Case Study

Media Magazines

THEORIES

In very simplistic terms, some texts were fictional and some purported to be based on fact and the ‘real’ (Macdonald and Cousins).

"The primary proposition of cultivation theory states that the more time people spend 'living' in the television world, the more likely they are to believe social reality portrayed on television. (Gerbner and Gross)

Vertov argues that documentary is a way of representing “life as it is” (that is, life filmed surreptitiously) and ‘life caught unawares’ (life provoked or surprised by the camera).

Lorentz defines a documentary as ‘a factual film which is dramatic.

Renov believes there are four distinct purposes of documentary film (although some documentaries can be shown to have more than one function):

MM30 PG 10: Reality Bites: Documentary in the 21^st Century

O Narrowcasting refers to broadcasting that targets smaller, more defined audiences. (Offers advertisers a specific, desired audience.)

O voiceover is a key documentary device and is used to direct audiences towards a preferred reading.

O focus on Mise-en-Scene, close-ups which signify what is being told (iconography-Synergy)

The key aspects of the documentary genre are now being used across various genres but not in an attempt to make a parody. To make a new branch of documentary that merges the two.

‘How have the core principles of documentary making evolved in an age of rating  wars, channel proliferation and audience fragmentation? What issues do documentaries raise about the institutions that produce them and the audiences who consume them?’

People are often arguing that recent documentaries are‘dumbing down’, suggesting the documentary form has been tabloidised  with a stronger emphasis on sensationalism and voyeurism in order to make them more appealing to mass audiences.

A hybrid documentary has been created in the form of reality TV, the people are carefully chosen and it slowly becomes more like a scripted drama.

‘documentary needs opposing characters,

tension and a strong sense of narrative.’

The dramatic exchanges that are typically seen in the hybrid genre owes as much to Big Brother as it does to traditional documentary modes of representation.

E.g BBC3 Takeaways

There is constant binary opposition created:

   -  Between the workers

  -  The workers and those in charge

  -   The lives of the workers and the lives of the Brits.

The has always used to create a narrative however more recently it has been used to much and has become the focus of some products rather that the facts being investigated or explored.

Factsheet 62: Realism in Television

Realism: The attempt to show subjects and events as they are in everyday life.

Anne Fischel believes that ‘all documentary is biased’ the sheer fact that footage is being constructed and edited to suit a narrative and regulations means that bias has been created regardless of whether it was intentional. Even the removal of the smallest but of information can change a narrative and the way the audience perceives.

Types of realism:

Link to Making a Murderer shots?

‘Home Videos’

Prison

Factsheet 52: Documenting ‘The Real’

‘Even in its infancy, when documentaries were composed of a single shot and lasted less than a minute, cinema was divided into two camps: those who looked to the ‘real world’ for their subject matter, and those who filmed performance’

Even in the beginning people used the documentary genre as a platform for drama rather than facts.

One of the first documentary makers were the Lumiere Brothers- who also invented the 50 ft stock film, enabling longer filming periods – they concentrated on brief moments of everyday life. They did it because they believed that the audience of the time(1895) were ‘more engaged in how ‘real life’ was being represented’ they also seemed to be more affected by these representations.

(Diverting Time: London’s Cinemas and their Audiences, 1906-1914')

In the early days of cinema, documentary provided information for audiences.

‘as fictional texts became more sophisticated they became more popular and began to dominate over factual ones. Audiences seemed to prefer to see fictional representations rather than factual ones, although news and information was still shown through newsreels.’

The rise of television has meant that documentary became more suited for a ‘living room’ experience rather than a cinematic one, in saying that there have been many successful cinematic releases such as:

Fahrenheit 9/11(Moore, 2004),

Super Size Me (Spurlock, 2004),

March of the Penguins (Jaquet, 2005),

An Inconvenient Truth (Guggenheim, 2006)

‘They are constructed and mediated and are designed to create specific meaning and effect and have different functions. ‘

TYPES OF DOCUMENTARY

Expository- these documentaries often have a conventional narrative structure and present ideas through cause and effect.

Codes and Conventions - authoritative commentary employing voiceover or title. They try to persuade the viewer, commentary often sounds ‘objective’ and omniscient (all seeing and knowing).

Observational- They attempt to spontaneously observe lived life with a minimum of intervention.

Codes and Conventions - mobile lightweight cameras and portable sound recording equipment, offer a sense of immediacy and intimacy.

Participatory- Where the film-maker is part of the narrative of the documentary.

Codes and Conventions - Filmmaker is part of the film, we also get a sense of how situations in the film are affected or altered by their presence. Interviews

Reflexive – These documentaries seek to draw attention to their own construction and the fact that they are representations.

Codes and Conventions - Question the way the world is represented in documentaries, Highly sceptical of ‘realism’

Performative - These documentaries are personal, subjective and often focus on emotional responses.

Codes and Conventions - hypothetical enactments, end themselves to providing a way for minority groups to ‘speak about themselves.’

If performative is a choice, then it lends itself to the creation of docu-drama’s. Creators may underestimate the impact of the performance elements.

CRITICAL INVESTIGATION

In order to appeal to an audience and enable them to develop their own opinions completely, there would have to be some kind of interest, whether it be entertainment or education. But, to be an easy narrative to follow and suit a timescale, information has to be left out. The information removed can inadvertently create bias. Sometimes institutions intentionally do this, they want to make a group of people seem a certain way. Sometimes it is so subtle that it is actually difficult to apply theories such as the (Gerber’s – cultivation theory?) hypodermic needle  as the evidence is either well-hidden or miniscule. So how do we know when there is an intentional desire to discriminate or be prejudiced? Where is the line of privacy when it comes to Criminal Justice cases?

The Thin Blue Line(1988)    is a documentary film made by Errol Morris. It follows the story of Randall Dale Adams who was convicted and sentenced to death for murdering Texas Police Officer: Robert W. Wood. The film ‘is cited as being instrumental in his exoneration the following year.’  This is similar to Making a Murderer and the pressure/influence the active audience had in ensuring that Dassey’s case was taken as seriously as it should have been. Despite the changes occurring with the Halbach case, it was not the same with the Woods case. In 1989, Adams was released but it was decided that there was to be no prosecution against the real murderer due to the length of time since the crime. Perhaps this was due to the lack of new/digital media, it wouldn’t have been easy to share your opinion and try to make a stand, the investigation into the original case may not have ever happened had it not been for social media. If this film/case had occurred 20+ years later there would be reason to believe that a retrial or even official investigation would have taken place. This may only be a result of the film trending online, trends can be incredibly unpredictable so there may not have been enough attention brought to this issue. Yet, this doesn’t mean that future cases that may arise and/or be made into a media production, would see a positive and just result. The internet is unpredictable and the views/intention of online users don’t always translate smoothly into reality. Another real-life example that has certain reflections of Dassey’s trial/retrials is Derek Bentley’s case,  in 1953 he was hanged for the murder of a policeman, a crime which was later quashed in 1998 and had a 45 yearlong campaign that created widespread controversy. In 1990 M J Trow had written a book Let Him Have It, Chris which explored the inconsistencies in the police version of events. Even though this is a more traditional medium, given the time of the events and publishing, it could be suggested that this had a similar effect to Making a Murderer. Events had been explored and it was left to the audience to develop their own opinion, ultimately resulting in the favour of the protagonist’s innocence.

NDM STORIES

Is big-budget television threatening cinema?

http://katie13exam.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/220317-is-big-budget-television.html