Informative Movies Essay

Now, I never really engage myself with documentaries as they have the tendency to be monotonous and put me to sleep rather than capture any sort of my

When it comes down to a film or television series that is known as a popular hit, most people may consider something along the lines of a comedy or drama. No one, in my opinion, gives much thought into viewing a film such as a documentary. A person may say or hear the word ‘documentary’ and particular stereotypical views such as elderly-people-sitting-around-on-a-Sunday-afternoon-with-nothing- better-to-do, or the history channel perhaps come to mind. Not many individuals give documentaries a chance, but I would encourage the viewing of the Academy award-winning documentary, Murder on a Sunday Morning, also known as Un Coupable Ideal, directed by the French-film maker Jean-Xavier de Lestrade.

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

My selection for the National History Day Project is the documentary, I choose this because I’ve never really done a documentary before so I thought that maybe trying to make one would be a good first start for me, I’ve always done

Contemporary Africa is shown as a violent and dangerous place, were the vulnerable are exploited by greedy and unscrupulous people and enterprises. Older African films depicted a much more untouched and peaceful Africa, however this pristine area has now suffered much exploitation as a result of the western influence. The directors have used a variety of film techniques in order to distinguish this new trend of Africa films from the elder ones.

The idea of a documentary being an artistic or even personalised expression of a director is long gone, or so it seems in recent times. In Michael Moore’s latest documentary, Bowling for Columbine, he attempts to get across to viewers his, and essentially only his point of view, on the topic of gun laws. Although what Moore is trying to say is not necessarily wrong, he is at the same time not taking into account the other side of the argument either; all he is trying to do, essentially is hypnotise viewers into thinking

Media is so powerful that many people in business and politics have long realised that documentary filmmaking is a powerful way to influence or persuade the masses as to which side they should take on certain issues. Although the media claim their documentaries to be neutral, subjectivity is always an issue. Like any form of communication, including journalism, documentary filmmaking involves interpretation and choice-making on the part of the filmmaker, and is therefore unavoidably subjective. You might set up a camera to record a "day in the life of a Year 12 student” and end up with some interesting footage, but until it is shaped and given meaning by the filmmaker, and until

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.

Documentary films in particular have been the preferred channel for the diffusion of propaganda because of its association with ‘a truthful cinema.’ John Grierson, coiner the term documentary, defined it as “the creative treatment of actuality.” However, Hilmar Hoffman talks about film’s illusory power by explaining that what exists to the viewer is only what the camera ‘sees,’ and due to the absence of alternate perspectives, the viewer conventionally perceives the images shown as reality. In this regard, documentary films are able to influence, represent, and create a particular consciousness by doctoring events, thus making it untrustworthy and, ultimately, the ideal medium to communicate

Documentary Movies: Key types – factual films (present people, places, or processes in straightforward ways meant to entertain and instruct without influencing audiences), instructional films (educate viewers about common interests, rather than persuading them to accept particular ideas), persuasive films (addresses social injustices), propaganda films (systematically disseminate deceptive or distorted information), direct cinema (eschew interviews and even limit the use of narrators).

My first step to my documentary, I decided to go on the internet to research and understand my topic. I looked up some

Documentaries also include films which are intended to ‘expose’ and often carry interviews, for example Michael Moore’s films on social concerns

When I first heard that we would be learning in comp 2 by using documentaries, I panicked because I rarely watch television, much less do I ever watch documentaries. As I began to research what a documentary truly is, I realized this class will not be terrible considering I am actually looking forward to watching and analyzing documentaries in the coming weeks for my class.

During this unit in Term 2, the english class has been exploring the history and development of the documentary; exploring how people, events, cultures and ideas are represented in documentaries. Ellen, Nawshaba, Mercedes and Mia were included in my group on the topics of Nap Rooms. Throughout this process I have developed teamwork and leadership skills to produce a subjective documentary.

The cast had difficulty acting and communicating through desired emotions. The persistent change of setting produced an unrecognizable environment that was fundamental for the story. At some point along the filming process Steven and I witnessed our production derailing, realizing that our final product would fail. The changes that occurred during our summer offered a new perspective both Steven and I were not envisioning. “Nonfiction” transformed from a somber film to a laissez-faire documentary about how best friends share a mutual appreciation of respect for each