Though there may be good ethnographic content in the film, you need to know the limits of the ethnographic record and the filmmaker's message. Look for these problems. Western ideas of filmmaking interfere with good anthropology Karl Hieder points out that westerners have a peculiar idea that the most important part of the body to film is the head, the locus of speech and emotion that is quite visible. Remember that good information can come from the visual when it is put into the hands of those being studied. Some excellent work has also been done when the visual tools are put into the hands of those being studied.
Perspectives are often very different.
Where to get additional information For an excellent coverage of the problems, please see Karl Heider's book Ethnographic Film . A major journal addresses the topic of visual anthropology. Visual Anthropology Review is published by the Society for Visual Anthropology, a unit of the American Anthropological Association. Several journals regularly publish anthropology film reviews, most notably American Anthropologist . The University of Southern California maintains The Center for Visual Anthropology where you can get additional information.