Diffraction and Media Reflexivity

In the second session of this season’s research colloquium we want to talk about an example that was mentioned during the first meeting as well: The films of Vietnamese filmmaker and theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha that contested prevailing conventions and approaches of documentary and ethnographic filmmaking. Trinh’s work, especially her concept of ‘inappropriate/d others’, was also picked up by Donna Haraway and Karen Barad in the context of conceptualizing difference and diffraction. Diffraction, as Barad puts it, will in turn serve as another theoretical approach to media reflexivity continuing the strand that was opened up by the first session’s readings. Other passages of her films Reassemblage (1982) and Surname Viet Given Name Nam (1985) will be shown and discussed as well.

A sample of Trinh’s filmmaking (Reassemblage):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXlnsYps7L8

Brief introduction to Trinh’s work (interview):
docfilmhist.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/chen.pdf

Haraway’s original text (for context):
www.egs.edu/faculty/donna-haraway/