the contribution made by visual anthropology to the study of consumption behavior
TRANSCRIPT
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Western society has always given precedence towords over images, visual perception being considered
inferior to other vehicles of knowledge. This skepti-
cism toward images is not new; Plato also spoke of
the deceptive and fallacious nature of images, that
they fool the eyes and deceive the mind (Schroeder,
2002). Photography and video are often relegated tothe status of illustration, entertainment or even work of
art, and marketing research has long been a follower of
this school of thought.
However, photography and video are now used
more and more in the human sciences, and particu-
Recherche et Applications en Marketing, vol. 22, n 1/2007
The contribution made by visual anthropology
to the study of consumption behavior
Delphine Dion
IAE de Paris, Sorbonne Graduate Business School
The author wishes to thank Richard Ladwein for his comments and advice. She can be contacted by writing to the following e-mail address:[email protected]
ABSTRACT
This paper describes the main methodologies of visual anthropology and discusses their use in marketing research. After a
brief history of the emergence of pictures and videos in anthropology, we present the epistemological and methodological shifts
in visual anthropology. Based on this, we identify two ways of using pictures and videos in the field of research: as a recording
device and as a research tool.
In the first approach, video and still cameras are used to obtain more detailed, precise and lively ethnographic descriptions
of consumption behavior. The researcher attempts to draw up an exhaustive list of the objects owned by the consumer (inventorytechnique) or he uses a camera to record specific actions or objects he wants to focus on (videography).
In the second approach, pioneered by Jean Rouch, videos are used in a more reflexive and subjective way. The camera is no
longer considered as an objective recording device. It is used in a participative and collaborative way to develop a shared
understanding of consumption experiences. By the mediation of the camera, the researchers aim is to bring the viewer into peo-
ples experiences. The camera becomes the participant as well as the collaborator.
Key words: Qualitative research, ethnography, visual anthropology, photography, video, consumption experiences, pictures,
videography.
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larly in marketing, to study consumption behavior
(Belk and Kozinets, 2005).1 Despite this evolution,
marketing research, where images are granted the
same importance as statistical or lexical analysis, for
example, is still rare. The image is often confined to
the role of simply illustrating a verbalization
constructed independently as a self-contained unit of
meaning. More often than not, we have very little
information about the photographic images we see
and use: whether it be as to how they were collected
(locations, people photographed, framing, number of
shots, etc.), or the methods employed in analyzing
them. Some of these images are later inserted into a
text with the purpose of illustrating behavior that,
quite often, has been identified by means of othertools.
However, the photographic image holds very
important, very specific argumentative and analytical
possibilities. Visual anthropology, like much of the
work in consumption behavior where photography
has been used, tends to be something other than a
simple factual account and must be considered as a
specific observation research method. We would the-
refore be well advised to gain a better understanding of
the research techniques used in visual anthropology.
The themes, tools and methods used in visual
anthropology have changed greatly over the years,just as anthropology itself has changed. In the time of
the silent or post-synchronized documentary,
research was centered on directly observable move-
ment and behavior: techniques surrounding the
construction and use of objects, ceremonial behavior
and non-verbal communication. The introduction of
portable, lightweight cameras featuring synchronous
sound-image recording devices in the 1960s and,
later on, the advent of digital recording techniques,
broadened the scope of visual anthropology signifi-
cantly. The visual description of activities was now
accompanied by the direct verbal expression of the
subjects themselves, which meant that elements notdirectly observable before, such as personal expe-
rience, emotions, judgments and interpretations,
could now be gathered (de France, 1994).
Visual anthropology thus went from the study of
movement to the exploration of experience. These
new developments in technology cannot fully
account for the disciplines new infatuation however,
as this also corresponded with an epistemological
revival that was both reflexive and comprehensive,
and which generated new interest in ethnographic
film and increased its validity (Pink, 2006).
These evolutions have created a need to define
the challenges facing visual anthropology more
clearly so that marketing researchers may better fulfill
the potential these new perspectives bring. The goal of
the current article is to open a window on visual
anthropology and make new observation research
methods based on the photographic and/or videoimage available to both marketing researchers and
professionals. This paper does not claim to be a
guide or handbook on the issue, but rather seeks to
draw marketing researchers attention to recent deve-
lopments in contemporary visual anthropology.
In visual anthropology, the image is considered as
an intrinsic not extrinsic element of the research pro-
cess, just as it is in the analysis of advertising visuals
(Barthes, 1985; Ceriani, 2004), works of art
(Thrlemann, 2004), family photographs (Bourdieu,
1965; Schroeder, 2002) or fiction films (Weakland,
1974; Comolli, 1994; Marteaux and Filser, 2006).
2
It isnot concerned with gathering and analyzing existing
visual productions, but with producing photographic or
video images in a given field of research in order to
generate an understanding of the Other. This involves
conducting research with images (researcher pro-
duces images as an instrument of research) and not
on images (analysis of representations driven by
images in a given situation).
This paper will begin with a proposal for the defi-
nition of visual anthropology, which will then lead to
two possible utilizations of the image: the image as a
tool for recording behavior, and the image as a field of
research. In so doing, pioneering marketing researchusing these methods of observation will be examined
and several fields for the application of these tech-
niques in marketing research and studies will be
proposed.
Delphine Dion62
1. Many conferences now organize special sessions devoted tovideo. This is true, for example, of the Consumer Culture TheoryConference and the conferences of the Association for ConsumerResearch, which has, since 2002, held an annual film festivalwhere researchers are invited to present videos on consumption.
The review Consumption, Markets and Culture ran a special featureon this theme in September 2005.
2. For a literary review of the analysis of marketing visuals, refer toTissier-Desbordesarticle (2004).
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VISUAL ANTHROPOLOGY: FROM TOOL TO FIELD
OF RESEARCH
Before embarking on an analysis of the contribu-
tion made by visual anthropology to the study of
consumption behavior, it is best to first gain an
understanding of the specific characteristics of the
discipline and the founding principles of anthropo-
logy. This will then be followed by an examination of
how videography slipped into research methods little
by little, until it developed into an entirely separate
discipline. The final part of the paper will analyze theepistemological and methodological evolutions that
visual anthropology has experienced in the past few
years.
The founding principles of anthropology
First and foremost, anthropology is defined by its
field of study: the self-other relationship in other
cultures (Aug, 1994). Anthropology cannot be
defined by particular themes (religion, family,
exchange, etc.), by the societies it studies (traditio-nal) or by the theories it uses (structuralism, functio-
nalism, culturalism, etc.), but by its mission: to
study mankind in its entirety, in all societies, at all
latitudes, in all its states and in all epochs. Accompli-
shing this mission is inseparable from its method:
ethnographic description; that is the direct observa-
tion of particular social behaviors founded on a
human relationship and familiarity with the groups
we seek to understand by sharing their existence
(Laplantine, 2005).
