Observation in the Dark

From Impfondo, the INCEF educators and I traveled by car and on foot to an outlying village, Makolongoulu, located north of the town along the banks of the Obangui River. With us, we carried a small portable generator (“portable” is a generous term for this heavy, awkward piece of equipment), and Pelican cases containing the projector, hard drives, and laptops that will be used to screen the films once we reach the village. We also brought tents, sleeping pads, some food, and lots of drinking water.

Our arrival in the village was almost like a procession: by the time we reached the center of the village, which is strung along the river’s edge for about half a mile, we had acquired a number of ad hoc assistants carrying some of our equipment, and a train of small children tagging along…to stare at me. While both INCEF educators are well known in the village, having conducted film screenings here before, I am a new face and the object of some attention for that reason.

Our first stop after arrival in the village is the home of the village chief, where we are welcomed and shown to the location where we will set up our tents. This first conversation is another form of les civilites, the formal, face-to-face communication we engage in with authority figures. The village chief is a government appointee, and his consent is necessary before we may begin any work. The chief also arranges for the crieur – a sort of town crier – to walk through the entire village announcing the program activities through an electronic megaphone in order to inform village residents of the time and place, who should participate, and other information to promote the program.  

The sun begins to set, and the set up for the film screenings begins. Here at the equator, sunset is around 6:15pm every day, and by 6:00 it is quite dark. Gradually it dawns on me that, of course, the films must be screened in the dark. The audience assembles in front of a white tarp that has been strung between two trees. Each person brings a chair, and sets it down in a small semi-circle. Without any electricity, once the sun sets here it is dark. I know this sounds obvious, but without any ambient light it is nearly impossible to see the audience. I can’t see their expressions, or observe their movements as they watch the films. The group is very fluid, with people coming and going according to their own plan. At times both during and after each short film the lead educator, Mika, addresses the audience through a megaphone, to repeat and reinforce the basic message of each film. Sometimes, audience members call out responses to actions or words in the films, or in response to a question Mika has asked.

Older women and men seem to be the core of the audience, seated near the front. Many of the women are holding babies and small children, who also cry, run around, and talk. Around the periphery of the audience group, younger men stand, coming and going throughout the screening. Although there is no electrical service to Makolongoulu, the village does have cell phone reception and many of these younger men are texting or talking on their phones during the film screening. At times they also call out responses, or make side comments about the films to their friends. In the back of my mind, I am reminded of the TV show Mystery Science Theater 3000 (MST3K to its fans), where puppets screen old B movies while offering their own commentary and dialogue through the entire film. Once this analogy has popped into my head, it’s difficult to dislodge – one of the hazards of observational research for someone with a long personal history of immersion in American popular culture, I am learning.

Overall, the scene could be described as chaotic and disorganized, if one were only to take the perspective of an outsider. My job is to set aside these judgments – and my initial random TV analogies – and try to understand what is happening in this scene from the perspective of the participants. To them, I slowly begin to understand, this scene is not chaotic. It does make sense. I am the only one disoriented by the darkness and the multiple voices speaking at once. I am going to have to learn to perform my observations in the dark, and to untangle the threads of the various types of speech going on around me.    

Above, a photo of lead INCEF educator Mika (left) with the Community Relay contact in Makolongoulu (right)