Autoethnography?

The term autoethnography is a loaded one.  I found wikipedia's definition to be helpful for my understanding:

"Autoethnography is a form of self-reflection and writing that explores the researcher's personal experience and connects this autobiographical story to wider cultural, political, and social meanings and understandings.^[1][2] It differs from ethnography —a qualitative research method in which a researcher uses participant observation and interviews in order to gain a deeper understanding of a group's culture— in that autoethnography focuses on the writer's subjective experience rather than, or in interaction with, the beliefs and practices of others. As a form of self-reflective writing, autoethnography is widely used in performance studies and English."

It is interesting to consider how the medium of film adds further complexity to an autoethnographic work as compared to the medium of literature or spoken word storytelling.  I think this is what Russell is wrestling with, although much of this reading was difficult for me to understand. What stuck out most to me was the idea of film allowing for hybridity, which becomes possible through a layered juxtapostion of the voice, vision, and body of the autoethnographer.  Therefore the medium of film/video uniquely mediates the story being captured and performed by the artist, which becomes a less restrictive medium than that of literature or spoken word.  Here the artist is able to shape the experience of the viewer beyond strict narration.  The new problems that arise are how to capture and present a story visually and sonically.  If the story told is recalled or remembered, what sounds and images will aptly recreate or enhance the effect of the story? 

I think that in a typical written biographical work, or other nonfictional writing, the reader as audience often mistakes the story as fact.  In truth, theses stories are remembered versions, serving like maps, which can be faulty.  Any story written or told carries with it biases, exaggerations, false memories, and omitted information.  I find that the medium of film/video as a narrative device can have these same pitfalls, such as in documentary film; however, as an art form, I think that video has an inherent capacity to both capture and transform personal narrative beyond strictly written or spoken storytelling, allowing us to reconsider the thoughtful imagination and editing of the story by its author.