Introduction. The ethnographic optic: A fresh way of seeing post-World War II French cinema ; Colonial ethnography: Enforcing France's imperial mission ; Toward a definition of ethnographic film ; The ethnographic shift and the dissolution of the empire ; Reorienting Rouch toward Marker and Resnais ; Domestic ethnography and its distinctions ; Chapter outlines
The Ethnographer's Alibi: The Limits of Shared Narration in Jean Rouch's 'Moi, un Noir'. Rouch's initiation into ethnographic cinema ; Rouch's ambiguous politics and filmmaking vision ; 'Les maîtres fous' ; 'Moi, un Noir' ; "Africa" speaks ; The ethnographer's alibi: Subjectivity and whiteness ; From the "African Period" to the "Parisian Period"
"Moi, un Blanc": Jean Rouch's "Parisian Period," from 'La pyramide humaine' to 'Petit à Petit'. 'La pyramide humaine', from Ivory Coast to Paris ; A Parisian ethnography: 'Chronique d'un été' ; The cultural specificity of 'Cinéma Vérité' ; 'La punition' ; 'Gare du Nord' ; Full circle: Reverse ethnography in 'Petit à Petit' ; Rouch in the rearview
Missed Connection: Paris in Chris Marker's 'Le joli mai' and 'La jetée'. Marker's Parisian Pair" ; 'Le joli mai' ; The French reception of 'Le joli mai' ; 'La jetée' ; Missed connection: The Orly Airport ; Grounded in Paris
Seeing Double: Algeria and France in Alain Resnais's 'Muriel'. Resnais's world and the making of 'Muriel' ; The French soldier and the Algerian War ; French soldiers and amateur filmmaking in Algeria ; Hidden violence in Boulogne ; Bernard's contagious gaze ; Two films, one ending ; An unflattering image
Conclusion. The ethnographic optic and the turn toward the collective in May 1968 ; The resonance of the ethnographic optic: Beyond French cinema and beyond France ; Expanding the ethnographic optic
Glossary.