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    Nichols

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    Nichols

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
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    Download as pdf
    35 views18 pages

    Representing Reality

    Uploaded by

    Julia Sabina
    Nichols

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
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    of 18
    IV TELLING STORIES WITH EVIDENCE AND ARGUMENTS. Gllenging the Status of Documentary ‘A tendency in recent writing om documentary su trex it nk wo nae tive Documentaries ave fetions wit plot, characters sitions. and vents ike anyother, They offer Inadctry lacks challenges or dem fn they bal neghtened tssions and dramatealy sing eons ad they terminate wide esoltkon and clonire. They doall hii ference toa weap that isa construct the podict of sighing mtems Uke the Alocamentary Sl tele Like the constructed realities of icon, thisrealigy, too, st be vrutnied and debated sparta the domain of Sgniieation tnd ideology. The noon of ny piileged acessto areal that exis “out there,” heyond ws san ideoogial elect. The sooner we relive al this, theteter ‘Some documenty Alamakers have als arse this view bs Far rom Pit die cena gestion of the Bn i what relly happening, over there, in Poland, in «veal of which wee have Fagmentary sd highly ‘mediated knowledge, rel we creatively reconstruct lor ou own diverse jpurpos jl adil introduces herself athe Blmmaker who mediates ‘i and debater this question, conclusively. She Inverts the expostony thode of dorumneniry tht relies on interviews wd winesses and archival forage by doubung the truth wave of thin Form of evidence about the ‘Notorialy ral She iabrcates her own version of whist hitorieal igure, ical actor ight say amide She Bas a companion, Mark Magis who ‘alleges her own reflexive incision: she indulging in word and Inge ply? ts Poland not eel, where people Ive and diez can we Fede itt textual figures sithout reducing ni eae of history ele ‘Godmitow vithhols a conchating answer Pert we have lest the poss bility of sich engagement Paps speaking direct about the sea of speceh, and isliatons ithe strongest way in which the asumptions we old about aces o eal that comes w ws largely rough media tepreentationscan be challenged And to challenge these representations los Documentary: A Flton (Lin}Lake Any Other ft challenge bitorical representation and is ally, documentary film inet, ‘This insitenceon a narrative, constructed basso documentary under ¥ee5 1 dino, ‘A character cat also provide the bai restriction on what we lear ad en we lear iy but ths Gry ual forma requires the i ‘maker to subordinate his or her knowledge or investigate sls to those fa single character o socal scot. One example ef tis posal 6 The Enperors Noh Army Mores On by Hare Raa, The Hn fly Rea ‘Okie investigates the Fite of several Japanese wlcrvesce ed by ‘ets own army inthe days ater the endl of World War IL Our degre of nowledge virally idem to Osaki with the sel hat we expert ‘ence both tapense and alt as we lear wt Okuzak ears in concer With hin ancl aio witnew the conontaional tacts he employs to pala this Knowledge. The ey retain i ht dhe ofc, wi tty alos 0 Docuumentary: A Fiction (UnjLike Any Other gone and staration setting in, shot aumy privates in ord wo canibalize thers remaine} Dgre of subjecvity: The extent to which we experience the inner ‘houghts and fetings of characters or share thet perppeetne: The prove ence ofa criterion of objectivity in documentary has lel the explofsion cofsubjecivty underdeveloped. Athougs there sr several eecncounton ‘Gump of note, most documentaries neglect the wadisonal foros of Sesve subject (Mashiacks,vistaloed memories oe moon, spa, Sons fantay, visual representations of altered state of tind soe a dleunkennes or reverie dreams, a 30 forth). The primary excepto ie ‘clouses. Vid examples include Alain Resatr's Night ond fogs Coutuie’s Dear Ameria in which the fils own vokseaner hone ae stsibutes of hua memory and ernnscene, speaking tthe he oo, isan cae meson cena Individual experince: The recounting of india experience Olen more lta form in Th Gl