Au Tour du Monde/Deserted Histories
Alex Fulmer - May 18

The introduction of the Suez Canal, steamboats and the transcontinental railroad forever altered the methods with which cultures spatially conceptualized the world around them, specifically the relationship between imperialist nations and their empires. Due to this cultural shift brought about by further access to the world itself, having access to visual representations of the entire world via the film camera was of high priority to Parisians attempting to include all nations within their “universal” Parisian culture. Therefore, in sending camera operators to all corners of the world to capture the diverse ways that humans live across all borders, filmmakers such as the Pathé Freres were not only bringing pieces of the world back to Paris, but also delivering their distinctly western gaze to the world itself.
The idea of a “universal culture” and practices with which it was implemented are especially fascinating to contemplate within the shadow of French imperialism. While the French attempt to incorporate colonized nations within the umbrella of Parisian culture through efforts like the Exposition Universelle, it is hard to believe that these cultures could ever be depicted in Paris without being filtered through the western gaze of “universal parisian culture.” This can be seen through the popularity of the Javanese dancers at the 1889 Exposition Universelle. While their dress and origin are Javanese, their Dutch colonial sponsorship and the european-contrived nature of their dance demonstrates the ways in which the western gaze manipulates colonized cultures to an unrecognizable extent, that which serves colonialism. However, the introduction of authentic representations of colonized cultures is further complicated by the efforts of French banker, Albert Kahn, funding filmmakers’ voyages in an attempt to capture an image of the world for posterity before it is forever swayed by the flux of modernity. While it is hard to imagine these filmmakers’ perspectives ever escaping the influence of colonialism, I am fascinated by the question raised in Au Tour du Monde, stating that these films might have contributed more to decolonization and globalization than to furthering the pre-existent French empire.
The ideas of the representational authenticity of colonized cultures as demonstrated in Paris and by Parisians across the world can be further exposed by the ideas of Deserted Histories, specifically Allan’s description of the difference in intention of the Sphinx’s representation between Alexandre Promio’s Lumière film and David Roberts’ paintings. As stated by Allan, Promio’s “film presents a set place, at a set time and observable in the moving image for a global audience; and the painting relies upon a body of knowledge, gleaned from scripture and the historical record, that enables the vision presented.” Just as Roberts created his paintings in service of a preexistent cultural notion of the Sphinx, one composed by scripture, non-filmic representations of colonized cultures in Paris, like the Javanese dancers, are similarly imbued with ideology. However, in this case, the ideology is one of colonialism, rather than scripture, under the guise of Paris’ “universal culture.” This manipulated representation of Javanese culture relies on the false belief that French imperialism allows for the exhibition of a colonized culture to be beneficial, without the domination or exploitation of colonized people.
Whereas the Javanese dancers rely on a pre-existing ideology similar to Roberts’ paintings, transport films, much like Promio’s Les Pyramides (vue générale), presented 11 years later at the 1900 Exposition Universelle present colonized cultures in a disparate, arguably less colonially influenced fashion due to the medium specificity of film. Due to the camera’s ability to document a culture exactly as it was at a moment in time, albeit influenced by the western filmmaker, it is interesting to consider how Parisians viewing a culture in its own environment with people living organic lives before the camera presents colonized cultures in a way that exhibitions like the Javanese dancers does not. Therefore, bringing these films back to Paris to be exhibited very well could have assisted in deconstructing colonialist ideology through humanizing the subjects of these films, thus reversing many of colonialism’s other-izing effects.

Questions:
What are some other methods with which transport films display colonized cultures differently than how they might have been displayed at the Exposition Universelle?

While their effects upon returning to Paris might have helped lead to decolonization, what are some filmic methods utilized by French filmmakers that were influenced by French imperialism, thus changing the ways that non-western cultures are represented in transport films?