A Documentary Film Can Change the World - Assignment Example

Question: A documentary film can change the world.  Discuss giving at least two examples. Introduction A documentary is generally defined as a production or a fact based film that portrays actual events and persons. Documentaries can deal with scientific or educational topics. It can also be a form of journalism or social interpretation. More so, it can be a gateway for propaganda or personal expression. Additionally, another description of a documentary is that it is as an art of expressing social issues to the community and helping people become actively involved in changing the World (Waught, Winton, Baker, 2010:56) Documentaries are different from fictional movies. This is the case because unlike fiction movies, documentaries rely more on the happenings or the situations at hand, while fiction movies are created. The distinction between the two is therefore clear. Documentary is a non-fiction film that comments, teaches, or simply retells history (Cornel 2005:36). It is extremely factual even though it might bring out opinions about the facts it presents. A docudrama or movies on the other hand show historical events. Movies are created from past happenings and bits or pieces of truth are patched into the movie to make it more real. The moviemakers make up events to increase the appeal of the story unlike a documentary where the reality is naturally evident. The irony is that both movies and documentaries provide the same purpose of empowering and teaching on social events. In spite of the similarities, documentaries are exceptional because they are realistic. The aim of this paper therefore, is to discuss and outline the facts about documentaries, and whether or not documentary films can change the word. Documentary background Filmmaking started twenty-five decades ago and has grown tremendously. This film evolution or growth is due to progressive distribution of affordable technology and pressure from the audience or the public, who were eager for more information and political discussions. Evidently, Filmmaking has come a long way. This is because in 1900, documentaries were captured in single-shot moments in films, and the direction of the film was based on originality of showing an event (Bonifazio, Cox, and 2008:56). In other words these short films were called “actuality” films because very little storytelling took place (Ellis, Maclane, 2005:334). The reason for the little story telling was because the cameras or devices of those times only held a very small amount of films. However, time changes everything and today’s documentaries are modern and exceptional. In today’s world, documentaries have become modern and some of these documentaries coincide with television forms. This progressive technology is seen in films where digital productions either can be direct-to-video or made for television series. Unlike in the past, where technology was progressing, lightweight digital video cameras and computer-based editing have really helped documentary makers. In addition, affordability of this equipment as well as the availability of these devices has added a plus in documentary or film making industry (Ellis, Maclane, and 2005:335). Further, unlike in the past, these documentaries are readily available in any form and vary in different length or duration. The other special fact of technology is that these documentaries are distributed worldwide and are reachable at your convenience. Purpose of a documentary The main purpose of a documentary film is to present reality as alleged by the director and writer who are in front of the audience. That mostly involves enlightening the public towards the apathy in a particular issue (Rosenthal, 2007:4). For example, a mother is watching a documentary on how children are bullied by others in school. The documentary being a reality at hand, this mother will have a revelation on the other side of school life, or school life behind the scenes. Therefore, the mother will start viewing the school phenomenon in a very different perspective. Henceforth, this mother will be more attentive and concerned with her school-going children. Types of documentaries We have different types of documentaries that vary in length and content. First, there is the performative documentary. This documentary stresses or emphasize on one-sided experience and emotional response to the world. They can be viewed as personal and experimental. They might include real events designed to make us experience what it feels like for us to be in a society that social aspects are affecting humanity. An example of this documentary is a documentary covering or showing war in South Sudan. Though the government is fighting with the rebels, the people or citizens are the most affected. The viewer of this documentary will definitely feel and understand how the people living in South Sudan undergo in daily basis, and how traumatized these individuals are. Another excellent example of performative documentary is the most watched ‘Hotel Rwanda’ documentary. This documentary brings out the real picture of genocide and the consequences of War. Any individual watching this emotional documentary will feel the reality of hopelessness of the Rwandese victims. Though the genocide happened two decades ago, the reality in the documentation makes it fresh and the viewer will absolutely feel like he was present in the genocide. Another type of documentary is reflexive documentary. This is a documentary that does not show us the world, but rather the filmmakers show themselves as the