by Anthroman on Thu Feb 07, 2008 10:44 am
Did you know that some cultures believe that capturing the human image either by still photograghs or recorded video footage also captures the soul? When Anthropologists first began including pictures and photographs in their ethnographic studies, some cultures refused to allow their pictures to be taken or videos to be made of them. After much explanation and pleading by Anthropologists, they finally began to allow the use of image and video recorders. Today, many of the same cultures welcome camera crews and photography, as they now acknowledge the novelty and value that recorded images and video have in documenting important events and passing them down to future generations.