Beyond the Frame: Use of Augmented Screenings as a Visual Methodology in Critical Event Studies

Abstract

Disrupt is an ongoing project exploring methodologies appropriate to critical perspectives in event studies, suitable for researching activism, protest, and events of dissent. This article considers the use of augmented film screenings, which combine cinematic presentation with nonfilm/live elements and panel-led discussions, as one of the approaches trialed as part of the project. Rooted in techniques based in photo and video elicitation, while incorporating aspects of the use of film to educate, stimulate, and provoke radical debate, employed by Latin American activists since the 1960s, the augmented screening approach explored in this article formulates an innovative approach in evental visual research methodology. Going further than photo and video elicitation, it combined film with live disruptive elements in the attendee experience to legitimize participant engagement with narratives that challenge the dominant hegemonic discourses in which we act and interact. In conclusion we consider some of the limitations and opportunities of evental research methods that use film as a key element within a framework anchored in a visual elicitation approach.