This book argues for a new anthropology of the moving image, bringing together an important range of essays on time-based media in the contemporary arts and anthropology.

It builds on recent attempts to develop more experimental formats and engages with debates on epistemologies of ethnography, relational aesthetics, materiality, sensory ethnography, and observational and participatory cinema. Arnd Schneider critically revisits Baudrillard’s idea of the simulacrum and the hyperreal, engages with new media theory, and elaborates on the potential of the Writing Culture critique for moving image practices bordering art and anthropology.

This collection of essays is essential reading for anybody working across the fields of visual anthropology, film and media studies and visual studies. Schneider ambitiously considers the complex relationship between the moving image and anthropology, highlighting the potential for innovative approaches, experimental methods, and expanded perspectives in both fields.