An anthropologist among the actors

In the ethnographic literature of performance, anthropologist musicians and dancers are far more commonly encountered than actors. While few anthropologists can be considered successful performers in the art forms they study, the scarcity of accounts of participant observation in the mounting of drama suggests that other factors may be at work to dissuade anthropologists from acting pursuits. In spite of some recent work that uses acting as one among several ethnographic strategies, anthropological reserve towards the participatory study of theatrical and film performance persists. This article argues that there are ample reasons for why acting as a form of participant observation should be taken more seriously and engaged in more often by anthropologists. Committed anthropological participation in theatrical, televisual and film performances may be very useful for exploring characterization in narrative, intersubjective understandings of ‘reality’, and the culture of media production.

The Ritual Function of the Press in Alfred Hitchcock's Movies

As the representation of the press and journalists in fiction has potential impact on the public's perception, this paper more specifically examines this representation in Hitchcock's movies, which grant a significant role to newspapers and newspapermen in their narratives. In these movies, the press fulfills the ritual function that J. W. Carey (1992) and N. Couldry (2003) have emphasized in their work. The analysis of the 56 movies directed by Hitchcock points to an ambivalent representation of the press as an apparatus of the bourgeois order. Such depiction may reinforce this order by naturalizing it or, on the contrary, inspire sociopolitical contestation by showing its failures. This ambivalence is inherent in Hitchcock's art, which promotes a logic ofmonstrationrather than plaindemonstration.La fonction rituelle de la presse dans les films d’Alfred HitchcockComme la représentation de la presse et des journalistes dans la fiction a un impact possible sur la perception du public, cet article examine plus particulièrement les fonctions des journaux et des journalistes dans les films de Hitchcock, dont les narratifs sont fondés sur le pouvoir de l’information. L’analyse des 56 films réalisés par Hitchcock montre une représentation ambivalente de la presse comme dispositif de l’ordre bourgeois. Une telle représentation peut renforcer cet ordre en le naturalisant ou, au contraire, inspirer une contestation sociopolitique en montrant ses échecs. Cette ambivalence est inhérente à l’art de Hitchcock, qui promeut une logique de monstration plutôt que de démonstration.Mots clés : culture visuelle, film, culture populaire, journaux, HitchcockDie rituelle Funktion der Presse in den Filmen Alfred HitchcocksDa die Darstellung von Presse und Journalisten in fiktionalen Inhalten einen potentiellen Einfluss auf die öffentliche Wahrnehmung haben, untersuche ich in diesem Artikel die Funktionen der Zeitungen und Reporter in den Filmen von Hitchcock, dessen Geschichten auf der Macht der Informationen basieren. Die Analyse von 56 Filmen unter der Regie von Hitchcock zeigt eine ambivalente Darstellung der Presse als einen Apparat der kleinbürgerlichen Ordnung. Derartige Darstellungen könnten diese Ordnung zementieren oder aber durch die Explikation von Fehlfunktionen einen soziopolitischen Streit anregen. Diese Ambivalenz ist inhärentes Merkmal der Kunst Hitchcocks und stellt die Logik des Demonstrierens in den Vordergrund und nicht die Demonstration.Schlüsselbegriffe: visuelle Kultur, Film, Populärkultur, Zeitungen, HitchcockLa Función Ritual de la Prensa en la Películas de Alfred HitchcockResumen: Como la representación de la prensa y los periodistas en la ficción tiene un impacto potencial sobre la percepción del público, este artículo examina más específicamente las funciones los periódicos y los periodistas en las películas de Hitchcock, cuyas narrativas están basadas en el poder de la información. El análisis de 56 películas dirigidas por Hitchcock apunta a una representación ambivalente de la prensa como un aparato del orden burgués. Esa representación puede reforzar el orden mediante su naturalización o, por el contrario, inspirar la contestación socio-política mediante la exhibición de sus fracasos. Esta ambivalencia es inherente en el arte de Hitchcock, el cual promueve una lógica de mostración en vez de demostración.Palabras Claves: Cultura visual, Film, Cultura popular, Periódicos, Hitchcock

