Documentary Essay

How Do Documentaries Produce ‘Truth Effects’? The role of media has often been a subject of much debate, particularly in terms of its role in portraying and conveying truth to the target audience. Some argue upon its utility as a means to disseminate information and to rectify perceptions and facts in the minds of the viewers; while others squabble on the amount of misrepresentation which is often adopted by media as a means to project baseless arguments which lead to severe impact on the minds,

This essay attempts to discuss on two documentaries, Awaiting for Men (2007) and Sick: The Life and Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (1997), on their reconstruction of truth and reality with particular emphasis on cinematic language and representation. With documentary becoming more diverse and diffused due to advanced technology such as the Internet, the realism of first-hand experience and facts may be exaggerated and even fictional. This is achieved through a bombast proximity and truth which

Documentaries are often overlooked but they are important films that show us factual information in a way that educates but also captivates the audience. Spike Lee’s Four Little Girls shows the importance of community in the face of horrific events. Through interviews with the families, government officials of the time, and footage and pictures the filmmakers tell the story of what happened at the church in Birmingham Alabama and well as the effects it had. Documentary films are shown trustworthy

role in the documentary. This does not include commenting on the progress of the documentary or creating voice overs but rather being an active participant of the event as it unfolds (Das 62). However, Rivers connotes that the filmmaker, “May provoke a reaction from the subject or may voice an opinion…” (428). This influence comes in various ways ranging from selection of shots and editing as will be discussed later. For instance, in one scene of the classic cinema vérité documentary Harlan County

Documentary photography has the ability to invoke social reform. It allows viewers to maintain their distance and choose their level of involvement in issues at hand. When subjects are portrayed as sufferers, feelings such as sadness, shock, outrage, desperation, anger or disgust are evoked from the viewer. As a result, the viewer wants to see change and are encouraged to act upon these feelings.
 One of the first major instances where social reform was seen as a result of documentary photography

Documentaries film-making can never be values-neutral Introduction 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. The purpose of a documentary film is to show an opinion, story, agenda or someone’s version of reality based on that person’s

The Wolfpack is a 2015 documentary that tells the story of the Angulo family, specifically the six movie obsessed brothers, and their life in a tiny New York City apartment. The Angulo brothers, all named by their Hare Krishna father for different iterations of the god Krishna, shared a six room apartment with their parents and older sister, Visnu. Their tight knit relationship developed in part from the isolation the family experienced during the boys childhood. During the film, they tell the

The documentary hypothesis is a composite of four separate, complete, and coherent documents in the Torah. These four documents are the Yahwist, the Elohist, the Priestly, and the book of Deuteronomy. The documentary hypothesis was developed in the 18th and 19th century in hopes of being able to bring together some inconsistencies within biblical text. Each document deals with the same incidents and characters, but with different messages. The Yahwist source is said to be the oldest source out of

Detropia is a documentary directed by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady that explores the decline of Detroit, Michigan. The film is to raise awareness of the city that used to flourish but is now struggling to support its citizens with the downfall of its automobile industry. Detropia was made in 2012 and highlights important stories and viewpoints of citizens still living in Detroit who are filled with hope for its future. I chose to review Detropia because it really corresponds with what we have been

Evan Nicole Bell Professor Schewel 15 December 2016 Leadership, Policy, and Change Beyond the Darkroom: Documentary Photography as a Tool for Social Change Can one series of photos make a difference? While many may doubt the power of a group of images possess to engender social change, thousands of social movements, federal policies, and personal revolutions have begun with and been supported by the click of a shutter. From the Great Depression-era of the 1920s to the modern day Black Lives Matter