Lewis, David 
ORCID: 0000-0003-0732-9020, Rodgers, Dennis and Woolcock, Michael
(2013)
The projection of development: cinematic representation as a(nother) source of authoritative knowledge?
The Journal of Development Studies, 49 (3).
pp. 383-397.
ISSN 0022-0388
Abstract
Popular representations of development need to be taken seriously (though not uncritically) as sources of authoritative knowledge, not least because this is how most people in the global North (and elsewhere) 'encounter' development issues. To this end, and building on the broader agenda presented in a previous article exploring the usefulness of literary representations of development, we consider three different types of cinematic representations of development: films providing uniquely instructive insights, those unhelpfully eliding and simplifying complex processes, and those that, with the benefit of historical hindsight, usefully convey a sense of the prevailing assumptions that guided and interpreted the efficacy of development-related interventions at a particular time and place. We argue that the commercial and technical imperatives governing the production of contemporary films, and 'popular' films in particular, generate a highly variable capacity to 'accurately' render key issues in development, and thereby heighten their potential to both illuminate and obscure those issues.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Official URL: | http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/fjds20 |
| Additional Information: | © 2013 Taylor & Francis |
| Divisions: | Social Policy |
| Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HN Social history and conditions. Social problems. Social reform P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN1993 Motion Pictures |
| Date Deposited: | 27 Feb 2013 14:50 |
| Last Modified: | 01 Apr 2024 08:20 |
| URI: | http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/48855 |
Actions (login required)
 |
View Item |