Winnie oe ae ee Farcpuns, quoting tom letern dares a mcnoins Acasa on intense form of collecine memory governs rulecanet comeeriee ak Vicar of Si a8 wel. The commesiy ies a Insc acne an Word War vas fought tana poetic ewan of what aloha it he: wen and where occured, whit soca and erenan ek ‘hat sounds and furs secompanied i, Suhjctviy als erternto the documentary mainstream i the prefer ce foF ape, or socal actors who can present themuhes Reo a ‘era vith minimal seconsciuanes andl more impereony, hea infec acdons or teconnings wth mice deph oe cine trsneaciors social actors who convey a sone of pchclogiel dept means oftheir looks, gesture, one inecion, adn mereaena ea ‘ become fore sbjecs The pulse in tomard ed eae _Dethemseles"before aamera in an cotonalyrcing ieee See isnot quite a neural and objecve a prcerece might theo since not everyone who at fore x camer int mange ver aaa a, he he or she acts without presents appealing igure fr doceney ‘ile Piovny goes to those vidual he can Sancy aon ee Besa expres that doesnotscem toe produced ter otra, the cemera—even Ii fc it Teeton perwalies Senay simple rom alk show hans adversng annuus, sed sel ea to.aew reporiers and anchorpeeple: But toar the guess otek teey, the “nkand-womeninahestret” found in TY commas nse he ‘ones qui shoma I dacimentiy fling the cental characters are equine ho conny some sae ofan imterordmmenonain of eo ‘ona, widhoursugpetng tha the persona a ole wholly dson Panag Tein Siete dene and Arguments 1 Peto they would normaly present Nanook, the eer character in Flaheryslasic documentary, supplier a rine example Paras anes, Vedran depends entire) on the confessional xoyeling power of feo subject Frank a vet whose muted nossa belies he etree bets he ‘tescibes, just as Peta offen relies ene on the arumatic selene, ions of Jason, a black male prostate wth various improbable sopuaiee (tenced not he their“ or “private” persona that social seo cpg ‘ormal may mean the presentation of self in publ space nach cone {in Prinan, fr example, onthe 1960 Waconsn primaryrace betveos Jone E Rennedy and Huber: Humphrey. Both men perfor contatonay tat the pervona repre nthe iim seems very muh We save fa Persona they presented in public appearances general) ‘Thistendeney w seek out social actors with exprenive capacity becomes ‘anc ofthe main aveoues by which subjects enters dociibentaies ben, {hough the film may adopt an objece shooting ane ano aes ‘Goematc atempes at intriovity Uke polncotiew shot or Nahin expresiv indviduss heighten the possbiliy for empathetic Wlenthenser and involvement on the part of the ewer, Socal actors who lack theta of exprenive capacity seldom become the foc ofthe documemay tgs ‘0 mltter how sinila heir performance i dng shoot lo hg before and aller, David MacDougall has spoen and witca uit high fully on his tendency to gravitate inward indhidual who mugger: ig sud deny other characer through their every belenion Cong, th central character ofthe Turan Conversion tgy Caos Ne A Meng Wines, Welding Canes) cera exhibastniecopecer ana, turban experience but preference for tational wibal wank he an, bargaining, anda predetan for philosophical matng tne age hea, Slo close to Eric Rolimersearty work (Claes Kas bh Nighr at eee, disocined vo cus tei cular led hin wo experiment wih ssi {nseior commen” that might compensue for the abnene of eee se performance. ‘The paradoxical naute ofthis tendency isthe desc for performance thatis no performance, fora fre of sell preenaton dit prone &penon's normal sel presemiatin, One of te conventional lire ot teat acting ithe ably wo epresentawide runge of chatscermone ate onwentonal expecations abot socal actors that thelt connate oe tains stile, with continuity and coherence, In documettany ne hang Ue, {ete fr performance supped othe waning, reearang, ind decane ‘that normaly accompany it This desire spans anos the Ss sa Slocamentay formeand modes. (The excepucnsare moots thats ‘8 proces, objet concep rather tan people tne Me The Hon ain Drifter, Indus Btn, Song Cayo, Need Sane Keser Cone ‘ng Hao Tine lo Poser of Ten, ad even, here “performance: an be Documestary: A Fitlon (Un)Like Any Other tum as protompical faces and bores, ies tha ewok preexisting ‘sscumptionsand atibutons presenti the sence. The long haps prsages ofthe German people in Leni Rifenta' Trp of te Will Brosde a pantheon of images even though snes given any dimen- Er) “The paradoxical sense ofa performance, an expressive capaci, where the coneepisof acting and performance ae simultanensy dae and desired, canbe eaptred by the term "ital perormcance = Vital. “That isyo in esence. or effec. sthough not frm or actualy admiting af beng eae by the nate oar asthe eet or emt is concerned (ORD), vidhous Being one. ich caracteratc by dn oft eptaenaaon of the loge: or deep atuctire, of performance without is historia insti ‘ional or profesional manifestations, al of which can be considered surface srscture. (Computer science defines real ina nar aye Unlike a brary or arch, 4 computer's viral memory stores bi ef information without regard to thelr piste! location. Fac tem stork ‘by aveans ofan algorithm that corsets pha space with loge rel tionships allowing infermaion to be realy retrieved regards pata Pherent) Virtoal performance presents the loge of aca performance without signs of conscious anaren tat this presonation iran ac. (uch mare esis what the tems “elfeoacios and “camera consis reer to) View performance, or the every presentation of sel, dees rom a culturally specific sptem of meanings surrounding Taal expresions ‘anges ofroal tone or pitch, sift in body poste, ges a so Some very elements Ghat actors va emacs i contol a hl ‘When Sergeant Abing in Seder Gr the tough il sutras tetera ecru throug grueling paces breaks dora confess a his Vieam experience ha ft him sated insite, we witnie «Vea performance of eonsderable power. It has al he fies om a ewer Ut fo aca performance would alo have (2 well another the ese Historical anit and preged acces) i alo piel of ual eermance in documenta in thatthe exmera [snot sed enter in 4b ierior sate of mind (via pointofvier shot memory images, oF xpretive montage). The cxmerm enoiest obec the Senze fe {stv arses rom the expresive dimension of what bere, ‘Dear of wiFonsconnes: The extent ta which an expesoy agency acknowledge ivelf such Oa Ue Newer senses “An argent fs being Presented to me." Selfeonsciousies quite variable in ein Rimage tng from the rlaivey unselEconacons sie of muh Holywood Ash (ost trequenty broken by beginning, mina montages someones and ovary endings) tothe highly welReonsiou ap of ey Set cinema, snany experimental narratives and comtemporary advertising Sel-con: ‘couse is feast common in obseatonal ms the docurmesar ede ‘Taling Serie wth Buen and Argun as ‘mot stn to fiction. Tere ie an inevitable perspective onthe events and thisean be taken at an mpc argument, but seliconsious over ang nent or commentary ematn minimal. Expense steracve, an fie ie fins, never depend for ther eifect upon our recoguitn tat an uments bing made, The veers avai fan angen, ce, oF ‘presentation defies thei moesand exublahssudicace expectations interme of demonstration o exemplicston ages of conmanisatencs The extent fo hich the exposion reveals what tow: Delayed reardatonynpaae and uopeec are nin spect nf oth fcton snd expenton They sere to ataet (“Gace hat Iippened edn) ocean eros ("csc ny trent tinttes of peace in Britain wou look [Th War Goma). nig area ‘local tev when we match Nenook set about the buss of seal fang Toraeyralninstenbefore the purpone offi laborbecomescleat or ic acaborate sequence rsrcating suspen te snes fenton tion beaveen the sone who have tne on oolong sed the father who vais their help back atthe family psa pslr inthe Milton rica iim, Fey Bune: They a conte the orral ste of doe ‘nena. Exposition generally inves desi to Kaow ad the promise o Tu tat ese, nes heme i ese argent o nel. he ay ‘er Try promises to provide an underaanclag of Oppenheimer ole inthe development ofthe atic bomb as Hoan Canty CSA, promises to explore the ented conics etncen movers and owner a ie oa ‘nine of Kenly “Texts know more thn they tells ay one moment They can be loner race in relying that aformatons The dere o now erewed by many dorumenmre nat. tele shits ane, how ever. The degre of commicaveness may Auctuste ae the angament Shilds, bat the prin ea hat al wil be lds he sum tou of ‘whats reported all be the