Rite Out Of Place: Summary

Ronald Grimes, the American ritual theorist, who founded the interdisciplinary field of ritual studies, is another very important figure for this research work. In this part of first chapter we will elaborate only on the part of his theory, which is presented in Rite out of Place, on shooting rites. Moreover, we want to take this part of theory in order to apply it in the theatrical material to understand what can happen with the performance and the process of performing while recording. Schechner’s presupposition that theatre and ritual are both performances having common structure validates out attempt to analyze theatre movie production by scheme that is offered by Grimes.

It means that shooting makes rite an object of studying, or just observing. In this case, camera record everything and produces visual information, which is, basically, easier to perceive and understand. Moreover, it gives an opportunity to see again and again and make more reflection on it. Secondly, shooting reveals debates on the performance. Shooting gives an opportunity to repeat action, as well as, transform it by including additional information, for example backstage scenes, thereby, changing the meaning of rite. As Grimes shows it, it could be cause of political, ethnical or any other controversies, because camera stuck performance by making it a document. Thirdly, shooting can validate rite by camera, which means it makes this rite important, transforms it into declaration. Thus, shooting rite can declare, but not indicate. Whereas, ritual process “require witnesses” ,“a fleshy, merely human, pair of eyes is a fallible witness ”, camera presents a “machine godlike” view on the performance, “ a manufactory of eternity”. Recording rites devoid view of outsider; however camera is the new ritual itself. As a result, the forth point is that camera can make rite a public event. Due to camera, we can gain public access to rite, however, before shooting rite used to be sacred and poorly available. Shooting publicizes rite and give people an opportunity to discuss it and make it its gnoseological experience and newsmaker, rather that existential point. However, along with making rite public, camera mystifies it. “A shooter look through a viewfinder, screen, or lens, and by doing so, focuses on some things while cutting others out”. Exactly this aspect of shooting gives camera a mystifying power of making decision what should be on the screen and what should not. Camera can hide some aspects and highlights others, making them more important. That is why Grimes also claims that shooting construct rite from the very