ABSTRACT

Data activism –or data-centered campaigning, mobilization, and research– is a hybrid, shifting endeavor. Data activist organizations are currently exploring new tools and languages to communicate findings and influence judicial and political processes. However, it is the method of turning data into a film that sets Forensic Architecture (FA) apart from other data activist endeavors. This article employs ideas from social movement and documentary studies to examine six films produced and disseminated by FA. These documentaries expose official corruption relating to abuse and killings in Burundi, Israel and Palestine, Syria, and the Mediterranean. The analysis employs the lenses of data activism and the meta-documentary to think about how FA uses participatory strategies, involves victims and human rights organizations, places science and technology at the center of its narratives, generates counter-stories implicating new data agents and methods, and uses a new fora to influence court cases and change the status quo. Ultimately, it illustrates the potential for impact offered by hybrid forms of data activism.

摘要

数据激进主义——或以数据为中心的运动、动员和研究——是一种混合的、不断变化的努力。数据维权组织目前正在探索新的工具和语言来传达调查结果并影响司法和政治进程。然而，正是这种将数据转化为电影的方法让 Forensic Architecture (FA) 有别于其他数据激进主义者的努力。本文运用社会运动和纪录片研究的观点来考察 FA 制作和传播的六部电影。这些纪录片揭露了与布隆迪、以色列和巴勒斯坦、叙利亚以及地中海地区的虐待和杀戮有关的官员腐败。该分析采用数据行动主义和元纪录片的视角来思考 FA 如何使用参与式策略，让受害者和人权组织参与进来，影响法庭案件和改变现状的论坛。最终，它说明了混合形式的数据激进主义可能产生的影响。