Health, Wealth, & Chutney on the Side
By: South India Term Abroad
Tags: India, Health, Research, Study Abroad, Filmmaking

Health, Wealth, & Chutney on the Side

Kaitlyn Hickmann, Colorado College

Who said an independent study needs to be a paper? Film and Media Studies major, Kaitlyn Hickmann (Colorado College ’19), proves that ethnographic work can be dynamic, visual, and undeniably artistic. Her documentary, “Health, Wealth, & Chutney on the Side,” showcases her talent and, we imagine, will put her on the map as a budding filmmaker. We caught up with her for a short conversation about film production, social theory, studying abroad, and the need for hard drive protectors.

What inspired this project?

Kaitlyn: I knew I wanted to make a documentary while I was in Madurai. There are too many incredible potential film subjects (raincheck on “A Day in the Life of a Female Rickshaw Driver”)! The subject of this documentary ended up being more a matter of circumstance than anything else. When I got to India, one of my most significant initial struggles I faced was continually being overfed and having nowhere to go for runs. I was surprised to discover a western-style gym in Madurai, and also surprised to discover the extent of my host mom’s knowledge about medicinal food and health. I was also surprised to find that pizza and corn were considered luxurious foods, and I wondered why billboards around town featured cheeseburgers and white women working out. I made this film to delve deeper into my curiosities, to examine intersections of gender, class, and health, and because Dr. Ted thought it would be interesting. He was right!

Watch Kaitlyn’s documentary film:

Health, Wealth, & Chutney on the Side

Why did you decide to make a film instead of writing a project?

Kaitlyn: I am a Film and Media Studies major at Colorado College. I love visual storytelling. I knew that no matter how much I wrote, I would not be able to convey, in words, what I wanted to convey and could with video. Madurai is a place of vibrant colors and sounds. I wanted to be able to immerse a viewer, as best as I could, in that world. I also wanted to challenge myself as a film student. Before this project, I had never attempted a film on my own, had never produced a film in a different country, and had never attempted to make a film with my own (minimal) equipment.

This film was produced in conjunction with the classes Ethnographic Methods & Theories and Research in Madurai. How did those classes impact the film making process?

Kaitlyn: All the required classes at SITA — Ethnographic Methods & Theories and Research in Madurai, as well as Functional Tamil Language — helped me tremendously in understanding the ethical implications of filmmaking abroad. I didn’t want to exotify and “Other” the community of Madurai. Ethnographic Methods & Theories helped me to understand the importance of participation in research. I was a member of the communities in which I was filming; I took a Bollywood dance class at Youforia Dance Studio, I ran on the treadmills at Maverick Fitness almost daily, and I lived and ate with my host family. I didn’t anticipate any of these communities being subjects of research before I felt immersed in them. Being able to speak basic Tamil significantly enhanced my ability to feel like I could belong to and understand these communities better. Ethnography doesn’t lend itself to one specific medium; by nature, it is versatile. For the question I sought to research, a film felt like the best medium through which to explore and share my findings.

There seems to be a lot of theory subtly embedded within the images and commentary of the film. Did you think about this during the filming and editing process?

Kaitlyn: I did think about theory during the editing process. The main thing that I thought about was not wanting to restrict the complexity of the story I was trying to tell and the peoples’ lives I was trying to represent. This meant including statements from women about the unique obstacles they faced to be healthy, and including footage and comments pertaining to the intersections of health and socioeconomic status. I hoped to show the intersectional nature of health, gender and class throughout the film in a more implicit, integrated way than with an outright statement.

How is this film different than ones you’d produce at Colorado College?

Kaitlyn: First, this film was different in that so many new, potentially exciting or beautiful stories were available to me in Madurai than are in Colorado! Often, I struggle to come up with a film idea, but in Madurai, I found that I had more ideas, questions, and curiosities than could ever be satiated by one project. I’d love to return and make another film or ten. Second, this film was different in which resources were available to me. At CC, I’m lucky to have a wide selection of equipment and a crew of other film majors eager and available to help on films. This was the first film I had ever undertaken by myself, and the only equipment available to me was the equipment I brought: a DSLR, a tripod, a mic, and three hard drives. I did not anticipate the incredible amount of honking that would be present in the background of ALL of my interviews (lavalier mics would have been a great idea, as would have a camera with a headphone jack). I also did not anticipate that I would drop one of my hard drives from the top bunk of a night train (bye bye college photos) and lose two other hard drives to weird, deathly clicking noises. There were definitely some low and lonely moments in the filmmaking process, and I would not have been able to complete the film without help from SITA friend/soon-to-be associate producer Helena Kleiner or without guidance from Dr. Ted, but overcoming those lows to make something I could be proud of felt amazing.

What advice would you give a film student looking to study abroad?

Kaitlyn: My first piece of advice would be, seriously, to buy hard drive protectors. And bring an extra hard drive or two. Prepare to have low moments, so that when you inevitably do, they don’t deter you from believing you are capable of creating something. Embrace the struggle. Aside from that, my advice would be to follow your curiosity and be open-minded when it takes you somewhere you may not have expected. Like I said, there were so many incredible topics and opportunities in Madurai; I expected to make a film about women and Hinduism… or Dalit activism… or climate change… or any of the other hundred stories I came across. The health & fitness story sort of just fell in my lap, and in hindsight, I’m glad it did. In hindsight, I’m also very glad I went to a place like Madurai, where I knew nothing of the culture, because it inspired so many questions in me. And I’m very glad I chose SITA, because this film never would have been possible without the independence offered by the Research in Madurai course and the incredible amount of support SITA offered through translation help and community partnerships. I am so, so grateful to have had the opportunity.

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