At first, ethnologists limited themselves to brin-
ging indigenous people into their colonial residences tointerview them (in precisely the same way companies
currently do when they invite their consumers into
their buildings to talk about their consumption expe-
riences....). In the tradition of Malinowski (1922),
who broke away from this approach, ethnologists
little by little left their colonial residences to go into
the field and join what was happening. Participative
observation thus gradually gained the upper hand
over veranda ethnology, as Malinowski enjoyed
calling it. (Like Malinowski, we could urge marke-
ting companies and researchers to go out into the
field more and to relinquish veranda marketing
research in favor offieldmarketing research).
Henceforth, gaining knowledge of human beings
could no longer follow the example of the botanist
examining a fern or the zoologist observing a crusta-
cean; it could only proceed by communicating
directly with humans and by sharing their existence
in a lasting way. The ethnographer must be capable
of truly adopting the primary inclination of the cul-
ture hes studying (Laplantine, 1999). This unders-
tanding requires that the observer be integrated into
the very location of the observation. The ethnogra-
pher must immerse himself in the day-to-day life and
daily interaction of his research community in thesame way as the indigenous person. This approach
invites a slow and inevitably long period of familiari-
zation with the groups being studied (Laburthe-
Thorla and Warnier, 2003).
The construction of knowledge is grounded
(Hudson and Ozanne, 1988). First, researchers
observe and take notes. This allows them to acquire an
understanding of the society or group in which they are
immersed. They then try to validate their conceptuali-
zations based on their fieldwork immersion. In the
next stage, researchers may need to collect data to
enhance their knowledge, and this process continuesuntil a complete conceptualization of the phenome-
non being studied is achieved. The construction of
knowledge is therefore iterative and continuing. It is
constructed gradually through contact with the
research area and results in a negotiated and shared
understanding of behavior (Heisley, McGrath and
Sherry, 1990).
The pioneers of visual anthropology
For a very long time, most ethnologists andanthropologists have used the image as a tool for
gathering information. This was the case for Had-
dons expedition to the Torres Strait Islands in 1898
when he made the first ethnographic film with one of
the first Lumire motion picture cameras (de Brigard,
1974). The method was also employed by Boas, as
early as 1885, when he photographed different ele-
ments of Indian culture (objects, ceremonies, beha-
vior), and also by Malinowski when he studied the
Trobrianders between 1915 and 1918. Although
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these pioneers of visual anthropology often produced a
vast amount of photographic material (1,100 of Mali-
nowskis photographs are archived at the London
School of Economics), they did not truly fulfill the
potential of their pictures. In those times, the image
was reduced to two functions: illustrating and objecti-
fying (Pink, 2006). So, in the description Malinowski
gives of his research options inArgonauts of the Wes-
tern Pacific (1922), he doesnt speak of using pho-
tography as a means of investigation. He emphasizes
the need to conduct a systematic description and,
throughout his analysis, he supports his discourse by
referring the reader to his various photographs taken in
the field. He used his photographic images more as a
testament to the truth of his observations.The use of photography in research reached a
major turning point through the work of Bateson and
Mead in 1942 at the end of a two-year period of field
work in a village in Bali. Mead interviewed, chatted
and took notes while Bateson took photos and filmed. In
this way, they took 25,000 photos and 7,000 meters of
film. When they returned to New York, they selected
and wrote comments for 759 photographs, and these
made up the body ofBalinese Character: a photo-
graphic analysis. This book not only provided an origi-
nal vision of learning about a culture but also constituted
a renewal of fieldwork techniques (Winkin, 1981). Theresearch method developed by Mead and Bateson no
longer used photography as a simple means of proving
written observations, but as a veritable research material
in its own right. Mead points out that the different types
of behavior identified in Balinese Character were
brought to light by analyzing the photos, and that in no
way did the photos represent a mirror of these beha-
viors (Worth, 1981). Despite their innovative approach,
Mead and Bateson did not succeed in making the use of
photography in anthropology more legitimate, and it
wasnt until the 1970s that the discipline truly acquired
academic recognition. After having been considered aminor and marginal discipline for many years, visual
anthropology became a well-established and fast-
expanding discipline (Ruby, 2005).
The epistemological and methodological evolutions
of visual anthropology
Mead (1974) defined visual anthropology as the
study of man based on what is offered to vision alone
and grasped through non-verbal tools of investiga-
tion. The camera was perceived as a sort of secret
weapon; invisible, omniscient and omnipotent,
capable of witnessing the whole of an event (Mac-
Dougall, 1974). Focusing on the idea that film is
objective, Mead sought to use the camera in the most
neutral manner possible. She recommended keeping
the camera on a tripod in the background and simply
letting it film continuously so that people forgot it
was there (Mead, 1974). The camera became a wit-
ness capable of recording an event in its entirety.
Mead opposed edited and participative film, and
sought to make it as objective as possible. To recons-
truct reality as faithfully as possible, anthropological
videography was limited to uncut unedited film. Theresult was more a recording than a film (Young,
1974). Today, this approach seems unrealistic and,
for ethical and epistemological reasons, is not recom-
mended.
From voyeurism to collaboration
At that time, filming individuals without their
knowledge didnt seem to cause any particular moral
dilemmas (especially given the colonial mentality of
the times). Mead and Bateson even went so far as tofilm situations where the people did not wish to be
observed, let alone filmed (Mead, 1974). Although at
the time these practices seemed normal, it would be
unthinkable to proceed in this manner today. It was
felt that, rather than trying to film people without
their knowing it, a collaborative approach should be
developed. The subject should no longer be treated
like a lab animal that one observes from behind a
camera lens, but as a partner collaborating in the
research process.
From objectivity to subjectivity in visual
descriptions
Initially, anthropologists invested pictures with a
view to obtaining a more objective means of recor-
ding their observations, and in this way expel subjec-
tivity from their field notes. But the objectivity of
pictures was very quickly called into question. It
appeared, over time, that images were no more trans-
parent than text notes.
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It can be said that any visual description is selective
and incomplete insofar as it adheres to the laws of
exclusion and overload, which state that showing one
thing means simultaneously hiding another (law of
exclusion) and also that showing one thing means
simultaneously showing something else as well (law of
overload) (de France, 1994). Therefore, no descrip-
tion can be either exhaustive or completely precise.
