J'ai Ete Au Bal by Les Blank - 1989

Exposition and the use of voice:

J’ai Ete Au Bal by Les Blank – 1989

In J’ai Ete Au Bal, a documentary about Ziadaco music and the mix of Creole, Acadian and Cajun cultures, the filmmaker, Les Blank uses an ethnographic voice from within the culture using multiple individuals to tell the story. 

The music is first presented as simple.  The people tell the story of their ancestry and of the immersions of the three cultures, in their own voice, which makes the film folksy.  This approach offers the audience a sense of being invited into the homes and backyards of these individuals. 

From yard to yard and house-to-house, we are given a taste of this part of America today (1989) and the use of unique stills gives us a sense of time past. 

We discover that the music is complex and rich with history.  There is a love surrounding the music.  We discover that the social aspects of dance and music brought these cultures together. Music is a language that is a part of these people. 

The cultures have differences and while outsiders seem to lump everyone in French Southwest Louisiana as Cajun, their history, dialect and cultures are vastly different, yet are bound together by music and dance.