Public Visual Anthropology as a Form of Cultural Mediation: “Sincere Conversations” in Media Projects about Contemporary Dagestan

Abstract

The article analyzes contemporary audiovisual representations of Dagestani culture and shows how documentary filmmakers, bloggers, and journalists reproduce and reinterpret approaches of public visual anthropology. Against the backdrop of profound socio-cultural transformations, contemporary films capture the tension between collective norms, patriarchal notions of gender roles, and individual strategies of self-determination. The empirical basis of the study consists of three films: They Also Dreamed (2020), Dagestan. Great Beauty (2022), and Life Around a Wedding (2020). These works are united by the use of ethnographic methods, attention to everyday practices, and the effort to give voice to local communities. Special attention is paid to female narratives, which intertwine adherence to the “old order” and the pursuit of subjectivity. The films function as forms of cultural mediation, where the format of sincere conversation plays a significant role. The article demonstrates how new media create a space for public anthropology and construct a multilayered image of contemporary Dagestan.