Restricted on both sides by this goal for both rich-
ness and precision, the anthropologist is obliged to
make choices regarding framing, focus, length of
shot, angle, scenes and individuals to be photogra-
phed or filmed, etc. These choices can create optical
illusions or conceal facts, therefore deceiving our
understanding (MacDougall, 2006).Another consideration was that a description is
shaped by its interactive context. This is influenced
by interaction between the anthropologist and his
informants (social environment) and objects (mate-
rial environment), but also by the observers own cul-
ture. Observation is therefore rooted in a social
context, cultural conventions, collective norms and
each individuals personal experiences, all of which
necessarily affect the description.
The final consideration was that a description is
distorted by the games played by the participants.
Aware that they are being observed, the informantsintervene in the image production process by playing
self-projection games designed to control the way
they show themselves (Conord, 2002). Barthes tells
us: As soon as I feel I am being observed by the
camera, everything changes: I begin to pose, I ins-
tantly create another body for myself, I metamor-
phose into a picture ahead of time [...]. In front of the
camera, I am simultaneously the person I think I am,
the person I would like people to believe I am, the
person the photographer believes I am, and the per-
son he is using to exhibit his art (Barthes, 1980,
pp. 25-29).In this way, all agreed to admit to the subjectivity of
visual description. A photograph or video is not a
copy or mirror of the world, but a description of
something created by someone. It is a representation a
person makes for themselves of the world (Worth,
1981). An image must be considered a dynamic inter-
action between the photographer, the spectator and
the image. Meaning is constructed actively and not
received passively. An image is polysemic, capable of
generating multiple meanings (Barthes, 1980).
From erasing to affirming the anthropologists
presence in the research
Behind the effacing camera, the ethnologist
sought to erase his own presence from the research. It
seems unrealistic, however, to think that people can
forget the camera. The feeling of intrusion is likely to
subside over time but can never disappear comple-
tely.
Whatever the case, the simple presence of an
observer is disturbing in itself, whether he has a
camera or not. The ethnographer does not in fact
consider himself as an objective witness observing
objects, but rather a subject observing other subjects in
the context of an experiment in which the observer
himself is observed (Laplantine, 2005). The ethno-
grapher is not, and does not want to be, invisible. He is
not an indigenous person, a native; he is, and will
remain, a foreigner, regardless of what he wants or
the way he behaves to integrate and ground himself in
the subjects culture (Copans, 2002). This means that
all forms of ethnographic observation are imperfect, if
only because of disturbance arising from the simple
presence of an observer.
Therefore, sooner or later, the anthropologist is
led to reflect upon his status and the observer-
observed relationship, whatever tools he may beusing (speech, writing, video or still camera). Howe-
ver, the disturbance the ethnographers presence
imposes on what he observes, far from being conside-
red an epistemological obstacle that should be neu-
tralized, is an infinitely rich source of knowledge
(Laplantine, 2005). Conscious of the disturbance
caused by his very presence, the anthropologist must
seek to personally place himself at the heart of the
observation. The anthropologist should not try to
escape but, on the contrary, he should accept his status
as a voyant-visible, to use the expression by Merleau-
Ponty. One must try to go from an outsider looking into an insider engaging in reciprocal observation. This
viewpoint represents a fundamental break away from
positivist conceptions based on the principle of data
being collected by an absolute observer external to
the phenomenon being studied (Laplantine, 2005).
Rather than trying to hide oneself in an apparent
attempt to make people forget the camera, and parti-
cularly the ethnologist, it is better to accept the pre-
sence of these two elements and continue working,
fully aware of the situation. Rather than giving
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people the impression of being filmed unwittingly
and without having a real understanding of the way
filming is being carried out, the camera should be
placed at the center of the interaction. The purpose of
this is not to question the way the camera changes
behavior, but to film interaction in the presence of the
camera, while remaining conscious of the distortion
it brings (Young, 1974).
Consequently, the study of mankind through pic-
tures (photographic or video) represents not only the
study of filmable mankind able to be filmed or pho-
tographed but also of filmed mankind, as it is
shown by images. Visual anthropology therefore
encompasses both the study of man captured by the
image and the image of filmed man. This concept isthe basis for Claudine de Frances (1994, p. 6) defini-
tion of visual anthropology: man as he is captured
on film, in the unity and diversity of ways in which he
exhibits his actions, his thoughts, and his milieu.
Film and photography are, at the same time, both
tool and field of research. Most anthropologists are
attached to the first aspect and seek to complete their
written notes with visual ones. Others search more
deeply into the staging of reality and try to use the
image in a more reflexive manner.
THE IMAGE AS A TOOL
In this first approach, video and still cameras are
used to obtain a visual description of a research area.
In marketing research studies, the use of visual des-
criptions appears extremely promising as these allow
the analysis of real behavior in its natural setting.
This means we can go above and beyond statisticaldata and laboratory observations. More specifically,
visual descriptions may be used to:
explore the lifestyles of a consumer community
or a marketing target group (activities, interests,
reference universe, lifestyle, identity data, etc.);
collect information in situations where there is
significant distortion of statistical data: study of
target groups that are difficult to question (chil-
dren and teenagers, for example), or on sensi-
tive or politically incorrect subjects;
better understand the uses of products/services:
analyze the user manuals of products/services
(location, time and frequency of use, users,
functions used, use, difficulties of use, unders-
tanding of instructions for use, maintenance
method, place kept, etc.), detect misuse or dan-
gerous use of products, understand the relation-
ship with products/services (rituals, importance
and status of object for the user, how the pro-
duct is displayed, etc.), analyze the social inter-
action surrounding the product/service (nature
of interaction, status and roles of individuals,
etc.);
analyze behavior in a commercial setting
(exploration of commercial setting, manipula-tion of products, organization of waiting per-
iods, interaction with contact personnel and
other customers, etc.).
This type of information can allow marketers to
understand the sociocultural context of a market, to
identify areas of innovation (new products/services,
new functions, new design for a space, etc.), to test
prototypes and identify the best communication tech-
niques for encouraging consumers to adopt a pro-
duct/service.
To create a visual description, the researcher can
use the inventory technique and draw up the mostexhaustive list possible of elements noted in the area of
research, or use a video or still camera to identify the
remarkable elements.
Drawing up an inventory of social and cultural
practices
The researcher takes photographs to establish the
most exhaustive list possible of the social and cultural
practices of a given group of people. The inventory
may be statistical, when it deals with objects; ordynamic, when it is centered on social interaction.
Statistical inventory
Photography is used to create a list of the number
and type of objects owned and their uses. This tech-
nique allows a visual representation of the way these
objects are related to one another, where they are
positioned in the space and how they are displayed.
