju/'hoan Bushman Film and Video Collection.
Documentary Educational Resources (DER), distributor of Marshall's work, has undertaken the film-to-tape transfer, digital re-mastering, and DVD reissue of N!ai, The Story of a !Kung Woman, and Marshall's short films on Ju/'hoansi.
The Harvard Film Archive has programmed two evenings of films by John Marshall, including several short films on the Ju/'hoansi, for November 2009.
-
- N!ai and infant relative, 1952/53, © Presidents and Fellows Harvard University, Peabody Museum, 2001.29.419
Related Research:
Biesele, Megan. Anthropologist and Director of the Kalahari Peoples Fund. Marshall audio recordings involving language and storytelling to be utilized in ongoing research and field work with Ju/'hoansi.
Gordon, Robert. Professor of Anthropology, University of Vermont. Numerous publications on Marshall's work and popular images of San (Bushmen), including The Bushman Myth (1992).
Homiak, Jake. Director, Anthropology Collections and Archives Program, NMNH, SI. Publication of several articles on Marshall's work.
Speeter-Blaudszun, Sonja. Anthropologist. Several publications on Marshall's work and the work of his mother, ethnographer Lorna Marshall, including Die Expeditionen der Familie Marshall (2004).
Strong, Adrian. PhD Candidate, Ethnographic Film, Griffith University, Australia. Upcoming research visit to HSFA, October 2009. Forthcoming PhD thesis on the work of ethnographic filmmakers John Marshall and Robert Gardner.
Tomaselli, Keyan. Professor and Chair of Culture, Communication and Media Studies, University of Kwazulu-Natal, Durban, South Africa. Research Fellow, HSFA, 1994. Publication of numerous articles on Marshall's work.
[ TOP ]