AMERICAN NEW DOCUMENTARY MOVEMENT CHAPTER SIX AMERICAN NEW DOCUMENTARY MOVEMENT

American New Documentary Movement Emerged in 1960s and developed in the end of 1980s The rise of popular culture - The public’s desire to express self - anti-authority - destruction of classics - the diversity of social interests Post-modern style of audio-visual presentation - compositing visual and audio material by montage - accessing to the real by fictional strategies - presenting a personalized documentary experience

The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988)

Surname Viet Given Name Nam （ Trinh T.Minh-ha ，1988） 《变形的生活》Powaqqatsi 高弗瑞·雷吉奥Godfrey Reggio （1989） Surname Viet Given Name Nam （ Trinh T.Minh-ha ，1988）

Roger & Me （1989） Sicko （2007） Fahrenheit 9/11 （2004）

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF REFLEXIVE MODE Presenting documentary maker’s interpretation of reality — the presence of the documentary filmmaker — using the first person narration to tear away veil of filmmakers’ illusory absence; Using many devices of other modes but sets them on edge — making audience aware of how other modes claim to construct "truth" through documentary practice; e.g. subjective narration aggressive interview Making the process of representation explicit — montage expression — reenactment

THE CHARACTERISTICS OF PERFORMATIVE MODE emphasizing on the filmmaker’s subjective attitude or personal engagement with a subject, shown to evoke audience reaction. strongly personal, unconventional, perhaps poetic and experimental, and might include hypothetical enactments of events designed to make us experience what it might be like for us to possess a certain specific perspective on the world that is not our own allowing certain groups (e.g. women, ethnic minorities, gays and lesbian, etc) to ‘speak about themselves’ trying to demonstrate how understanding such personal knowledge can help us understand more general processes of society linking up personal accounts or experiences with larger political or historical realities

DOCUMENTARY MODES CHIEF CHARACTERISTICS—DEFICIENCIES Hollywood fiction [1910s]: fictional narratives of imaginary worlds —— absence of “reality” Poetic documentary [1920s]: reassemble fragments of the world poetically —— lack of specificity, too abstract Expository documentary [1920s]: directly address issues in the historical world —— overly didactic Observational documentary [1960s]: eschew commentary and reenactment; observe things as they happen —— lack of history, context Participatory documentary [1960s]: interview or interact with subjects; use archival film to retrieve history —— excessive faith in witnesses, naïve history, too intrusive Reflexive documentary [1980s]: question documentary form, defamilairize the other modes —— too abstract, lose sight of actual issues Performative documentary [1980s]: stress subjective aspects of a classically objective discourse —— loss of emphasis on objectivity may relegate such films to the avant-garde; “excessive” use of style

THE DEVELOPMENT TREND OF DOCUMENTARY GENRE Diversification Entertainment-orientation Commercialization

NEW CHALLENGE OF DOCUMENTARY GENRE —— BLURRING THE BOUNDARY BETWEEN FICTION AND NON FICTION GENRE Docudrama — documentary style genre of  film and television that features dramatized re-enactments of historical events. Mockumentary — a genre of film and television, presented as a documentary recording real life, but is actually fictional. It is a commonly used medium for parody and satire. Reality Television — a television programming genre that presents unscripted situations, documents actual events and usually features unknowns instead of professional actors.

Death of a President （ Gabriel Range, 2006 ） 《变形的生活》Powaqqatsi 高弗瑞·雷吉奥Godfrey Reggio （1989） Death of a President （ Gabriel Range, 2006 ）