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These spatial configurations give us an understan-
ding of the cultural and social patterns of the inhabi-
tants.3
When compiling this inventory, the photographer
may either take an exhaustive number of shots of the
phenomenon or take sample shots. Collier (1974)
adopted this method in order to gain an understan-
ding into the process of acculturation and adapting to a
sedentary lifestyle of a group of American Indians in
San Francisco. He photographed the inside of 22
houses (living room, kitchen and bedrooms) and then
listed each object in an observation table in the follo-
wing categories: furniture, organization of space,
domestic appliances, literature, art, music, sports,
games, Christian religion and Indian objects. Collierwas then able to carry out one analysis per household
and per consumption universe.
This type of inventory can be replicated on several
occasions in the space and over time. In this way, the
evolution of a phenomenon can be studied over time
(Collier, 1974).
Dynamic inventory
Inventories may also be of a more dynamic nature
and represent a sociometric analysis (Collier, 1974).These techniques provide information not only on
social structures but also on the dynamics of social
interaction and action. In this technique, the resear-
cher seeks to understand the subjects relationship
with space (the way the individuals use and divide up
the space) and any social interaction (the way the
subjects behave together and coordinate their
actions).
The researcher may choose to take shots freely in
time and space, or take shots from a fixed location at
regular intervals (if working with a still camera) or
film continuously (if working with a video camera)
to record the events playing out naturally and sponta-
neously in front of the lens.
However, although the inventory is relatively well
suited to material objects (statistical inventory), it has
been widely criticized for studying social interaction.
The dynamic inventory has been called into question
largely because of the ethical and epistemological
limitations mentioned earlier. Anthropologists there-
fore generally prefer to adopt a more participative
form of visual description.
Creating a videographic account
In the tradition of ethnographic descriptions,
video and still cameras are used like visual notepads.
The aim is to achieve a richer, more complete and
more dynamic description of the research field than
the traditional ethnographic description recorded
with pen and paper. Compared to traditional ethno-
graphic descriptions, visual descriptions have unde-
niable qualities. First, the description they give is
irrefutable in that the images are guarantees of the
objects authenticity. They demonstrate that the
object was real, that it did exist (Barthes, 1980).
Second, ethnographic descriptions mediated by a
video or still camera provide an almost continuous
description, contrary to the process of perceiving
something with the eye, which is merely a mental
construction that uses a scanning technique to gather
information and is relatively imperfect. In this
context, the video or still camera becomes a pallia-tive accompaniment, or a prolongation of the human
eyes perceptions and the observation process
(Copans, 2002). The continuity of audiovisual obser-
vation is only limited by the size of the cameras
memory and the life of its battery. Discontinuity
becomes a choice most of the time, whilst in direct
observation this is restricted because of the physiolo-
gical limits of those involved. Third, photos and
videos, as material objects, supports or traces, allow
the observer to survey the research area several
times. Unlike a traditional observation situation, the
analyst can go back to the image as often as hewishes. Fourth, visual description allows the resear-
cher to concentrate on the details, details which are
all too often missed in on-site note taking, which is
necessarily quick and distorting and follows the
movement of visual perception, omitting surplus ges-
tures and insignificant moments (Piette, 1992).
Visual description, therefore, allows us to pay particu-
lar attention to describing human actions and interac-
tions which are not directly observable through the
naked eye. Video and still cameras provide a better
The contribution made by visual anthropology to the study of consumption behavior 67
3. Aerial photographs can complete this inventory. They provide a
greater understanding of the relationship between ecology and thehabitat, and give an insight into the overall social practices and useof space (Collier and Collier, 1967; Harper, 1997).
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analysis of collective, complex, technical and time-
intensive events (Copans, 2002).
Traditionally, the researcher has a choice of
taking unstructured shots or of structuring these
around a script. He may also prefer to have the sub-
jects take the shots themselves.
Unstructured photographing and filming
Unstructured shooting is like taking written
notes. It is based on a selection process. The anthro-
pologist doesnt restrict himself to recording what
unfolds naturally or spontaneously in front of his lens
but attempts, rather, to work more in the line of
taking text notes. The aim is no longer to make pic-
tures an objective means of recording (given that this is
not logical in any case), but rather to use the image like
a pen and allow all its subjectivity to lie with the
means of recording itself (Piette, 1992).
When an anthropologist goes into the field, he
observes different types of behavior, takes notes and
establishes inferences based on his experience and
the notes he took in the field. He then publishes the
conclusions of his study and not the notes them-
selves. During this process, he is led to determine a
certain number of priorities concerning the interest ofthe events and to concentrate more on certain ele-
ments in order to provide a more detailed description
of them. Visual description must follow the same
logic. Video and still cameras are not used to follow
any particular sampling. Quite the opposite, they are
used deliberately to pinpoint remarkable actions, that
is, the actions and interactions that the ethnologist
wishes to study in more detail.
The camera should not be kept in the background
or project a distant panorama of human actions, but
should be close to the action and be inserted into the
heart of the event so as to make it more intimate(Young, 1974). The film must try to mimic direct
observation.
Film description can be either micro-descriptive
(hinged on the detail of each action) or macro-
descriptive (focused on the ensemble of actions or
facts). If the spirit of the description remains, the latter
changes according to scale (de France, 1994). Micro-
description possesses immense internal autonomy
(intra-cinematic): the film is almost enough in itself
and doesnt require a commentary within the film.
On the other hand, macro-description is often subject
to external dependence (extra-cinematic) on other
forms of expression in order to create a link between
the different events that have been filmed.
The anthropologist leaves his anonymity behind
him and reveals himself to the spectator. He shares
his opinions and questions concerning his methodolo-
gical and technical options when filming or photo-
graphing (Ruby, 2005). He attempts to be as transpa-
rent as possible in terms of any illusions created by the
presentation (by indicating scenes which have been
deliberately hidden or which cannot be shown) in
order to present the making and editing of the film as
objectively as possible (de France, 1994).Several marketing researchers have collected
their field data by means of visual description. In
their Consumer Behavior Odyssey, Belk, Wallendorf
and Sherry granted a significant amount of space to
visuals. During their travels across several American
states, they took 800 pages of notes, 3,500 photo-
graphs and recorded 60 hours of video (Wallendorf,
1987). Instead of concentrating on a particular site or
exploring it exhaustively as ethnologists traditionally
do, they preferred to enlarge the context of their
study and therefore vary it. They were interested inAmerican consumption as a whole, including a wide
range of consumption activities, and therefore selected
a group of locations with the aim of including several
contrasting situations. They then performed two
types of data triangulation: an inter-researcher trian-
gulation to compare the three researchers analyses
and an inter-support triangulation which brought
visual and textual data into perspective. Based on this
fieldwork, they analyzed a certain number of ele-
ments linked to consumption situations (Belk, Wal-
lendorf and Sherry, 1989). Research that has used a
similar approach includes Pealozas (1999) study of
Nike Town, where she completed her text description
with a visual description of the consumers environ-
ment, or Ladweins (2002) study of the spatial strate-
gies of holidaymakers around a hotel swimming
pool. During his observation process, Ladwein photo-
graphed several instances of remarkable behavior
with a view to closely examining the interaction bet-
ween the holidaymakers and their process of space
appropriation.
