Last semester I had to write a research paper on something pertaining to ethics in the media. I chose to write my paper on documentary film and dealt primarily with reality versus fiction. It’s not the greatest paper, but I thought I would share it. Let me know what you think.

Documentary Film: Fact or Fiction

Through the many different forms of multimedia that are available today, we are constantly being bombarded and heavily influenced by these communication devices. They include television, radio, film, newspapers, the Internet, etc. The sources are endless, as are their range of influence. Because the media wields this kind of power, the issue of ethics comes into play, and it would be expected of us to take it into consideration.

One form of mass communication that I would like to address specifically is documentary film, which is seemingly becoming more popular in recent years. In his book The Reality Effect: Film Culture and the Graphic Imperative, Joel Black quotes Don DeLillo (author) as writing the following in 1982:

The twentieth century is on film. It’s the filmed century. You have to ask yourself if there’s anything about us more important than the fact that we’re constantly on film, constantly watching ourselves. The world is on film, all the time. Spy satellites, microscopic scanners, pictures of the uterus, embryos, sex, war, assassinations, everything” (Introduction).

These words, written over twenty-five years ago, are still very much applicable to our current media-centered state. Black goes on to write about truth versus fiction in film. He makes an interesting point about films that combine both elements into the same package:

It is no longer meaningful or even possible to categorize movies into the traditional dichotomy of fictional films and documentaries—or “nonfiction films,” as they’re now called. More than ever, big-budget fictional entertainments invoke real historical references [. . .] or they implicitly claim documentary status for themselves [. . .] Meanwhile, so-called docudramas freely adulterate historical fact with far-fetched theories, as in Oliver Stone’s JFK (7-8).

While I see where the author is coming from and agree with his distinction between the two styles of filmmaking, I think that he’s shortchanging how much people know about film today. Since we are in a society that is so focused on film, and has been for several years, I propose that people, for the most part, can make a distinction between reality and non-reality in films. People know that Titanic is a work of fiction, along with Schindler’s List. These two films definitely have grounding in history, but are still narratives in the end. It’s when you have a declared documentary that contains fictional elements or doesn’t include certain truths that you have a problem.

Filmmakers like Paul Greengrass, who directed the Jason Bourne trilogy and United 93, uses the “shaky camera” and quick edits to give his films the realistic effect that Black writes about. Gus Van Sant, on the other hand, is exactly the opposite. In his films, such as Gerry and Elephant, he opts for longer shots and steady camera. His shots are bland and amazing. While these films attempt to be more realistic, they are not true documentaries.

At its basic definition, a documentary film is a non-fictional recording of life. While this definition is simple and somewhat easy to understand, there are different styles of documentary films.

In her book entitled Documentary in the Digital Age, Maxine Baker makes a case for the Lumière Brothers as being true documentarists. I agree with her assessment, and believe them to be one of the purest examples of documentary filmmakers. Auguste and Louis Lumière started out in the film industry by making a short film called Sortie d’usine (Workers Leaving the Factory) in 1895. Set outside of their father’s factory at closing time, all the film does is show exactly what the title says: Workers leaving the factory. It’s a simple little film, but it serves to show what a documentary truly is when you get down to it. It’s a recording of life (Ezra, 28).

Another reason why I think that the Lumière’s film is a pure example of documentary film is the time in which it was filmed. The first public showing of a film was also in 1895, but in Germany. They beat the Lumière brothers by a mere two months (Ezra, 2). When the Lumières made their first film, film was in its infancy, and people generally didn’t know all that much about moving pictures. When the workers leave the factory in their short film, they are the real deal. They are not painfully aware of the camera or infatuated with getting a few seconds of fame.

Now zoom ahead about 113 years later. In 2008 a documentary was released called American Teen. Written and directed by Nanette Burstein, the film follows the lives of four high school seniors in Indiana throughout their last year at school. In one interview, Burstein talks about American Teen and what it’s really about:

It’s really about being 17 and the pressures that you face from your peers trying to figure out who you are versus who you’re presenting to them. And then having to make these important decisions about your future while being completely ill-informed [or with] pressure from your parents to be a certain way. It’s really about the struggle to be that way (Reeler).

While I loved the film, I do question the authenticity of the subjects. Unlike the factory workers in 1895, the high school students are fully aware that they are being documented. I’m not saying that their personal stories, which they are very open about in the film, aren’t true. It just seems that in some cases, like in the more informal group scenes, that it serves more as a self-fulfilling prophecy than capturing real life.