uth (TV nem shows fesqaendy ead n> Commerce bes with tesing reference to the drama ayo ‘neste et to coe, bt wen the news concn elon made assure us tha we have recehed ll the news there for now with No ‘notnal lose ends ye to be ese) Unlike the detect i, with ts paradigmatic secre of ale ats admiseadiny duce where the "woth hass ruc defnion ame, itiswhat cone at (ait in "Strasne the novela analyzed by Roland ares a 8/2), the decent Ira et oa scualy determined tz clam» corempondence encen ts represetation o events ad ‘hetruth fan extra elit, Seta determin remains homexe inthe asumption that the sutton of the dere wo know ello lear coereneedorimenty logs tat hers lena word of “meaning and truth, appeal and falivent=* Deas and retardations cffer hewttions fens napensc, sd uncerainty song the Tong and ‘eden marc of exponin oward the fl daa of Know i 24 Documentary A Fiction (Un)Like Any Oxber had Held and posses from the beginning, Permanent kncertanty and lunresoived suspense, om the other hand, seem anathema to tion devoted o telling what it Knows. Texts that follow this route (ims of reflexive bent ike Of Gras Boos end Onna Profle, Unfiie Diry or for example) cll this entire wadon of certain mnowege snd fll dclosure into question “Another important diference between fon and documentary stems fromthe specific degree of contro that the dacuenaryRmmae hey hve over the events med. A lack of eommtnicatnenes that We weld atibute in fletion oa intent to delay or retard the ander of alarm tion may not in documentary, bean atemp to withtld information a all. The tormation ay simply be unaraable Carvers, there tay be Tnfrmation available thatthe fmmaker chooses to suppres or nore ‘andi ay be suppresel in ways designed odstract us from tke oman is Contac oes not els that he white gol-ainng bethers who tage fiat contat with We New Guinea Highland natives sone Sify Yea’ ago Ihave been and sill re martied wo naive women; Nenan fe Node ‘ot disclose te ferences Denicen ss depiction of Eakin life and the ‘muck more modern paterns of existence that Faherty found bat dl wot ‘i; With Bais ant Bonners does ox evel the Communist Par ai tions of some of is witnesses wo the eonons of women workers the 1080. Alternatively tangible trace of unsilble information may rena ine flim a evidence of the liane confronted by the Rimaker The sense of an unconvolled historical! process may ot only authntions “realy,” but lo auteateate the documentary npnation of that ral ay, Wemay authenticate the documentary process ict In Stara Cur rons Final Ofer, about negocations becreen the Canadian bral of the United Auto Workery and Canadian cat manufacturers hiseFew guise aces to several ofthe negotating seasons but atone cruel seo the ‘ew, and Gunnation, are bared, unexpectedly, a the hotel room dao ‘This scene is left in the finshed film. I contibutes both surprise and suspense snd can be read ay an eg coe tha fly comntneatve in the face of sation where spartan information was wild fo the fimmaker rather than fy de filmmaker. Although tis an exposory srategy, itis es an unallojedtextmony to tactical tesery th the sarrtional strategies of Hitchcock are oor sling taney, Thcacene presents evidence of vulnerability a well tasers ons miocry is ‘context means displaying the way in which the filmmaker rem walacr able to the vichsitdes ofthe historical word, ‘These categories of degices of knowledge, subjectivity, selfconsioue ness, and communicaveness sugges sonte ofthe important stances a dlocsmentary can take in elaon to Its ams angument the proces by hich iets ts knowledge be known. The etnctive way ian whic ene Teli Sores with Bvidener and Argues 35, ‘ategories operate in fet and in documentary fms suggest how dese ‘mentary is fiction (un)lke anyother. Knowledge more often der esto Aan omniscient narator than fem a single character subjecay Is more Time than in fiction and performance a a dsnctv, etal” quality selfconsciosnes ia more common component of expoation Sano ‘arate: a retreted eommunicatveness may be seater for sae nse and viewer enggerent ut it may als he testimony to the te ‘maker's linited control over a world not entitely of hi or her ona

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