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Photographing and filming structured around a
script
In transposing the principles of visual anthropo-
logy to sociology, sociologists modified practices in
the field. Based on the principle that ones concepts are
what direct the act of photographing or filming
(Becker, 1974), shooting should follow a more struc-
tured research protocol and be based on a sort of
script of the shots the film-maker wishes to record.
To begin with, the researcher dissects the issue
and identifies the various underlying research ques-
tions he wishes to find an answer to. This body of
questions then serves as a sort of guide to the photo-
graphic images; a picture is taken in order to answerone of the questions asked. This process of collecting
photos is therefore a highly strategic exploration placed
in the context of precise theoretical questions. Its goal
remains to make pictures the incarnation of sociological
concepts. The process involves continuous interaction
between the research area and the formulation of
ideas, in the sense that the script is both flexible and
interactive, and in this way is constantly evolving as the
subject changes. As the photos are collected, new
questions emerge, either more precise, or radically
new, and this gives rise to new conceptual
approaches, which in themselves allow the script tobe reformulated (Suchar, 1997). It is therefore much
more than a simple guide to visual interviews.
In marketing research and studies, this approach
could be an extremely useful means of exploring a
given area of study, because it continuously dissects
and refines an issue as the visual elements are gathe-
red. This constant contact with the field allows a
more and more detailed understanding of the
consumption behavior observed.
Having your subjects take visual notes
In order to better understand the way individuals
perceive their environment, ethnologists have some-
times chosen to give the video or still camera to their
subjects and asked them to create a visual account of
their life story (photographic biography), a specific
part of their life (Mizen, 2005, or even to translate
certain concepts into images (Beilin, 2005).
This method of collecting visual data has proven
extremely rich because two people from two diffe-
rent cultures looking at the same scene dont necessa-
rily see the same things. This is because the way we
see things depends on our environment; we learn to see
the things we need to see. In an unfamiliar area of
experience, the common properties of its constituents
predominate so much that they completely obscure
their differences. (...) A farmer, shepherd or zoo-keeper
sees a distinct individual in each of his animals,
whilst, for the uninitiated, sheep are sheep and mon-
keys are monkeys. (Arnheim, 1969, p. 175). Over
time, interest and experience teach us how to look.
To look well is something that must be learned; only
then will we be able to make initial abstraction
more acute and increase our degree of differentiation
between things (Arnheim, 1969).It thus follows that when the camera is entrusted to
a person from the community, this person is likely to
photograph things a foreigner would not even notice,
and similarly, the foreigner may focus on things that
are not necessarily significant to the members of the
community. This technique excludes information on
a culture generated by external observers (records
aboutculture) and prefers recording of the culture by
the indigenous individuals themselves (records of
culture), therefore allowing the way that different
groups structure and represent their environment to
be appreciated (Worth, 1981). The pictures producedby the informants represent their subjective vision of
the world, and this, in turn, becomes the object of the
analysis. The interpretation of these images must
necessarily be done by the subjects themselves and
under no circumstances by the researcher.
Collecting photos and videos can also be done via
the Internet (Kozinets, 2002). Personal Internet sites,
blogs and webcam sites are indeed bursting with photos
and videos posted online by cyber surfers across the
globe, and these forums give access to their behavior in
both public and private domains. The Internet cer-
tainly facilitates the collecting process significantly,but also has several disadvantages. On the one hand, it
is very difficult to get feedback from the individuals
in the images in order to understand their context and
decipher them; and on the other hand, it is nearly
impossible to follow any particular sampling method.
For example, by using real estate sites, one can gather
masses of photos of the insides of houses, but without
any communication with the owners, we cant learn
much about their decorating choices, their relation-
ship to their environment or their lifestyles.
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Several marketing researchers have chosen to
give the camera to their informants so that they may
collect the images themselves, and it was in this vein
for a study on consumption rituals that Wallendorf
and Arnould (1991) asked students to photograph
their Thanksgiving celebrations. Each student then
arranged their photos in chronological order and pla-
ced each one in a table under the following catego-
ries: individuals, objects, behavior, proxemics, loca-
tion, type of shot. Wallendorf and Arnould then
added their own personal comments on each photo-
graph. This data provided additional information to
the themes which had emerged in previous in-depth
interviews and observations (participative and non-
participative), particularly in terms of clothing, pets,the presentation of the table and the proximity rela-
tionships of the individuals according to their status in
the family. A textual analysis based on these data
then identified recurring behavior and key words for
each context. Donnenfeld and Goodhand (1998) used a
similar research method in order to understand the
ways children receive and represent their environ-
ment. The photo-biographies created by groups of
children aged 7-8 and 11-12 helped provide new
insight into conflicts between the protected and
secure world of childhood and the adult world; the
world of freedoms and responsibilities. A finalexample of this visual data collection technique is
Warrens (2005) study of the way individuals per-
ceive their work environment.
Organizing an exchange mediated by the image
Ethnographic description can be enriched by
feedback from informants on images. This exchange
about the film generates a greater and more precise
understanding of the way subjects perceive their
world and allows us to share the reality of their visualcontext (Hall, 1967). Observing peoples reactions
when they look at photos or film of themselves gives
us a better understanding of the way subjects per-
ceive their physical and social environments, as well as
their activities.
This exchange mediated by the image also gives us
new insight because it brings up things which were
not otherwise expressed because the individuals
didnt pay attention to them, either because they
didnt see the point in talking about these events or
because they didnt want to. Subjects indeed find it
quite difficult to speak about the mundane; and when
they speak about the out-of-the-ordinary, they tend to
focus on a certain number of salient aspects and go
into great detail over them, while forgetting to mention
the surrounding elements.
This exchange session with the subjects looking
at the images (representing them in specific situa-
tions) may be more or less structured.
Non-structured interviewing centered on images
Anthropologists generally organize a free discus-
sion centered on the images taken during research
(Collier, 1974; Mizen, 2005). During a study of the
Red Mesa swap market in New Mexico, Belk, Sherry
and Wallendorf (1988) took photos on-sight and later
came back to the market to show the stallholders
their photos of them. This technique allowed them to
create a solid foundation for their interviews based
on the real-life experience of the informants and to
encourage them to talk without having to ask them
questions. McGrath, Sherry and Heisley (1993) also
used this research method in an ethnographical
context to research a weekly market; as did LaTour,
Henthorne and Braun-LaTour (2003) to explore thebehavior of cigar smokers; and Banister and Booth
(2005) in a study on young children with a view to
developing a new study methodology for children.
