SHOWING CULTURAL CONTEXT AND REVEALING CULTURAL MOTIVATION: “OBSERVATION” AND “PARTICIPATION” IN FOLK CULTURE DOCUMENTARIES

Peng Zhuang

PhD Candidate, PhD Candidate, Department of Communication, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 43400.

Hani Salwah Yaakup

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 43400

Siti Aishah binti Hj Mohammad Razi

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 43400.

Chin Mooi San

Senior Lecturer, Faculty of Modern Languages and Communication, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 43400

Keywords: Folk Culture Documentary, Folk Culture, Observation, Participation


Abstract

“Observation” and “participation” are the two most important creation modes in the history of documentaries. Both represent different documentary ethics and views of the reality. This paper takes folk culture documentary as an example. It combines folk culture documentary with specific folk culture cases. It analyzes the ways of “observation” and “participation” in folk culture documentary production by showing cultural context, explaining human behavior, and revealing cultural motivation.