For nearly a century before Bollywood arrived in Fiji, memories from India were maintained in continuation of rituals, performance of recitals and staging of epics. In performing a story rather than watching a performance (or a movie), the participants became their stories and recreated an environment, where geography became irrelevant and memories transformed into present day reality.

When I think back on the decisions I made that veered me away from “traditional” ethnography, it was always because the material demanded a certain kind of engagement and a particular process and formation. The material demands its own form theoretically, philosophically, and politically in order to be truly effective.