Interviewing organized around processes
of categorization (photo-elicitation)
Sociologists use a more structured type of inter-
view where photography is used to update the
processes of individual categorization (photo-
elicitation). This approach is based on the theory ofpersonal construct which states that our understan-
ding of the world is shaped by the way individuals
perceive events, others and situations (Beilin, 2005).
These unique constructs, based on each persons
experiences, are rooted in the values of the individual
and are unique and exclusive to each person. In this
technique, photography becomes the vehicle for elici-
ting the structure of these personal constructs. They
are first categorized and ordered during a process
called laddering. This can be achieved either by the
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subjects themselves (auto-categorization or auto-
driving) (Suchar, 1997; Beilin, 2005), or by the pho-
tographer, in which case the subjects validate his
interpretation (hybrid categorization) (Schwartz,
1989). The technique then uses images during inter-
views to discover the way subjects perceive and
structure the phenomena around them.
Heisley and Levy (1991) used thisphoto-elicitation
technique to analyze eating practices during the pre-
paration and participation of a family dinner. More
specifically, the study tried to better understand the
role and status of each family member, the uses of
food products, objects used during the preparation
and participation of the meal, ways of preparing the
meal and family interaction throughout the process.They spent three evenings with three families and
took 400 photographs (172, 103 and 125 photos, res-
pectively, for families 1, 2 and 3). Approximately 15
photos per family were then selected. These photos
were chosen because they showed activities which
were characteristic of those evenings. Each family
then looked at the photos concerning them (respecti-
vely, 17, 14 and 10). The photos were presented to
them in chronological order and the participants were
asked to comment on each. Based on the individuals
reactions to the photos, Heisley and Levy were able to
analyze the use of products in a natural context and theroles and interactions within these families. This
research method was repeated by Rosenbaum (2005)
to study the way consumers interpret the presence of
symbolic objects in sales locations and the way these
objects affect consumers behavior.
Holbrook et al. (1998, 2001) propose a hybrid
methodology which combines photo-reporting and
individual feedback from informants on their photo-
graphs, and collective reflection centered on non-per-
sonal photographs with the aim of developing a better
understanding of consumption experiences. This
research method begins with a photo-report, where
informants are invited to illustrate consumption expe-riences using photographic images organized into
very general themes: What New York means to me
(Holbrook and Kuwahara, 1998) or What happiness
means to me (Holbrook et al., 2001). The photographs
are then individually commented on by the inform-
ants, which allows themes to emerge inductively
based on the informants photos and comments, rather
than deductively, based on a preconceived categoriza-
tion. The process ends with collective reflection cente-
red on the photos and comments collected in phases
one and two so as to compile a collective photo-
graphic essay which endeavors to present a panorama
of the themes analyzed. This research method requires
the active participation of informants, whose status
goes from interviewees to collaborators. The col-
lective photographic essay allows an in-depth explora-
tion of consumption experiences through the eyes of
the informants themselves.
From these examples, we can see that visual
anthropology methodologies are starting to develop
in marketing research. The image is considered less
and less as a methodological adjunct and more as a
research material in its own right. Research studies
carried out in marketing based on photo and video
recordings have made it possible to study new
aspects of consumption behavior: the sacred, rituals,
appropriation of space, social interaction during
consumption processes, use of products, the relation-
ship with objects, etc. Video and still cameras are
used to record social behavior and interaction, and
preserve details. The image is used as a tool in order to
refine ethnographic field description. It is considered as
a machine observation of consumption facts and
assists in analyzing the temporal flow of consump-
tion activities, identifying culturally significant
moments and studying spatial behavior and person-
object interaction (Arnould and Wallendorf, 1994).Visual descriptions of consumption behavior are
effective and rich. They constitute a more finished
form of ethnographic description than the written
variant, in that they provide a more complete descrip-
tion (animated and with sound). They allow a conside-
rable mass of information to be recorded, compared to
written note taking, and any gaps may be later filled in
in writing. However, visual description, whether it be a
photographic inventory or visual note taking, is based
on a realistic and instrumental conception of film.
The anthropologist makes a visual recording with the
intention of analyzing the images later on (El Guindi,2004). Visual description is therefore only a variant
of the anthropology of words, to use Meads (1974)
term. It uses precisely the same approach as traditional
anthropology (MacDougall, 2006). In the 1980s and
the 1990s, debates arose in anthropological circles
concerning phenomenology and the issues of expe-
rience and the senses, which, under the impetus of
first Jean Rouch then David MacDougall, gave way
to a more reflexive and subjective form of visual
anthropology (Pink, 2006).
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THE IMAGE AS A FIELD OF RESEARCH
The model of traditional anthropology initiated
by Malinowski in the 1920s was greatly criticized
during the 1960s because of the absence of a reciprocal
relationship between the giver and receiver of infor-
mation (Copans, 2002). Postmodern approaches called
the reality/interpretation, fact/representation and
observer/observed dualities into question. In the
movement of postmodern anthropology, initiated by
Clifford and Marcus, ethnography was no longer to
be considered as the experience and interpretationof another circumscribed reality, but rather as a
constructive negotiation involving at least two
conscious politically significant subjects (Clifford,
quoted by Copans, 2002, p. 101). They suggested the
development of new experiential, interpretive, dialogi-
cal and polyphonic styles. Anthropological know-
ledge based on a systematic description therefore lost
its authority to an ethnographic description based
more on experience (Pink, 2006).
Jean Rouch is considered by all as the father of
this new visual anthropology. He completely chan-
ged the role of the camera and the image: henceforth,the camera was a participant and a collaborator.
The camera as a participant
The camera is no longer a recording tool; it
becomes a field of research. The anthropologist is no
longer considered as the man behind the camera
merely recording the scene unfolding before his eyes.
He is no longer trying to be forgotten, to be an invi-
sible observer or a neutral narrator. Henceforth, the
camera is placed at the heart of the action, in which itbecomes an active player.
The idea of the camera as a participant appeared in
the 1920s in a film by Robert Flaherty on the life of the
Eskimos. In contrast to the colonial approaches of
the time, he didnt film the Eskimos as things so
much as Nanook, an Eskimo as a person. Flaherty
tried to get closer to this man in order to trace his
daily life. He didnt simply follow him around fil-
ming him, but rather engaged him in dialogue and
asked him to collaborate closely with the ethnogra-
phical portrait he was undertaking. Together, they
created a presentation of real situations based on
authentic reconstructions of reality, in which Nanook
plays Nanook. Together, they made the filmNanook,
which tells the story of a mans struggle against
nature for survival (Rouch, 1974). This experience
laid the foundations for dialogic anthropology and
the coming together of perceptions.
