Girl Model and Documentary as Argument Documentaries occupy a unique space in the film world. Not only must these films attempt to provide a perspective on reality, they must also engage the audience and provide a form of entertainment. In portraying reality, the films generally take on a specific perspective. Documentary filmmakers create a film advocating a specific point of view in order to create interest in the film and create a stronger film overall. Bill Nichols calls this the documentary’s argument (165). He states, “[I]n documentary, realism serves to make an argument about the historical world seem persuasive” (Nichols 165). Persuading the audience is vital in films pertaining to social issues such as defining and examining …show more content…
Ashley’s interview is depicted without the interviewer in the frame, and the viewer does not hear the questions being asked. Leger Grindon states that this type of interview provides the interviewee with authority (7). Ashley’s role as a scout in the film casts doubt on her feelings about the girls she recruits, so this form of interview allows her to retain some of her credibility as both a speaker and a protagonist. In discussing how she finds the girls, she claims that her employer in Japan does not care what she does or where she goes “as long as she brings them the girls” (Girl). She goes on to say that she does not have an exact description, but she gets a “commission of whatever [she brings] them” (Girl). She calls it freedom, but she follows the comment with the revelation that she does not care about the business (Girl). She does the work because she is paid to do so, but she does not enjoy the job. This interview is placed just after Nadya arrives in Japan. The juxtaposition of the hopeful young girl and the disenchantment Ashley feels in her position demonstrate the critical viewpoint Redmond and Sabin take towards the modelling industry they are …show more content…
Because of the focus on Nadya and Ashley, the audience does not gain much information about the companies who recruit and represent the models or the people who work with Nadya and Ashley. Throughout the film, the audience does view interactions between Nadya and Ashley and the people they work for, but there is very little emphasis placed on the other people depicted. There is some focus on Ashley’s supervisors and employers, but the focus is often negative. At one point, the filmmaker includes an interview with Ashley where she mentions that she believes Messiah, the owner of one of the agencies she scouts for, continues his job because he engages in inappropriate relationships with the young models he recruits. Ashley states, “[Messiah] loves models” (Girl). She never openly states that Messiah has relationships with his models, but the implication is clear. Although this claim never goes farther, Ashley clearly connects the industry to the sex trade. Towards the end of the film, Ashley addresses this point in another interview. She claims that some models find themselves moving into prostitution. Ashley states that the girls already see themselves selling their body for the camera, so they do not find prostitution a stretch (Girl). Including this interview near the end of the film leaves the viewer with a lasting sense of unease about the
Firstly, it is important to understand how the documentary form is best suited to illustrate the film’s theme. In order to do this, one must have an overview of the documentary style of filmmaking. Documentaries concern themselves with the “exploration of
From the moment the girls enter, Sammy describes in massive detail their looks and the way they uphold themselves. As he devotes his entire attention towards Queenie and the other girls he loses focus off of his job requirements and makes a mistake.The reader learns that Sammy has been working at A & P for a while because he is familiar with his customers, the cash register and the aisle. For instance, in paragraph 1 he labels his customer a witch because he wasn’t sure if he
A documentary is a genre of film that provides a factual report on a particular story, viewpoint, message or experience. In this essay, two documentaries, Bowling for columbine by Michael Moore and Made in Bangladesh by CBC news will be explored to show how persuasive techniques are used to make an audience feel a particular way.
The Biased viewpoint of Michael Moore tears viewers away from the actual problem, and perhaps even the film’s intended message itself…
Sammy describes the other customers as if they are nothing. Sammy then continues to describe the next two girls the way he did with the first. This shows that Sammy is like a typical teenage guy by describing the girls by their looks.
