Doon School Project Films (5 Parts)

Synopsis

A series of five films by David MacDougall on the Doon School, perhaps the most famous boys’ boarding school in India, located in Dehra Dun in Uttaranchal. The films were made over a period of three years. Although it has sometimes been called the ‘Eton of India’ it has nevertheless developed its own distinctive style and presents a mixture of privilege and egalitarianism. It was established by a group of moderate Indian nationalists in the 1930s to produce a new generation of leaders who would guide the nation after Independance. Since then it has become highly influential in the creation of the new Indian elites and has come to epitomise many aspects of Indian postcoloniality.

Language

English

Country

India

Year of production

2000-2003

Subjects

Anthropology; Education

Keywords

education; India; public schools; social anthropology; social class

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 0 PAL

Price

£50.00 each part

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

140, 110, 54, 100, 87 minutes

Year

2015

Sections

Title

Doon School Chronicles

Synopsis

The first in a series of five films studying the Doon School in Dehra Dun, northern India, as an institution and social environment. the Doon School is India’s most prestigious boys’ boarding school and has come to emptomise many aspects of Indian post coloniality. This film, composed of ten ‘chapters’ explores the ideology and social aesthetics of the school through its rituals, physical environment, documents, and the lives of several boys of different ages and temperaments.

Duration

140 mins

Title

With Morning Hearts

Synopsis

This film, completed in 2001, continues MacDougall’s long-term study of an elite boys’ boarding school in northern India. It focuses on a group of twelve-year-olds during their first year in one of the ‘houses’ for new boys. The film concerns their attachment to the house, but, more importantly, their attachment to one another in a communal life. It follows, in particular, the experiences of one boy and several of his close associates, from their initial homesickness, to their life as member of the group, to their separation from the house at the end of the year.

Duration

110 mins

Title

Karam in Jaipur

Synopsis

The third film in the Doon School quintet follows the main protagonist of WITH MORNING HEARTS into the next phase of his life in Jaipur House, one of the five main houses of the school. There he plays hockey, sings, studies and struggles to settle into the House. He must keep up with his classmates, contend with the authority of older boys, and try to find a way to make his mark. He finds it in the gymnastics, for which he is an aptitude .

Duration

54 mins

Title

New Boys, The

Synopsis

The social dynamics of the group is the focus of this study of life in Foot House, one of Doon School’s dormitories for new boys. It begins a few days before the boys appear and shows them arriving, struggling with their trunks and suitcases. It then follows them for the next two months of their lives in the house. The film provides a comparision to the group viewed in WITH MORNING HEARTS, for these boys appear more divided and class-concious. Within the group there is a range of personalities and backgrounds. An important feature of the film is the inclusion of conversations among the boys about the causes of agression and warefare, homesickness, and how to speak to a ghost. ( Joint purchase with THE AGE OF REASON is recommended ).

Duration

100 mins

Title

Age of Reason, The

Synopsis

In this fifth and final film of the Doon School quintet, MacDougall focuses on the life of one student whom he discovers at the school. The film was made in parallel with THE NEW BOYS and intersects with it at several points. However instead of looking at the group, it explores the thoughts and feelings of Abhishek, a 12-year-old from Nepal, during his first days and weeks as a Doon student. This is both the story of the encounter between a filmmaker and his subject and a glimpse of the mind of a child at the ‘age of reason’. This is the most intimate and interactive film of the series. ( Joint purchase with THE NEW BOYS is recommended ).

Duration

87 mins

Distributor

Name

Royal Anthropological Institute

Contact

Susanne Hammacher (Film Officer)

Email

film@therai.org.uk

Web

https://www.therai.org.uk/film/film-sales External site opens in new window

Phone

020 7387 0455

Fax

020 7388 8817

Address

50 Fitzroy Street
London
W1T 5BT

Notes

The Institute sells more than 250 anthropology and ethnology titles on video and DVD, including some produced by students and staff of the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology. There is also a large library of internationally produced film and video productions from which items may be borrowed within the UK.