During the same period, Dziga Vertov tried to
film the Russian revolution. His goal was not to film
great moments in history but the small elements of
reality, according to a principle that he called
KINOK , or cine-eye. The idea was to show the
world as his eye saw it. He compared the camera to his
eye, which he considered as a sort of omniscientmechanical machine that records everything it sees.
Vertov tried all possible filming techniques to achieve
and record reality in movement: a truth in movement
(de Brigard, 1974).
These two pioneers introduced two new prac-
tices: Flaherty; participation and Vertov; spontaneity.
However, these innovations remained buried for
several decades. It was Jean Rouch who exhumed
them in the 1950s to give birth to a new visual
anthropology in which the image was used in a more
subjective and reflexive way so as to better describe
and understand the sensory experiences of the Other.This evolution was made possible by emerging
new technologies, particularly the portable video
camera, which fundamentally changed the role of the
camera and the ethnologist. Using the camera in a
fixed position meant that you had to place yourself
outside the action and use zoom effects to compen-
sate for your observations rigidity. It reinforced the
sensation of voyeurism. The camera was like a sur-
veillance camera whose task was to record the facts
and gestures of each person, and was often seen as a
violation of privacy. With the advent of new light-
weight, portable video cameras, the anthropologistcould now place himself at the heart of the action and
bring down the invisible wall between the observer
and the observed.
The principle developed by Rouch, which he called
cine-trance by analogy with the trance-like state
often experienced by the cameraman, consists of fil-
ming not rationally but emotionally, following emo-
tional moods as they develop and change throughout
the process. The film-maker goes into a cine-trance
which places him in the center of the action (Colleyn,
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2004). He falls into synchrony with the individuals
being filmed and bases himself in the harmony of the
scene to incorporate the body of the others
(MacDougall, 2006). The images are affected as
much by the person behind the camera is by those in
front of it. In Chronique dun t(1961), Jean Rouch
becomes an actor behind the camera. He is integrated
into the action. We can feel his presence through his
voice and his responses to his subjects (MacDougall,
1974). In La chasse au lion (1967), Rouch is not an
observer of the lion hunt but a hunter in his own
right. He explains that this comes from the fact that
Damour, Moussa, the others and myself participated
in the adventure of the hunt and followed its rules,
i.e., not carrying any weapons and wearing necklacesaround our necks to remain invisible. From the
moment we begin to play this game, we are hunters. In
this film then, we became hunters, we belonged to
the group of hunters (Rouch, 1994, p. 163).
Rouch not only recorded the comments and reac-
tions of his actors on the screen, as in Jaguar, but
also used the presence of the camera to provoke
situations and psychological drama, as is the case inLa
pyramide humaine (1959) (de Brigard, 1974). His
camera entered the heart of the action, modified it,
provoked it and created the reality described
(Colleyn, 2004). This practice fundamentally modi-fied the role of the camera and, consequently, the role
of the researcher in the research process.
The camera is no longer seen as a surveillance
instrument. The ethnographic film is no longer reduced
to a simple recording like the bovine eye of a sur-
veillance camera (Aumont, 2006). The camera is
integrated and involved in the action as an individual in
its own right. The film is a means for the anthropolo-
gist to bring to life the experiences he shares with the
group hes filming (Rouch, 1974). The elements of
one culture are not described in terms of another. The
anthropologist tries, via film, to bring the spectatorinto the experiences of its subjects (MacDougall,
1974). The film-maker must understand and receive
the world. He finds himself in a direct and imme-
diate relationship with what will instantaneously
become the material of his film. He must do every-
thing at once: see, interpret, adapt, cut, and conse-
quently, edit (Aumont, 2006, p. 121). The ethnogra-
phic film is therefore distinguished from a fiction
film by the absence of a script and of a director.
Reality is always ahead of the film-maker, whereas in
a fiction film it is the film-maker who is ahead of rea-
lity, given that he is working from a script (...). With
Rouch, filming is half accidental, embracing the
whims of an event no one really controls (Aumont,
2006, p. 104). The camera deals more with the indivi-
duals than with cultural elements. The individual is at
the heart of the film, which means less fragmented
sequences and greater interaction with the subjects.
The camera is no longer a detached eye but an active
participant in the filming; the film must therefore be
created by an ethnologist with an extremely impor-
tant role to play. The film is centered on a sequence of
open interaction between the person filming and the
people being filmed (Young, 1974).
The researcher lays claim to the distinctive natureof his own view, the particular orientation of his per-
sonal understanding of what he is showing. In La
pyramide humaine, Jaguar and La chasse au lion,
Rouch expresses his own vision, his own experience,
his own view. Similarly, those who express them-
selves in his films speak in their own name (Piault,
2004). In all his films, he presents himself as camera-
man, interviewer, film-maker and ethnologist
(Aumont, 2006). The ethnographer must share his
sensory experiences to understand the lifestyles and
experiences of the Other. The goal is to first identify
the sensory experiences of the Other, then to try tofeel them, but also to stress any differences between
them and his own. Rouch goes from ethnographic
description to describing the subjective content of
consciousnesses.
The camera as collaborator
For many years, anthropology (in general and
visual in particular) was based upon an asymmetrical
relationship between the ethnologist and the inform-
ants. The ethnographic film was conceived as a des-cription of a cultural group (generally from the third
world) by another cultural group (generally Ameri-
can-European). This vision, by definition, created a
barrier between the person filming and the people
being filmed (MacDougall, 2006). Contemporary
visual anthropology seeks to distance itself from this
mentality by prioritizing intersubjectivity and colla-
boration. Collaboration is essential in that the anthro-
pologist must not only be accepted in the community
hes studying but must also obtain the collaboration
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of his subjects. It is not simply a matter of gaining
their willingness to be filmed but also of motivating
them to invest themselves in the research process,
above and beyond the actual shooting.
To begin the process, an insertion period is neces-
sary to lay the foundation for the filming. Its duration
is extremely variable, but in no case should this be
decided by the observer. It is the observed who
decides. It seems all the more fundamental that the
people being filmed are led to collaborate in an extre-
mely active way. Once this is accomplished, it is time
to shoot the film. During this phase, collaboration
with the informants is all the more important because
the aim is not to take pictures but to make pictures or
videos (Becker, 1995). The ethnologist does not tryto take pictures of the individuals or to film them but
rather to make pictures or videos with them. This
collaboration with the subjects allows the camera to be
directed toward the facts that are important for the
actors. Moreover, the individuals being photographed
no longer consider the camera a weapon being pointed
at them but a tool for interaction with the ethnologist.
