watth chhum baav kas - Experimentations at the Threshold of Image: Understanding Representation of Documentary Subjects from the Kashmir Conflict.
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Authors
Mehvish
Date
2024-07-08
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Documentary Filmmaking , Media Studies , Political Conflict , Kashmir , Surveillance , Humour , Film and Media
Alternative Title
Abstract
This research-creation PhD project is a combination of critique of existing documentary work in and about Kashmir, as well as an exploration of alternative and experimental modes for responsible documentary representation of people in conflict zones. The cornerstone of this research is understanding, learning, and finding ways to represent documentary subjects of this long-term conflict zone without victimizing them. Documentary cinema tends to either portray Kashmiris as terrorists/fighters or as victims. I argue that either stereotype is damaging. My PhD research is an experiment in understanding and showcasing conflict without the images of conflict that are traditionally associated with political movements and revolutions. The creative components of this dissertation portfolio attempt to side-step the fetishization and desensitization of, and through, images of conflict. The underlying aim is to experiment with representations of conflict that do not isolate the subjects within the conflict and trauma of political turmoil, but rather emphasize the fullness of cultural and communal life, despite, and because of, the protracted conflict.
The research is presented as a portfolio, with three elements complimenting each other:
1. theoretical study focused on the fields of post-coloniality, audience studies, representational politics, conflict-based humour, documentary and ethnographic cinemas, and surveillance studies.
2. creation-based experimentation with documentary form in Kashmir through one feature-length documentary using humour strategically in an autoethnographic film; and a curated exhibition in the form an 8-channel installation, focused on silencing in neo-colonized spaces through surveillance infrastructure.
3. pedagogical dissemination of alternative forms of documentary filmmaking instruction, through workshops in Kashmir for young filmmakers – as part of the fieldwork.
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Queen's University's Thesis/Dissertation Non-Exclusive License for Deposit to QSpace and Library and Archives Canada
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
ProQuest PhD and Master's Theses International Dissemination Agreement
Intellectual Property Guidelines at Queen's University
Copying and Preserving Your Thesis
This publication is made available by the authority of the copyright owner solely for the purpose of private study and research and may not be copied or reproduced except as permitted by the copyright laws without written authority from the copyright owner.
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International