representatives. They tend to portray the legitimacy of documentary in general. It informs the audience more of the harms the documentary makers face while making or producing a film. The emphasis is about the encounter between filmmaker and viewer rather than filmmaker and subject. The third type of a documentary is a participatory documentary. The idea behind this documentary is that it brings people together to explore issues, voice concern, or simply tell stories. This kind of documentary can be very empowering because it enables a group or communities to take their own action and solve their own problem. Additionally, to communicate their ideas to the people concerned. An example of this documentary is when a reporter and a camera operator alone highlight an issue by interviewing or engaging a society to air their views or problems. The fourth type of documentary is an observational documentary. This is an episode where the documentary maker keeps a track of the person closely to take note of life’s happening. A perfect illustration is when filmmakers are documenting a program on the lives of pregnant teenage mothers and how they deal with high school and being pregnant at the same time. The episode usually begins with these teenage mothers being around five months pregnant and ending with the birth of the baby, or when the baby is about three months old. Another perfect example of observational documentary is scientific documentaries. This is a situation where scientists monitor animals or reptiles growth or behavior. most of this documentaries are exceptional because the animals are Implanted with digital devices that are not removed until the end of documentation. Types of audiences Audiences or viewers vary in attitude and they range in size and composition. The effects or content of documentation depends on the attitude of the audience. Firstly, there is the hostile or real audience. These individuals make up the audience and they depend on circumstances or situation at hand. The presenter has to be attentive and persuasive in order to hold this type of audience. Sometimes they can be openly hostile and tend to disagree with either the presenter or the presentation itself. The second type of audience is the critical audiences. This is a type of audience who believe that they are intelligent and probably even more intelligent than the presenter is. These audiences are very attentive and will pick holes in your presentation and might disbelieve your presentation. A presenter is therefore required to prove his facts because the presentation might end up being a debate (Berry, Lux, Ruffel, 2010:126). An example of such audience is when a presenter is teaching on a controversial social issue like abortion. Some of this audience will definitely oppose bits of the documentation giving their own facts that will be very challenging to the presenter. The third type of audience is the meditated audience. They are individuals who consume presentations through TV, radio and the internet. Despite the fact that these audiences are separated from the presenter through the mediums, they too can raise objections. These audiences use phones or emails to comment or object the presentation. The last type of audience is the universal audiences. These are imaginary audiences to the presenter to help him understand a presentation speech and perfect for it. Benefits of documentary Documentary is a teacher or a conveyer in other words. First, a documentary is a means of conveying social messages to the world. Many people look or depend on television and theaters to give them entertainment as well as information. The documentaries via the television therefore bring great changes by creating awareness and keeping the public informed on what they do not know. Secondly, a documentary is a channel in which young people can share and learn about their cultural experiences with others. Watching documentaries about other cultures and nations generates interest in subjects like languages and culture. Thirdly, watching documentaries together on a television at home gives a family a chance to air their opinions. The family will understand each other’s opinion and the bonding in the family becomes stronger. On the fourth note, documentaries are a good source of reading for children. This is so because after the children watch these interesting films about wildlife, space, and foreign culture, the children get the urge to read further or in detail. They can also teach good common sense and great values to children through the real lesson it portrays. Furthermore, documentaries can inspire people into taking certain steps, which would not have been possible before watching a documentary. Lives change when people watch brave deeds or selfless serving of humanity. This is so because, some documentaries are very touching and influential that people change their ways completely. For instance, watching Nelson Mandela’s documentary will not leave you unmoved. From his humble begins to spend decades in a prison is not an ordinary thing. However, Mandela persevered and eventually liberated his country. Anybody watching this documentary will definitely turn his life around. Another note is that documentaries can open up history in a very interesting way. Most of us do not like studying history, but when the same facts are presented in a documentary, we get interested and learn quickly and more effectively. History can include many other things like art, music, or even abstract things. Lastly, a visually recorded fact is evident and has great power to move minds more than a