Traditional documentary Defined perspective/attitude/agenda Selected editing to promote point Voice-over commentary Use of interview quotes Propaganda Triumph of the Will: Hitler as god-like

Cinema Verite Documentary Little intrusive commentary/music Little editing/long takes Events/world not staged Ethnographic perspective on a culture Seemingly non-ideological Few interviews

Cinema Verite: Frederick Wiseman Focuses on institutions High School II: East Central HS Neiman Marcus Panama Welfare

Rhetorical impact: audience Placate/sooth audience: nostalgia Challenge/implicate audiences Force audiences to rethink beliefs Encourage audiences to act

Rock documentaries Gimmie Shelter, 1970, (Rolling Stones) A Hard Day’s Night, 1968, (Beatles) Don’t Look Back, 1967, (Bob Dylan) Quadrophenia, 1979 (The Who) Almost Famous, 2000 (rock star life) Hedweig & the Angry Inch, 2001 The Last Waltz, 1978 (The Band) Use of 35mm cameras Re-released DVD

Documentary Students create own documentaries Use of photos/video clips Use of multi-genre writing Present using hypermedia Tour/promotion documentaries Draw on image databases Select an issue/theme Pollution/sprawl/testing Interviews/analysis Ethnography and documentary Study of events/celebrations/rituals

“Fiction”/“reality” vs. “truth” Problem with concepts Fiction = “not real” Reality = “not fictional” Alternative: “documentary truth” Explores tensions/complexity vs. propaganda: “one truth” Invites recognition of the complexity of a problem/issue

Brainstorm: Criteria for determining “truth” Groups: pick a topic Your school, an event (state fair, celebrations),community history,etc. Identify some of the “truths” in this topic If you were to make a documentary, how would you portray these “truths”? Interviews Portrayal of event/old video footage