Alterity — A Category of Practice and Analysis

Preliminary Remarks

Abstract

This article provides introductory remarks on the concept of ‘alterity,’ which could stimulate the discussion on newsreels/media and their representation of the Other. Starting from the observation that ‘alterity’ has often been overshadowed by an overestimation of ‘identity,’ the article differentiates between various fields of ‘alterity’: amongst them, ‘real alterity’ in societal practice, ‘representational alterity’ in media contexts, and attitudes of ‘othering’ in movements between alterity or alienness. It critically brings to the fore some underlying frameworks and unspoken assumptions. Finally, the article asks whether the positioning of alterity in 20th-century newsreels has provided first approaches for overcoming its binary corset in the direction of a global circulation of images. Can this perhaps be seen as a step towards turning our attention to a revaluation and new recognition of the Other?