Through Navajo Eyes: An Exploration in Film Communication and Anthropology

Originally published in 1972, this pioneering book has become a classic in visual anthropology. Worth and Adair set out to answer the question, What would happen if someone from a culture that makes and uses motion pictures taught people who have never made or used motion pictures to do so for the first time? They taught filmmaking and editing to a group of six Navajos in Pinetree, Arizona. This book explains what happened, what they and the Navajos said and thought about what happened, and how they analyzed the films in a cultural context. The films, still available for rent, are described in detail and illustrated with still photographs. Richard Chalfen, a research assistant on the original project in 1966, has updated the book with a thorough discussion of the importance of the Navajo project and a critical assessment of the reactions to it.