powdermaker problem iuaes 2016v2
TRANSCRIPT
The Powdermaker ProblemWhy Business Ethnographers Should Read Industry Trade Press
John McCreery, The Word Works, Ltd. [email protected]
The Author & The Book
In 1950, anthropologist Hortense Powdermaker published what Wikipedia describes as “the first and still the only substantial anthropological study of the film industry.”
Kirkus Reviews
An anthropologist's coolly scientific and thoroughly documented analysis of the transient, illusionary world of Hollywood which shows the interaction of the dreams it manufactures on our society-from which-in turn-they stem. Believing that Hollywood is not a reflection but rather a "caricature of selected contemporary tendencies", this book analyzes prevalent types and techniques as well; the accent on sex and money; the impermanence and instability of the life there; the power of the front office, of censorship, of monopolies of production and distribution; producers, writers, directors, and the rewards which are financial rather than occupational; the star system—and the publicization of private lives; and the whole inclination of this society towards the totalitarian rather than the democratic. Facts as well as faces brighten the examination which is not too seriously angled to catch popular interest.
A Sociologist
"Hollywood as 'Dream Factory' just Nightmare to Femme Anthropologist”—so runs the headline over the Variety review of this book. The Variety reviewer, Herb Golden, goes on to call it a "dull and tedious tome," remarks that it gets "downright silly" at times, and says that most of it could have been put together by any hep Hollywood correspondent in two weeks." He dismisses the author as naive and the book as a gimmick. Mr. Golden, no dope, has hit the nail squarely on the head.
Robert BierstedtUniversity of Illinois
American Sociological Review, vol. 17. 1951
Thus, The Problem
Why was one review so positive, while the other was so negative?
Two Propositions
• The difference between the two reviews suggests important lessons for business anthropology.
• One of the most important is that business ethnographers should read industry trade press.
Our World Today
“Anthropology no longer operates under the ideal of discovering new worlds like explorers of the fifteenth century. Rather we step into a stream of already existing representations produced by journalists, prior anthropologists, historians, creative writers, and of course the subjects of study themselves.”
George E. Marcus and Michael M.J. Fischer Anthropology as Cultural Critique: An Experimental Moment in the Human Sciences.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1999, p. xx.
For Business Anthropologists
• “The subjects of study themselves” are business insiders.
• What we see as interesting, they may see as common sense.
• Our analysis may thus seem shallow.
• It may also seem insulting.
A Useful Hint
From Howard Golden’s review in Variety
“Most of it could have been put together by any hep Hollywood correspondent in two weeks.”
Industry Trade Press
• Newspapers, magazines, and other publications that cover industry news and analyze industry trends
• To which we can now add blogs and websites
Examples from Japan
Magazines
Books
Annuals
Public Data
What can we learn?
Identify Current Issues
What industry insiders think is important and what they see as pressing problems
Add Historical Depth
• Trade press publications are archived, making it possible to see current issues in historical context.
• Demonstrating knowledge makes interviews more productive.
• References to industry history make insights more persuasive.
Quick ethnography
What Anthro Adds
A Final Thought
Three Rules
• Speak the client’s language—Reading the trade press will teach you that language
• Have something unexpected to say —Reading the trade press from an anthropologist’s perspective may suggest useful insights
• Leave room for further development—Remember, you’re working with others who will also want to have a say
Thank You