Who Has the Last Laugh?Nanook of the Northand Some New Thoughts on an Old Classic

Abstract

Since its release in 1922 Nanook of the North has remained at the heart of debates in documentary and ethnographic cinema. Long considered a foundational work, Flaherty's film has been hailed and disparaged in equal measure. After an absence of several years, I returned to a viewing of Nanook and found myself surprised by what I saw. Drawing on the work of early cinema historians, I seek here to challenge contemporary critiques and articulate a case for a new reading of the film.

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