This expels any sensation of voyeurism or distance.
The video or still camera acquires the power to vali-
date the subjectsvalues (Banks, 1995).
The study often begins with an impromptu film,
and then there is a process of constant back-and-forthbetween filming and going back over what has been fil-
med. The actors are invited to comment on the shots
taken and this generates new questions and new paths
of investigation, which is why it is essential to have a
consensual cooperation between the film-maker and
his subjects. By alternating sessions of looking at the
images, discussions with the informants based on the
images and further filming, understanding of the pro-
cess gradually grows, cinematic description becomes
more and more precise and the analysis becomes
richer. This dialogue mediated by the image heigh-
tens the understanding of reality as much as the way ofpresenting it through film (choices of scenes to be fil-
med and edited). One example of where this proce-
dure was used was in Rouchs La chasse au lion: I
continuously applied the feedback process, every
year coming back with the edited images of what I
had filmed in the previous years. I projected the
black-and-white copy of the last sequences filmed for
the hunters. Basing myself on this projection, I
improvised as to what I would film that year. The
film was created year after year. After seven years I
stopped, because there was no longer any reason to
continue (Rouch, 1974).
Henceforth, the ethnographic film must be consi-
dered as the communication process between the per-
son filming and the people being filmed. By invol-
ving the actors, this technique makes it possible to
gather and identify aspects which had previously
been neglected, hidden or unsuspected (Copans,
2002). Therefore, collaboration does not consist sim-
ply of having individuals react to the images that
have been collected, but also of giving them power
over the production of the images which will represent
them (Pink, 2006). The film-maker and his subjects
become partners in interaction in the progression of
reciprocal knowledge. Knowledge no longer appearsas an ethnographic secret which is stolen then
devoured in the occidental temples of knowledge,
but is now the result of an endless study in which the
studied and the studier take a path together, a shared
anthropology (Rouch, 1994).
Jean Rouch also invented a new way of filming
by turning the laws of visual anthropology on their
head (rules which were not appropriate to an anthro-
pological encounter) and creating a brand of anthro-
pology that was interactive, lively and based on
exchange (Piault, 2004). Positioning the ethnologist
as subject-observer-actor gave visual anthropology anew lease of life as a means of observing and unders-
tanding, particularly for grasping the experiences of
the Other, i.e., the way the individual perceives his
environment and interacts with it, both physically
and culturally (MacDougall, 2006).
The research methods of contemporary visual
anthropology may help us to gain new insights into
consumption processes and, more particularly, into
consumption experiences, whether these be shopping
or usage experiences. The term consumption expe-
rience is meant here in its widest interpretation and
refers to the real-life experience of the individual in aconsumption situation. This can, of course, be based
on an extraordinary situation or an ordinary day-to-
day situation. What is important is the analysis of the
experience in the situational context (watching a
football game, vacuuming, tinkering in the shed,
shopping at the supermarket, eating, etc.). From this
viewpoint, the study consists of understanding the
personal interpretation of consumption experiences
(Marion, 2003), i.e., the way individuals relate to
their consumption situations, whether in terms of
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purchasing behavior or the behavior surrounding
using products and services. The research method
developed by Rouch may shed new light on
consumption experiences, not by talking about the
experience as in the past, but by using a device which
records the entirety of the sensory and emotional per-
ceptions of the consumer, and follows his evolution
throughout the consumption process.
In marketing, to our knowledge, only two resear-
chers have taken up this path. Marcoux and Legoux
(2005) were inspired by the methodological prin-
ciples developed by Jean Rouch to study the expe-
rience of marketing activities around Ground Zero.
By alternating filming sessions in New York, picture
viewing sessions and theoretical reflection, the tworesearchers explored the commercial activities linked
to the sale of souvenirs from September 11 and the
perceptions of visitors when confronted with these
commercial activities. Their film, Ground zero: a
contested market, highlighted the controversial role
of commerce in the memory construction process.
Anthropologists are also working in this vein. For
example, we can cite the ethnographic film made by
Mercier (2006) which traces his experiences at Tati,
the study conducted by Ibanez-Bueno (2006) on the
involvement of the body in webcam communication,
or the work of Sarah Pink (2006) on keeping a house-hold. Throughout this last study, conducted in colla-
boration with the Unilever Research Center, Pink and
others made video visits to forty men and women,
during which she was able to reconstruct their sen-
sory experiences of their houses and the way they
were kept. These video visits made her realize that
the feeling of home is not only created by objects but
also by sensory experiences (music, smell, light,
touch, etc). This illustration gives us a glimpse of
visual anthropologys potential to help us understand
consumption experiences. Visual anthropology can
give us a new vision of consumption behavior by
trying to better understand the sensory experiences ofconsumers, whether from a sales point of view or in
relation to using products.
CONCLUSION
Throughout the 20th century, the first visual
anthropologists, such as Mead or Collier, tried to
make the use of video and photographic images legiti-
mate by engaging in mainstream positivist research,
inserting the image in the anthropological
approaches of the times. Recently, under the impetus
of Jean Rouch and David MacDougall, visual anthro-
pology started to break away from the positivist para-
digm and to propose research methods based on a
more reflexive and comprehensive epistemology
which subordinated factual data and gave precedence
to meaning being interpreted by and for the subject
(Wunenburger, 2001). This approach changed our
general understanding of the image and its status in the
research process from the status of a tool to the status
of a field of research. The camera is no longer a mere
recording device and the anthropologist need no longer
be considered as the man behind the camera recor-
ding the scenes unfolding before his eyes. He is no
longer required to erase his presence, to be an invi-
sible observer or a neutral narrator. Henceforth, the
camera is placed at the heart of the action, in which it
becomes an active participant. In this way, we havewitnessed a transition from a voyeuristic brand of
anthropology to a reflexive and collaborative anthro-
pology in which visual anthropology gains new
momentum as a method of observing and understan-
ding, particularly as a way of comprehending the
experiences of the Other.
Until now, the (very few) marketing researchers
who have incorporated the image into their research
process have essentially followed the first school of
thought, i.e., to use video and still cameras as tools.
Although this approach has been extremely valuable in
that it has allowed the analysis of new facets ofconsumption behavior, it is also worth considering a
more reflexive approach, which brings with it a new
understanding of consumption experiences, whether
shopping or usage related. This is not a question of
simply enriching text and photographic descriptions
by adding sound and movement but of completely
altering the role of the camera in the marketing
research project so as to be more able to comprehend
the individuals personal perception of his consump-
tion experiences.
The contribution made by visual anthropology to the study of consumption behavior 75
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