Stranger And Friend An Anthropological Perspective

As an anthropologist enters the field, an immediate exchange begins between the researcher and the researched. The culture studied is a treasure trove of knowledge, wisdom and insight, but to even come close to grasping and accurately understanding it all, an anthropologist must adjust his or her own role regularly to absorb both the information the culture studied has to offer an outsider and what the culture is like through the eyes of an insider. In many aspects, the pathway to the inner circles of a community is often lengthy and rough, if not sometimes impossible, and the anthropologist has to work through an often troublesome process of struggle, adaptation and adjustment while also staying objective. In Stranger and Friend, by examining and discussing her experiences with the indigenous people of Lesu, the â€Å"Negros† and â€Å"whites† of Mississippi, the filmmakers of Hollywood, and the Africans and Europeans of the former Northern Rhodesia, Hortense Powdermak er brings to light the importance and hidden difficulties of self-awareness, involvement, detachment, and the shifting of roles during fieldwork. Before attempting to submerge oneself into the unknown and trying to understand the customs and behaviors of a foreign culture, an anthropologist first needs to inspect his or her own background and influences. In spite of all the efforts to be objective, a researcher’s personality will inevitably always be a part of the research. 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