"Real" Second Chance

One thing I noticed repeatedly throughout both the Spitulnik and Ginsburg readings was how much truth and the concept of “real” play a subtle but important role in not just media but also the anthropological study of this media. Media, especially ethnographic or indigenous media not only have the potential responsibility of portraying different cultures unknown to the viewing audience, but also holds, maybe inappropriately so, the privilege of actually defining these cultures. This privilege can be seen as especially powerful as well as especially dangerous when one considers all the different aspects that make up the balance of media and the truth that goes into it, including producers, editors, audience, actual content, the labels given to the subjects, etc. This idea resonates with the producer of “If by Chance We Meet Again” when he so obviously antagonizes the bull owner and almost outwardly mocks him to his face in his questioning. Suddenly the piece is no longer a sad story of a man and his pet but a caricature of a man in the outskirts of America living an arguably crazy life. This one portrayal of the attitude of the producer eliminated, for me at least, the truth in the story and made it more of a work of fiction instead of a portrayal of a real man’s life.