Data and documentariesMethodological hybridizations in activism

  1. Miren Gutiérrez 1
  1. 1 Universidad de Deusto
    info

    Universidad de Deusto

    Bilbao, España

    ROR https://ror.org/00ne6sr39

Revista:
Catalan journal of communication & cultural studies

ISSN: 1757-1898

Ano de publicación: 2020

Volume: 12

Número: 2

Páxinas: 315-332

Tipo: Artigo

DOI: 10.1386/CJCS_00035_1 DIALNET GOOGLE SCHOLAR

Outras publicacións en: Catalan journal of communication & cultural studies

Obxectivos de Desenvolvemento Sustentable

Resumo

Hybridization permeates all fields of communication: documentaries are no exception. One example is The Left-to-Die Boat by Forensic Architecture (FA), an audio-visual account of how 63 refugees lost their lives in 2011 when their ship was adrift in the waters of Libya. The Left-to-Die Boat combines documentary techniques with data analysis and visualizations to expose a tragedy, change migration policies and sustain court cases. Based on critical data and documentary studies, this article inspects the methodological hybridization proposed by FA in six documentaries. The questions are: how does FA hybridize? What are the outcomes of this hybridization? What is hybridization today? The analysis links these documentaries’ characteristics with functions and outcomes, offering a taxonomy that can be employed beyond this study. The findings indicate that activism is taking multidimensional forms, blurring the boundaries separating documentaries, data science and art in search of impact.

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