Saying 'NO!' to participatory video: Unravelling the complexities of (non)participation

Citation

Milne E (2012) Saying 'NO!' to participatory video: Unravelling the complexities of (non)participation. In: Milne E, Mitchell C & deLange N N (eds.) The Handbook of Participatory Video. Lanham MD, USA: AltaMira Press. https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780759121133

Abstract
Current discourses on participatory video focus almost exclusively on the benefits that the method brings, particularly in regard to empowerment and social change. The underlying assumption(s) that lies beneath such a discourse is that empowerment is needed, social change is an (unproblematic) good, and that communities or individuals will want (or should want) to participate. When participants 'refuse' to take part, or say 'no', there is usually a complex web of reasons which often fail to get acknowledged, usually for fear of how funders or those outside the situation may interpret the so called non-participation. Seldom is such an act understood as a (conscious) act of community participation and self protection, where community members make their decisions based upon experiences of funders, researchers and other 'outsiders', including the media . Drawing on an example of residents in public housing who chose not to make participatory videos, this chapter will explore some of the complex reasons behind these decisions and engage with the questions which it forces us, as researchers and practitioners, to ask. Such questioning and reflection is essential if participatory video is to be a truly participatory method, rather than one which re-oppresses under the guise of being emancipatory and challenging power.

Keywords
participatory video; Ethics; Bradford; Housing Estates; non participation; participation; visual methods; UK; Community based research; qualitative methods; Fogo;