JERO ON JERO: A BALINESE TRANCE SÉANCE OBSERVED

This is the second of a series of four films on Jero Tapakan, a Balinese spirit medium and healer. In the first film, A Balinese Trance Séance, a deity and several spirits of deceased kin speak through Jero to members of a family. A year later, the Aschs and Linda Connor returned to Bali with a videocassette recording of this film and showed it to Jero. Jero on Jero is Jero's reaction to herself on film. Part of the excellence of this short film is that it equalizes the interaction between the film-makers and the participant. Jero becomes an articulate and discerning viewer herself and in the process shortens the distance between actor and audience. The film-makers took the virtually unprecedented step of giving Jero a percentage of the film's royalties. It is recommended that this film be shown after A Balinese Trance Séance to promote and add depth to discussion. The film-makers have published an impressive monograph (Connor, Asch & Asch, 1986) about these two films and the two others in the same series. Catalogue number (16mm): 3RA123 £6.

For bibliography see A Balinese Trance Seance.