Charter Schools in the Lottery Documentary - Essay Example

Charter Schools If one takes a close look at the development of the cinema, one will have to point out that there are two major directions in which it evolves: fictional movies as well as documentaries. It would be a mistake to suggest that one of them is more important than the other, since both serve a very important function of helping people to understand various issues about the life and the world. That is why there is a considerable number of documentaries that are dedicated to shed light on some of the most controversial issues that the society is facing at the present moment. A good example is The Lottery a recent documentary that focuses on the problem of charter schools. One might suggest that the movie in question makes a good argument about the topic. However, in order to prove that it would be advantageous to work out a set of criteria that should be used to measure the effectiveness of the arguments that are made by documentaries. This paper will present four such criteria. The first one as well as the most obvious one is objectivity. Indeed, people tend to watch documentaries since they hope that the director is not biased and is willing to show the actual state of affairs, not from a particular side. It is clear that to do so, the documentary should not give preference to one particular point of view, but feature different approaches. Speaking of The Lottery it is clear that opposite ideas about the issue of charter schools are presented: the pro side is backed up by the staff of Harlem Success Academy, parents and activists; the con side includes public advocates, representatives of teachers union, staff of public schools and so on. It would not be a mistake to point out that fact that it is a great advantage of the movie in question lies in the fact that it features interviews with people who strongly believe in the validity of their claims: this allowed the director to present opposite views. Another criterion that would contribute to the effectiveness of arguing a particular topic is balance between emotional neutrality and encouragement. It is true that documentaries usually send a particular message to the audience, and this message is usually backed up by the appeal to emotions. It is thought that “self assertive emotions drive us towards individual action and reaction” (Austin and Jong 113). In other words, they reinforce the position that is already taken by a person on a particular issue and allow one to take an appropriate action. Indeed, “these are feelings which make you want to participate, become one with what you are engaging with, to lose yourself” (Jong and Knudsen 93). One might argue that having watched a good documentary, a person is able to feel catharsis just like after watching a well directed fictional movie. As for the film in question, one should note that it shows some difficult moments when people were too emotional and this distorted the perception of the issue. However, all in all, The Lottery was able to strike the balance between the two extremes. The third criterion which adds to the quality of the documentary is depiction of stories of different people who are directly affected by the issue. In this case the audience will be able to see that there are different perspectives on the problem and it might have a different meaning for people. If one takes the example of The Lottery, one would have to note that there are basically four story lines: all they are connected with lives of Gregory Goodwine Jr., Christian Yoanson, Eric Roachford Jr., Ameenah Horne – the children who participated in 2009 (“The Lottery”). One might note that this greatly contributes to the objectivity of the argument since it shows diversity within one particular side whether it is supporting or opposing one. Finally, a good documentary that is able to present its argument effectively should feature actual evidence about the problem. It is true that the majority of documentaries film people who are directly involved in the issue while they are doing their routine work; however, it is clear that while people are filmed they are not able to behave naturally. That is why it would be extremely advantageous to film some actual process. For example, The Lottery features footage from the public hearing about the charter schools. The audience understands that it was not staged which contributes to the validity of the argument. One should not that “the knowledge that the characters in a documentary exist beyond the film – unlike the characters of fiction” is one of the most striking elements of a documentary. (Ellis 102). The reason why it is so effective focuses on the fact that when a director creates a documentary, he or she is trying to arrange various facts in some kind of a composition and when the facts are structured too smoothly, the audience my doubt the objectiveness. However, contrary to that, when a director includes footage of a situation which could not be staged in any way, and the outcome of it still proves the initial point, the viewers are convinced that the claims that were made originally are true and should be taken into close consideration. Having examined the available evidence, one might come to the following conclusion: there are four criteria that should be met by a documentary which would like to present its argument successfully. The first one is presenting the issue from different sides, namely the objectivity of the narration. Secondly, it is striking a perfect balance between the emotions that are able to distort the understanding of the situation and feelings that would encourage people to make an appropriate action. Thirdly, a good documentary would present different stories of characters which are involved in the issue. Finally, it will also feature evidence or footage that is taken directly from real life. It would not be a mistake to argue that if the narration of a documentary is designed taking into account these criteria, it will be able to have a profound influence on the audience. An example of such a well made documentary is The Lottery. Works cited Austin, Thomas, and Wilma de. Jong. Rethinking documentary new perspectives, new practices. Maidenhead, England: McGraw Hill/Open University Press, 2008. Print. Ellis, John. Documentary: witness and self-revelation. New York, NY: Routledge, 2011. Print. Jong, Wilma, and Erik Knudsen. Creative documentary: theory and practice. Harlow, U.K.: Pearson, 2012. Print. The lottery. Dir. Madeleine Sackler. Perf. Geoffrey Canada, Cory Booker. Great Curve Films, 2010. Film. Read More