On Sept. 29, the University of Guam’s Communication Honor Society hosted its annual lecture with Dr. Thomas Brislin at the CLASS Professional and Development Room located on the third floor of the Humanities and Social Sciences building.

Lambda Pi Eta or LPH, the University’s Communication Honor Society, had sponsored this event. Dr. Brislin was the head juror for this year’s Guam International Film Festival (GIFF), and associate dean at the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

According to Dr. Lilnabeth Somera, current LPH advisor, this year’s theme was “Commodifying vs. Preserving Indigenous Culture in Film.” The topic of Dr. Brislin’s lecture had gained much attention from the university’s staff, as the room was full to capacity with both professors and students. 

Dr. Brislin focused on the issues of representation, whether cultures and their people have rights to how they are portrayed in film.  He  offered some suggestions revolving around “cultural consultancy,” which seems to have worked in Australia and New Zealand (and to a lesser extent in Hawaii).”