Women Rule Our Tribe
Rachel Dupuy, London
I remember the first time I came across matriarchal societies, I questioned if they really existed; it was like I was being told the tooth fairy really does come around at night to collect children's teeth. I was flabbergasted and excited, at 16, I was sitting at the edge of my chair going nuts that we actually have societies where women are superior- I thought it was all a fantasy! Of course there aren't many, and the societies that do have women in the ranks, are ones that are gradually being corrupted by outside cultures and tourism that insist their way of life is wrong, and they have to modify it. The fact that they're even considered a tourist attraction due to their cultural ways is almost offensive. It's so out of the ordinary to see a non-contemporary society where women are the ones who choose whether or not they want to marry, and where men follow their wives' family. However, it's not like they have horns on their heads- it's just their society's way of life- and for people to think they can come in, take pictures and point out that this is very odd- well, it makes it even more of a spectacle than it should be.
Rachel Dupuy, a self shooting free lance artist from the United Kingdom and is proficient in French, Spanish, and Mandarin. She has shot many videos abroad, Women Rule Our Tribe was filmed in a five part documentary series about contemporary China. As an aeteur, she created most of her pieces to reveal and dissect different cultures for others to learn. Her language proficiency certainly aids her ability to be open minded when writing and shooting her pieces. To know a language, is to understand a culture, and accept their way of life.
In the piece, she chooses to edit together the presumptions the village people know outsiders have about their culture. They address the comments straight forwardly and make sure to emphasize that they're not going to change their way of life, despite the fact that tourists are flocking the small village to observe their unique society. However, by the end of the clip there's a tension- despite the fact that the main two speakers both said they won't change their traditions, things have already changed. The dances women used to do to pick a mate, is now for tourists. Change is gradually occurring and a loss of culture is very likely to result, especially since they're now dependent on tourism for economic and technological improvements. Dupuy did a fantastic job in sharing this small village's customs with the audience, however, it doesn't seem like she has confidence that the culture will remain either since she spent much time discussing the issue of tourism.
I really want to see the whole film after watching the clip. It's interesting to think about our cultural fascination with matriarchal societies -- even as far as we've come, a future with any matriarchal societies seems like an impossibility.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have to say might not have anything to do with the auteur...but I saw the clip and it reminded me of my trip back to China this summer with my family. We went on a tour to Phoenix City where it used to be a very old village full of history and tradition of many different tribes that reside there. When we arrived to the "Old City", what we saw wasn't what we've expected. On these old, and may I say beautiful architectures were decorated with LED lights (looks like Christmas lights) which I think ruins the whole purpose of the town. They did this because of the tourists and the money they can make because it is not a rich town. But I feel like tourism ruins the whole town...there was another part across the lake and during the night time, it is FULL of lights displaying bars after bars, playing really loud music. I don't see that as "tradition". It really breaks my heart to see all these tribes in China being influenced by tourists and the media.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate Rachel Dupuy for creating this wonderful documentary to inform others about the TRUTH on Mosou's traditions and their way of life.