Ethnographic Analysis Of The Film Oil And Water

Oil and Water, a documentary film that concentrates on the tense relationship between the people of Ecuador and oil field companies, provides an important view of the difficulties of the Cofán people. While the film does focus on a particular culture, does this make the film ethnographic? The fact that the film has an intention of spreading environmental awareness about Ecuadorian communities rather than being a study on a culture in Ecuador suggests it is not. However, that does not mean that there are not ethnographic attributes. This film analyses will select and identify the following attributes that are present in Oil and Water: appropriateness of sound, narration, point of view, physical contextualization, whole people, the ethnographer’s presence, and culture change that is made explicit.
The first attribute that is present in the film is the appropriateness of sound. The film uses natural, synchronous sound throughout the film. This can be expected due to the fact that it is a
recent film and the advancements in technology allow for this to be easily accomplished. Oil and Water also uses background music to better drive home the setting of the film. Music that includes drums, flutes, and other instruments that have South American flair are played over shots of the landscape and other scenes of importance. The film does not allow the music to overshadow what is happening in a scene and is not used to the point of being overbearing. Oil and Water finds a happy medium that works with the film.
The film often uses narration over certain scenes that require an added explanation. These scenes were usually the animated sections of the film that required voice over work to explain the images to the viewer. Subtitles were also included during interviews with the Cofán people. The indigenous population spoke their native language and the subtitles were used to allow the audience to understand their native tongue.
The point of view of Oil and Water is that of local and ethnographic voices. The filmmaker follows the activity of both an American and Cofán activist, giving contrasting points of views. The American advocate, David, provides an outsider’s perspective on the environmental concerns of Ecuador as well as his own motives. He was a man who saw an injustice being ignored and decided to step in to raise awareness and find a solution. The Cofán advocate presents an emic perspective as an actual citizen of Ecuador. He experienced first hand the devastation and hard ships that were forced on his people by the oil companies that invaded their land. His choice to go to America and receive an education to better help him prepare to lead his village was a defining point in his story and carries on through the rest of the film. The filmmaker also includes interviews of other members of the Cofán population, offering many different stories and experiences that they had with the oil companies.
Oil and Water uses the attribute of physical contextualization by being well set in the physical environment. The environmental destruction cannot be adequately conveyed without the use of long shots of the landscape. The negligence of the oil companies that resulted in oil spills and open pits of crude oil are backed up by actual footage of the sites. There are numerous shots of the Cofán villages and their lands that they use for hunting and fishing. Contaminated rivers are shown as well as the boundaries that have been placed on them by the oil companies. The use of this attribute also accomplishes the juxtaposition of the industrial and natural worlds. The pipelines, oil field trucks, and rigs that are shown cutting their way through the jungles of Ecuador bring about the sense of something being lost. The shots of the environmental changes bring about an emotion that allows the audience to sympathize with the Cofán.
The use of whole people also utilizes the emotions of the audience by allowing them to develop feelings of empathy for the Cofán and animosity for the faceless oil companies. The film centers on the advocates for the environmental improvements of Ecuador. By following the exploits of the activists and listening to their triumphs and failures, the viewer can identify with the subjects and begin to root for them. The director also includes a back-story for each of the advocates that create another avenue for sentiment.
Another attribute that the film employs is the ethnographer’s presence. While the ethnographer is never actually seen on camera, his existence is made known through interviews with different individuals. Because the film is not a true ethnography that seeks to observe a culture in its natural state, there was no concern for a distortion in the behavior of the subjects.
While Oil and Water focuses on environmental change in Ecuador, the cultural changes that have taken place because of it are acknowledged.
The Cofán are shown being relocated by greedy companies that were following the lines of oil that ran throughout the region. In addition to this, the oil companies took areas that were previously used for hunting and fishing. Land that was important to the Cofán way of life was taken away and that influenced their culture. Footage of the Cofán using outboard boats shows that western technology had made it’s way to the Cofán population and was utilized. However, another point of the film is to show how the Cofán were taking action against the rising threat to their way of life. The fact that one of the advocates for the Cofán people is a member of the culture itself proves that they are not lying down and accepting the injustices done against them. Oil and Water provides the unique viewpoint of a culture that is fighting to retain their
identity.
Oil and Water infiltrates the corrupt world of oil companies who invade countries that do not have the means to resist them. This film was made to raise public awareness of the conflict in Ecuador as well as to show the harmful changes that have influenced the cultures in the area. Though it is not ethnographic, per se, it does provide an important insight into the life of the Cofán people. The most valuable point that is taken away from the film is the resilience of the Cofán. While there have been changes to their culture, they have not allowed it to be taken from them. The Cofán adapt to their changing world without completely losing their culture and they take active measures to preserve it. The most important action that they have taken is that of asserting their legal rights and pushing back against the oil companies that have taken over their territories.
The troubles and suffering of the Ecuadorian people who were mistreated by the oil companies are better demonstrated through film. To read about the environmental destruction and it’s effects on the Cofán way of life would not have been as poignant as the images that are shown through film. In addition to the use of live action footage, the film also implements animation to better convey the information that the director is trying to put across. The written word would not have properly conveyed the information that is better fleshed out in the documentary.
Oil and Water is more of an environmental awareness film rather than an ethnographic film. The film focuses on the intrusion of oil companies and how the Cofán are combating their advances, rather than solely on their culture. However, the ethnographic attributes of appropriateness of sound, narration, point of view, physical contextualization, whole people, the ethnographer’s presence, and culture change that is made explicit are present. While it cannot technically be labeled an ethnographic film, Oil and Water still offers important information on the Cofán people.