Ashley Rhodes-Courter, a girl whom has endured many harsh encounters throughout her childhood life, has finally
She feels that by faking it she won’t have to actually face her problems and that she can just continue pretending to live a life online that she does not actually have, adding to the idea that the working class put themselves in the situations that they are in. The last stereotypical thing that is shown is crime. Ashley has a few accounts of larceny of merchandise. This leads to people of higher classes looking down on her for being too lazy to obtain things on her own and for being
She gains some confidence and starts to speak up in class. One of her Professors, Professor Callahan is a lawyer in his own firm is offering an internship for four students for a new case he is working on because his caseload is rather large. Callahan asks for Elle's resume, which happened to be pink and scented, because of an excellent argument she debated and won in his class. The internship winners were posted an Elle was picked, along with Warner, Vivian, and a friend of Vivian's. The case that the firm is working on is another prime example of gender roles. The case is about a fitness instructor (Brooke) who is obviously beautiful but is accused of murdering her 60 year old husband. Elle knows all about Brooke and states from the beginning that she felt Brooke was innocent. Elle visits Brooke in prison to get her alibi; Elle brings Brooke a basket of "goodies" which included make-up, flowers, and a cosmopolitan magazine. Brooke wanting to tell Elle what she was doing doesn't want anyone else to know because Brooke having a fortune due to her fitness empire, was out getting liposuction, which is another gender issue for women trying to maintain the generic appearance stereotype. Elle keeps her promise and never tells anyone about Brooke's alibi. Proceeding on to other gender references in the movie Elle goes with Emmett, another lawyer working on the case in Callahan's firm, (who happens to think Elle is cute) to the dead mans ex-wife's spa
She did not know where and how to start given the lack of training and the complexity of the job, especially since she is a novice in fashion (disinterested and have no knowledge), she may be underqualified for the requirements of this job theoretically. Although Emily assisted her in some ways by giving her tasks to do, she did not elaborate on how to perform them. Despite uncertainties and the immense stress, she continued to stay though she dislikes it because of the benefits she can potentially gain - like meeting other well-known journalists and editors that can welcome her with plenty of opportunities. Of course, being constantly reminded that she could quit but this is “other millions of girls’ dreams”, facing pressures from her
However, through the intelligent use of film techniques such as Omissions, editing (scene placement) and non-diegetic sounds, there is an obvious bias presented to the audience, as Moore wants to specifically convey a messages which benefits an agenda which he is following. The documentaries, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Bowling for Columbine will be further explored through the analysis of its film techniques which indefinitely create an obvious bias and the positive and negative outcomes it has regarding Michael Moore’s film message.
This documentary has a voice which is the most important part of any movie, furthermore, it has it own way of living and breathing and speaking to
What truly gets the attention of Sammy is Queenie’s pink bathing suit that had straps that were pushed off which exposed her bare shoulders. He describes that with the straps down you can see just “her” and how she was “more than pretty.” Customers of A & P are in shock when they witness the girls’ appearance in the store. Stokesie, another cashier at A & P who is only three years older than Sammy, is married with two kids. He does not resist fantasizing over the girls. He makes commentary along with Sammy, again clearly displaying the mindset of that age group. The store is quiet, Sammy is anxiously awaiting the girls to come into view as there is nothing else to do. He fabricates scenarios in his head such as which check out aisle they will choose when their shopping has concluded.
In this essay, I will explain why a documentary is always more realistic than a fiction film. I will show my thesis by exploring elements that influence how realistic a film is: film editing and format, genre, and transparency. I will use the documentary of Armadillo (2010), by Janus Pedersen, and the fiction film of The Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968), by Danièle Huille as examples.
“The documentary tradition as a continually developing “record” that is made in so many ways, with different voices and vision, intents and concerns, and with each contributor, finally, needing to meet a personal text” (Coles 218). Coles writes “The Tradition: Fact and Fiction” and describes the process of documenting, and what it is to be a documentarian. He clearly explains through many examples and across disciplines that there is no “fact or fiction” but it is intertwined, all in the eye of the maker. The documentarian shows human actuality; they each design their own work to their own standards based on personal opinion, values, interest and whom they want the art to appeal to.