Local and Universal: The Canadian Inuit and the Irish Aran Islanders in the Films of Robert J. Flaherty

• Published in: Open Library of Humanities
• Main Author: Krisztina Kodó
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: Open Library of Humanities 2023
• Subjects: Robert J. Flaherty; Eskimo-Inuit; Aran Islander; Canadian Northern Myth; Noble Savage; locality versus universality; History of scholarship and learning. The humanities; AZ20-999; eskimo*; inuit
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.16995/olh.8866; https://doaj.org/article/98c12ab9be8143ffb16903588d446b29

The article considers the question of locality and universality regarding two locations and populations: the Inuit of the Canadian North, and the Aran Islanders living off the western coast of Ireland. These locations provide the setting for Robert J. Flaherty’s documentary films Nanook of the North (1922) and Man of Aran (1934). The two films attempt to reveal the essence of human nature through illustrations of human beings living under elemental conditions. Comparing the two films, this article explores tendencies toward locality and universality. It addresses the cinematic medium in relation to Walter Benjamin’s ‘The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction’ (1935) and the effects of the culture industry as described in Max Horkheimer and Theodor Adorno’s critical essay, ‘The Culture Industry: Enlightenment as Mass Deception’ (1944). The article considers whether Flaherty’s films prove wrong Benjamin’s argument that modern technology erases the aura surrounding works of art in pre-technological times. This article argues that the aura of Flaherty’s films may instead be considered an artistic effect that is specific to modern times, expressing the poetic vision of their maker.