DOCUMENTARIES WHAT IS THE TRUTH AND HOW IS IT PORTRAYED

AIM OF DOCUMENTARIES 1. ACCURATELY PROTRAY FACTS & REALITIES 2. COMMUNICATE NEW KNOWLEDGE AND INFORMATION 3. ALTER WAYS OF SEEING AND THINKING

VALUES AND TRADITIONS 1.THEY REVEAL NEW OR IGNORED REALITIES TYPICALLY NOT SEEN IN NARRATIVE FILM EX: HOLOCAUST HARVEST OF SHAMEhttp:// ya7Ehttp:// ya7E 2. THEY EXPAND WAYS OF SEEING AND HEARING BEYOND WHAT A NARRATIVE FILM CAN OFFER. EX: WOODSTOCK, EMPIRE

SOCIAL DOCUMENTARIES -WORK ON PRESENT REALISTIC IMAGES, SUCH AS PEOPLE OR EVENTS WE HAVE NOT SEEN BEFORE BECAUSE THEY HAVE BEEN EXCLUDED FROM OUR SOCIAL EXPERIENCE EX: OVAL OFFICE MEETING IN CRISIS

TWO TYPES OF SOCIAL DOCUMENTARIES 1.POLITICAL- AIMS TO EXPLORE HUMAN SUFFERING AND STRUGGLE OR TO CELEBRATE THE ACTIVITES OF COMMAN MEN AND WOMEN 2. ETHNOGRAPHIC- AIMS TO REVEAL CULTURES AND PEOPLES IN THE MOST AUTHENTIC TERMS WITHOUT IMPOSING THE FILMMAKER’S INTERPERTATION EX: NANOOK OF THE NORTH 1922

FORMS OF EXPOSITION 1. CUMULATIVE EXPOSITION -accumulates a catalogue of images or sounds through the course of the film Ex: High School 2. CONTRASTING EXPOSITION EX: MICHAEL “UP” SERIES -organizes its presentation as a series of contrasts or oppositions meant to indicate the different points of view on its subject -these contrasts may be evaluative, distinguishing positive and negative events -contrastive exposition may suggest a more complicated relationship between objects or individuals

CINEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS 1.Interrogative or analytical positions -structure a movie either in terms of an implicit or explicit question-and- answer format or by other techniques that identify a subject as under investigation -most common interrogative techniques is the use of a voiceover or on camera voice that asks questions of individuals or objects that do or do not respond to the questioning -may also make the implied question even more complicated by comparing and contrasting different images so layered and complex that they are difficult to explain or respond to

CINEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS, CON’T INTERROGATIVE, CON’T -may lead to more knowledge about an experience or may make the question of how we know the different cultures of the world the essential question of the film Example: Alain Renais's Night and Fog (1955) images of the Nazi concentration camps when the survivors were liberated are alternated with contemporary images of the same empty camps. The complex organizational refrain of the film becomes "Who is responsible?”

CINEMATIC INVESTIGATION CON’T 2. Expressive -articulate a perspective either as the expression of emotions, beliefs, or some other personal or social position or an attempt to persuade an audience to feel a certain way -may emphasize a personal voice or vision as the main subject of the film dramatizes that personal presence through such techniques as voiceovers, handheld camera movements, or documents such as old pictures, letters.

Example: Ross McElwee's Sherman's March(1986) the filmmaker sets out on a journey to document the conquest of the south by the famous Civil War general: along the way, however, the film becomes more about the filmmakers own failed attempts to start or maintain romantic relations with the many women he meets.

Persuasive -attempts to persuade or convince, may downplay the presence of the personal perspective and instead use images and sounds to influence viewers through argument or emotional appeal, as in propagandistic movies that urge certain politician or social views. Example: Leni Riefenstahl’s, Triumph of the Will

-can use the power of documentary images themselves, set up revealing contrasts between certain images or between what is said and what is seen, or use voices and interviews in an attempt to convince viewers of a particular truth or cause. Example: Frederick Wiseman's Titicut Follies (1967) works as an expose of a Massachusetts prison for the criminally insane ; much of the film's power resides solely in shocking images, meant to provoke and outrage an audience about the institutional abuses of the prisoner.

FORMS OF EXPOSITION, CON’T 3. Developmental Exposition -presents places, objects, individuals, or experiences through a pattern or development with a specific non-narrative logic or structure EX: an individual or object may be presented according to a pattern that proceeds from small to large, as part of a developmental pattern from passive to active events

QUESTIONS TO APPLY TO FILMS VIEWED IN CLASS Remember- what is truth and how is it revealed? Does it -accurately portray facts and realties -communicate new knowledge and information -alter ways of seeing and thinking 1. If it is primarily a non-fiction film, describe three facts or realities that are among its primary focus. 2. Does the film aim to make you see these realities in new ways? 3. What specific information or knowledge is the film trying to communicate? 4. If it is primarily a non-narrative film, describe one or two of its non-narrative forms and patterns, that is, lists, repetitions, or contrasts. 5. What is the film trying to communicate through the presentation of those patterns?