written or spoken word. This is how the stigmas like child labor, adult and child trafficking as well as prostitution awareness will be created. Whether or not documentary films can change the world Whether or not a documentary can change, the world has been the world’s greatest debate. Others believe it can change the world while others differ. The opposing side argues that documentaries bring things or aspects that need fixing into light. For instance, more than million people have watched “Kony 2012”, a documentary highlighting a rebellious African Warlord. Despite this documentation and what people under him captivity are passing through, lawmakers are still pushing for Kony’s capture (Waught, Baker, 2010:29). Therefore, that has not at all changed the world. Another aspect is that despite the million documentaries on diet and nutrition, and how it is affecting humanity, people are still eating unhealthy and junk food. Hence, the documentaries have not changed the world. On the other proposing side, documentaries can change the world. This is so because the impact or influences of documentaries are more evident. An example of how a documentary can change the world is “into the rain forest”. In this documentary, it had taken a couple of airplanes, a boat, an open-air bus, and eventually a three-hour canoe to reach a research station. This was Jenifer Berglund and her friends from college research destination. The biology research was about their ancestors in Ecuador, and how these ancestors will maintain the culture and environment in the plains of Ecuador. They eventually reached their destination and the fabulous nature of Ecuadorian plains caught her attention. As Jenifer moved among the trees, she saw a group of people with microphones and she got more curious. She went closer and journalists from the National Public Radio reporters were recording a story about treehoppers and little insects. This form of activism touched her deeply. She suddenly realized that she did not intent to got to a bench or quite science, but wanted to be out in the world experiencing it and telling stories that needed to airing. After Jenifer completed her biology research in Ecuador, she returned to Boston. On reaching Boston, Jenifer wrapped up her biology degree and shifted to pursue masters in science and media journalism. She is now an executive producer in a production company where they specialize in nature and discovery. Therefore, this documentary is an evidence that documentary can really change the world. This is so because if Jenifer had not met the reporters, she would have acquired the motivation and probably would still be a biologist. The second evidence that documentaries can change the world is the case of media evolution. This is because in the past years, technology was very poor but due to viewers hunger for information led to evolution in technology. Documentaries touched people’s lives but the information itself was minimal and could not satisfy their interest. This led to the invention and production of the most modern equipments to quench the eager public or viewers. Therefore, if the documentaries did not influence the viewers, they would not have asked for more and maybe technology would still be lagging behind. Another evidence that documentaries can change the world is the fact that it has opened up peoples minds. For instance weekly documentaries like ‘The African Journal’ presented by Reuters, displaying different countries in Africa is an excellent revelation. This documentary highlights every aspect of Africa and the natural beauty in the continent. Any individual watching such a documentary will understand and feel like he is already in that particular part of Africa. Therefore, even if these viewers do not get a chance to travel to Africa, the documentary will bring the real Africa to them in details. Conclusion Despite the different angle people view documentaries and its effectiveness in the world, I can support the idea that a documentary can definitely change the world (Cornel, 2005:35). This is because the highlighted aspects of social issues in our daily life empower us the viewers. Even if viewers do not act on what they see on documentation, the idea or knowledge will remain in their instincts. Lastly, if documentaries did not change the world there would be no international events like the Oscar awards. The awards are there to recognize the best documentaries due to its impacts and changes it has brought and will continue to bring. Bibliography Behrend, H. and Luig, U. 2009. Spirit possession, modernity and power in Africa. Oxford: Currey. Berry, C., Lü, X., and Rofel, L. 2010. The new Chinese documentary film movement: for the public record. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press. Bonifazio, P., et al 2008. Narrating modernization: Documentary films in Cold War Italy (1948--1955). Dissertation Abstracts International. 69-09. Thesis (Ph. D.) --New York University, 2008. Corner, J. and Rosenthal, A. 2005. New challenges for documentary. Manchester: Manchester Univ. Press. Ellis, J. C., and Maclane, B. A. 2005. A new history of documentary film. New York: Continuum. Rosenthal, A. 2007. Writing, directing, and producing documentary films and videos. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. Waugh, T., Winton, E., and Baker, M. B. 2011. Challenge for Change activist documentary at the National Film Board of Canada. Montréal: McGill-Queens University Press. Wilson, K. M., and Crowder-Taraborrelli, T. F. 2012. Film and genocide. Madison, Wis: The University of Wisconsin Press. Read More