Nunavut:
Inuit television and cultural citizenship
- Avi Santo
- University of Texas at Austin, USA, avisanto@mail.utexas.edu
Source
doi: 10.1177/1367877904047860 International Journal of Cultural Studies December 2004 vol. 7 no. 4 379-397
Abstract
This article expands the discussion of Inuit broadcasting in northern Canada to
encompass actual texts, about which little has been written. Specifically, I focus
on Nunavut, a 13-part television series produced in 1994-5 by Igloolik
Isuma Productions. Nunavut is considered the first dramatic series to be
created entirely by Inuit. While drawing upon Ginsburg’s emphasis on the
significance of ‘embedded aesthetics’ to indigenous media
producers, I argue that Nunavut’s visual and narrative forms are
essential to its cultural and political goals of sustaining and reviving Inuit
culture, and, therefore, that any exploration of the series must not separate form
from intention. I also build on John Hartley’s arguments for
conceptualizing television as a teacher of cultural citizenship. Inuit media
productions not only teach Inuit about their culture, but how to practice it. In
this sense, Inuit media has been a significant source in mobilizing cultural
citizenship. Nunavut’s aesthetic and narrative choices, which
attempt to link past and present Inuit identity and forge a political future that
encompasses indigenous identity, exemplify TV’s ‘love of
influence’ (Hartley, 1999: 43).
Keywords
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