Mystery, Ethnicity, and the Ideal Victim: Phillip Walsham's Death

The mysterious death of Phillip Walsham is an important chapter for the Western Australian criminal justice system. Its importance lay in the fact that three young men were sentenced for his murder only to have their convictions later quashed. For the news media this represented a 10-year narrative that to this day remains unanswered. This article investigates the techniques that the print media employed in reporting the events surrounding Walsham's death and the impact this public narrative played in the men's fight to have their conviction overturned. Informed by a qualitative media analysis of the Western Australian print media, it is apparent that themes of mystery, ethnicity, and ideal victimhood were devices that influenced the narrative of the wrongfully convicted.Mystère, ethnicité et victime idéale : la mort de Phillip WalshamLa mort mystérieuse de Phillip Walsham est un chapitre important pour le système de justice criminelle de l’Australie-Occidentale. Son importance repose sur le fait que trois jeunes hommes ont été condamnés pour son meurtre, mais leur condamnation a plus tard été annulée. Pour les médias d’information, cette histoire a signifié un narratif de dix ans qui demeure à ce jour irrésolu. Cet article étudie les techniques employées par les médias imprimés dans leur couverture des événements ayant entouré la mort de Walsham et l’impact que ce narratif public a eu dans la lutte de ces hommes pour faire annuler leur condamnation. À partir d’une analyse médiatique qualitative des médias imprimés de l’Australie-Occidentale, il est évident que les thèmes du mystère, de l’ethnicité et de la victime idéale étaient des procédés qui ont influencé le narratif de la condamnation injuste.Mots clés : crime, loi et ordre, analyse textuelle des journaux, recherche qualitative sur les médias, condamnation injuste, ethnicitéGeheimnis, Ethnie und das ideale Opfer: Der Tod von Phillip WalshamDer geheimnisvolle Tod von Phillip Walsham ist ein wichtiges Ereignis für das Justizsystem Westaustraliens. Seine Bedeutung schließt sich daraus, dass drei junge Männer für diesen Tod verurteilt wurden, nur um das Urteil später wieder aufzuheben. Für die Nachrichtenmedien bedeutete dieses Ereignis eine 10 Jahre andauernde Erzählung, die bis heute ungeklärt ist. Dieser Artikel untersucht die Techniken, die in der Berichterstattung in den Printmedien zur Anwendung kamen und den Einfluss dieser öffentlichen Narration im Kampf der Verurteilten, ihr Urteil aufgehoben zu bekommen. Basierend auf einer qualitativen Medienanalyse der westaustralischen Printmedien zeigt sich, dass Themen wie Geheimnis, Ethnie und das ideale Opfer Mittel waren, die die Narration der fälschlicherweise Angeklagten beeinflussten.Schlüsselbegriffe: Verbrechen, Recht und Gerechtigkeit, Textanalyse von Zeitungen, qualitative Medienforschung, falsche Verurteilung, EthnieEl Misterio, la Etnicidad y la Víctima Ideal: La Muerte de Phillip Walsham.Resumen: La muerte misteriosa de Phillip Walsham es un capítulo importante para el sistema de justicia criminal Occidental de Australia. Su importancia yace en el hecho que tres hombres jóvenes fueron sentenciados por su muerte solo para tener sus convicciones anuladas después. Para las noticias de los medios esto representó una narrativa de 10 años que hasta hoy en día permanece sin respuestas. Este artículo investiga las técnicas que los medios impresos emplearon al reportar los eventos alrededor de la muerte de Walsham y el impacto que esta narrativa pública jugó en la pelea de estos hombres para que su convicción sea revocada. Informados por un análisis cualitativo de los medios de la prensa impresa del Occidente Australiano es aparente que estos temas de misterio, etnicidad y victimización ideal fueron creados para influenciar la narrativa de los condenados indebidamente.Palabras Claves: Crimen, ley y orden, Análisis textual de los periódicos, Investigación cualitativa de los medios, Condenados indebidamente, Etnicidad

Heroic Career Changers? Gendered Identity Work in Career Transitions

This article contributes to the literature on agency and its constraints in new careers by focusing on the role of gender in identity work. Drawing on the concept of positioning, this article offers a longitudinal and contextualized analysis of identity work among Finnish female business graduates considering career change. The study shows how identity work is gendered in three respects: via the masculine position of a career changer in master narratives of career change, the positions used to account for the need to change careers and the positions at the heart of identity struggles. This article problematizes individualistic new career discourses by showing how gender, intersecting with age, constrains identity work in career change. However, it also brings to light possibilities for agency via alternative resources of identity.

The Lost Boys

The following two poems were formed from transcribed interview text from an unpublished doctoral thesis (Lambert, 2006) which explores some of the ways in which identities and places could be considered mutually constitutive. Specifically, it examines the ways in which five "lesbian" identified women talk about their experiences and identities with, in and through "queer" places and events. The original words were spoken by two participants as part of their own narratives of self when asked to share critical moments in their lives when they noticed or felt themselves to be in some way "different" to and/or differentiated from "others." There words are presented here as two thematically similar stand alone "found poems," (see for example, Butler-Kisber, 2002; Glesne, 1997; Lahman et al., 2009) without theoretical analysis. This is done in order to both draw in and implicate the reader in the everyday social readings of nonnormatively gendered bodies. The poems thus raise critical questions about re-presentational issues in research as well as highlighting the imperative to do justice to the speakers of such words, and the complexities associated with such a task.