Edward R. Murrow Sociology

Do mockumentary films retain any trace of the ’discourse of sobriety’? Throughout film history, documentary and fiction films have denoted the polar opposites of film form with each representing two distinct and separate traditions, the cinema of reality and the cinema of fiction (Doherty 16). However what was once a clear distinction has become blurred as the increasing popularity of mockumentary continues to weaken the assumed boundaries between fact and fiction (Sicinski). Prior to this ‘blurring of the lines’ the documentary genre enjoyed a privileged position amongst screen forms due its ‘the truth claim’ (Glick). Reflecting Bill Nichols’ observation that documentary employs the ‘discourse of sobriety’ (3), the truth claim is

Documentaries aim to explore events or ideas that are true. However the truth is often lost when we consider other influencing factors, which include the filmmaker’s inherent bias, the need for a film to tell a single coherent story, and common documentary conventions which shape the viewer’s understanding. Held back by these issues, documentary makers cannot help but communicate their version of the truth to the viewer through both intentional and unintentional manipulation.

As I sat in my apartment and waited for my guest I opened up my laptop to skim my notes. Edward R. Murrow, radio broadcast legend and American hero. This man survived London during World War II and now he’s coming over to my house for an interview. So many thoughts circled my head while I waited. What questions will I ask? How will he answer? Will I be able to use this interview at all? I kept frantically flipping through my notes when I heard a knock at the door.

• A documentary about ‘making’ of a movie, for example Fitzcarraldo (1982) or Apocalypse Now (1979)

Edward R. Murrow was born on April 25, 1908, in Polecat Creek, North Carolina. He went to Washington State University and studied political science, speech, and international relations (Edward R. Murrow Biography). He began news broadcasts in 1928 and continued throughout World War 2 (Edward R. Biography). He graduated Washington State University in 1930, and went on to work for the International Institute of Education. He married Janet Huntington Brewster in 1935, five years after graduating university. (Edward R. Murrow Timeline). Murrow later then left broadcasting in 1961 and died on April 27, 1965 in New York.

There have been many issues with journalists being honest or dishonest in our generation. Not all of journalist are bad, there are many great ones who have impacted society in positive ways. Journalism is the activity or profession of writing for magazines, newspapers, news websites, or they prepare news stories

Edward R. Murrow is a universally recognized, courageous news broadcaster who brought stories to life through radio and television programs. He developed the term “broadcast journalism,” earning creditability with his eyewitness coverage of the London bombing which gave him the public acclaim “As Kendrick noted, he was recognized as “a proficient debater, and preferred the spoken word, never having been a writing journalist” (Kendrick, p.214).

(SLIDE 1) According to the Oxford dictionary, documentaries use pictures or interviews with people involved in real events to provide a factual report on a particular subject. However, documentaries are much more than that, they educate the general public and make them aware of what is going on in the world and within our society, some are for entertainment purposes or can just be observational. Good morning / afternoon fellow documentary filmmakers, my name is Charlotte Thompson and the documentary I am presenting to you is ‘Food, Inc’. ‘Food, Inc.’ is about how the production of food has drastically changed since the 1950s, how it is controlled primarily by a handful of multinational corporations and it has changed my perspective on food consumption as it has shown the negative consequences of cheap fast food.

The creation of a documentary is a fine balance. One must be cognisant not to have misconstruing messages within the film, while still not trivializing those very same messages. It must strive to present its case with as little bias as possible. Moreover, that message must succeed in reaching the audience. With this in mind, Andrew Morgan succeeds in being a skilled documentary filmmaker with The True Cost; a documentary with hard hitting commercial implications, social/political implications and manages persuades the audience using facts and figures to its advantage.

In Time is a film set in the future that I believe best represents the theme of class. Counting down minutes is taken to a whole new level in this futuristic film. Disease is nonexistent and the only concern in which the population faces is what to do with their time. Humans are engineered to stop ageing at twenty-five and our given just a year longer to live, unless they work for extra time. The main character Will Salas is accused of murder and also of stealing extra time from those he’s murdered. In short Will must find a way to prove his innocence and take down the retched system that the oppressed hate so much. The film aired the 28th of October 2011, and stared actor/musician Justin Timberlake.

Minow’s push for beneficial, valuable broadcasting led to the eruption of documentaries. Despite public opinion, documentaries can have ulterior motives for content such as propaganda and subjective aims. According to Minow’s speech, “program materials should enlarge the horizons of the viewer, provide him with wholesome entertainment, afford helpful stimulation, and remind him of the responsibilities which the citizen has toward his society” (Minow). All television entertainment should be designed to present the viewer with an unbiased view. In Harvest of Shame,

Movies has expanded our imagination to new horizons, at times using computerized graphics or true life events to bring entertainment to the public. Certain scenes may exaggerate reality to create added action to the scene and even create inaccuracies in which the public viewing may accept as a truth. Viewing the motion picture “End of Watch” and with active understanding in law enforcement, several scenes stayed within my mind. Due to the realities, I have experience that was portrayed in the film, while other scenes being embellishment and/or having inaccuracies regarding policing in the United States. Overall, movies would constantly portray myths, inaccuracies and/or exaggerate within the film for entertainment.

The very first documentary was released in 1922, Nanook of the North directed by Robert Flaherty. This became the first sense of revealing nature and reality as itself, whilst creating a form of narrative, as people tend to lean towards drama. In the contemporary world,

The challenge of accurately representing ethnography, the critical analysis and systematic inspection of everyday life across cultures, has been repeatedly attempted with myriad intentions and has subsequently evolved over time. This paper will examine four iconic anthropological filmmakers in the mid-twentieth century in their individual distinctive endeavors to contribute to and accomplish this goal of developing ethnographic film. From Robert Flaherty 's objective to showcase culture as art, to Margaret Mead and Gregory Bateson’s intent to produce a purely unbiased and scientific cinematic record, to John Marshall’s desire to present works which would engage audiences politically, one can trace the evolving narrative of ethnographic film itself, climaxing in the ultimate quest for reflexivity.

Pioneers of Sociology * Karl Marx He said that the working class will defeat the ownership class, and result in a utopia where government will wither away to nothing and the principle of economics will be based on "For each according to his needs, and from each according to his ability." His contribution to thinking in sociology is mainly in a perspective called "Conflict Theory" in which social organisation and change is based upon conflicts built into society. Many people see this as having much resemblance to classical (Greek and Latin) myths about the Phoenix Bird (who flies too close to the sun and burns) and creation myths of Athapaskan people of the Great Plains of North America. It is ironical that he predicted revolution to