Educational Media Reviews Online

Framing the Other is a short documentary that examines the tensions between tourists and the inhabitants of a southern Ethiopian village. In recent years, the Mursi tribe’s village has become a tourist attraction for visitors looking to experience an “authentic” African village. The Mursi are particularly popular with tourists because the women adorn themselves with large plates in their lower lips and other elaborate decorations. The film follows Nell, a Dutch tourist planning to visit the village, and alternates interviews with her and Nadonge, a Mursi woman whom Nell meets during her visit. Nadonge explains that her village relies on the tourists’ money, collected from “entrance fees” to the village and for taking photos with the Mursi. To meet the heightened expectations of what tourists want to see at the village, Nadonge says the Mursi have invented some decorations and modes of dressing just for the tourists, calling into question the authenticity of the experience. The primary value of Framing the Other rests in its treatment of the tensions between constructed reality and lived reality, and while somewhat heavy-handed in its juxtapositions of Nell and Nadonge, it is nevertheless a valuable tool to initiate discussions about the impact of tourism on local communities and other associated issues. As such, Framing the Other would be appropriate for academic libraries to support courses in anthropology, sociology, critical/cultural studies, tourism studies, and communication. Public libraries might also be interested, although the high price for a relatively short film might put it out of reach for some.

In English and Mursi, with English or French subtitles.