Quite possibly the most entertaining documentary that I’ve ever seen, 2007’s The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a great documentary which covers a conflict of epic proportions…at least for diehard classic arcade gamers. Seth Gordon’s King of Kong follows Steve Wiebe in his quest to beat Billy Mitchell’s high score in Donkey Kong. The story is a rollercoaster of emotions and completely sucked me into it. And that’s where the film’s problem lies. Calling itself a documentary it has unwritten rules to follow, namely the importance of telling the truth. Walter Day, who is the head video game referee at Twin Galaxies arcade, has criticized the film’s accuracy in a few areas. His main contention is how the film depicts the interaction between the two rivals, making Mitchell out to be a heartless bastard, and putting Wiebe on a pedestal so to speak. The problem with this is that it appears the director, Seth Gordon, made or authorized these changes in order to make it more entertaining for the audience. In a film like this you need a protagonist (Wiebe) and an antagonist (Mitchell). This decision, in my mind, takes away from the film’s credibility as a documentary. It’s closer to the afore-mentioned docudrama, like Titanic or JFK.

Along these veins is the ethical issue of manipulating the audience. I recently watched Michael Moore’s SiCKO, which deals with the health care industry in America. He starts off SiCKO with a collection of personal horror stories that people have had with their health care. Moore’s main point throughout the film is how money-driven our health care system is, and expertly compares it to foreign health care systems in Canada and Europe, which are basically free. He conducts several interviews with people in the industry and people affected by it, and also shows a lot of archival footage of the higher ups, including President George W. Bush. Overall I thought SiCKO was well made and enjoyed it. The main problem that I had with the film is Moore’s subtle manipulations of the audience through his audio and visual elements. I prefer a documentary that simply shows me what’s going on and then let’s me think about it, rather than trying to sway me to one side or another. (Tony Kaye’s documentary on abortion, Lake of Fire (2006) is a great example of attempting to be unbiased) For example, Moore repeatedly uses emotionally attuned music that fits with the point that he’s trying to make. It comes across as being manipulative and ends up distracting me from what’s going on in the film.

In summary, I believe that documentary films should make truth their primary focus during the creative process. Documentaries, fundamentally, show life as it is, raising awareness for important issues that exist in the world that we live in. The viewer should also be respected, not manipulated to agree with what the filmmaker has to say.

The Summer is here. I know it technically started with Iron Man, but I’m now officially home after finishing up my Junior year at college.

This morning I slept in, a rare treat, and hit up the local library in the afternoon. I didn’t realize how many documentaries they had there; they must have gotten them recently. I picked up Ken Burn’s War, Autism is a Word, and Spellbound. I also got The Ox-Bow Incident, which my film professor said my last script reminded him of, The Wind Shakes the Barley, and Manhattan. This all makes for an interesting assortment of films, both old and new.

On a whim, after leaving the library, I decided to check out Speed Racer at the local Regal. I wasn’t planning on seeing it, but Evan Derrick’s glowing review of the film, which I’d read the night before, instantly won me over. So here’s a quick review:

Speed Racer

Short Review: Mario Kart meets Death Race 2000

Speed Racer, directed by the Wachowski brothers, is a visually stunning adaptation of the cartoon of the same name. The story follows the career of Speed Racer (Emile Hirsch), a young man who lives for the thrill of the race. He’s a natural at what he does and quickly attracts the attention a major corporation that wants to bank on his increasing talent.

The Wachowski’s don’t hesitate with the special effects in this film; they go all out, and I think this was a wise decision. I haven’t seen the original Speed Racer, but from what I hear it was an anime. With that in mind, the adaptation is the closest I’ve ever seen to a live-action anime. If they had tried to make it look realistic, I don’t think it would have worked at all; it would have come out looking horribly fake, rather than vibrant and in it’s own world.

I loved the visual transitions that were used throughout the film as well. They were very unique and didn’t cramp the pacing at all for me. You have to see it to believe it.

The story was pretty straightforward, which was expected, and had some great parallels between similar character arcs. The scenes with Spritle and the chimp seemed out of place at times and tossed in for a few quick laughs before jumping back to the story again. I thought those could have been either cut in places or trimmed down.

All in all, Speed Racer was a lot of fun. It’s definitely style over substance, but man is the style good.

With Iron Man officially hitting theaters today, everyone is predicting how much money it will make at the box office. Will it break records or just  be a nice hit? I have a different prediction to make. I predict that during the course of Iron Man’s theatrical run, we will see a record in romantic breakups.

Why? Because the main two films being released today are Iron Man…and Made of Honor.

Wildly Popular ‘Iron Man’ Trailer To Be Adapted Into Full-Length Film

Left campus after class for the 2008 Nashville Film Festival. We got there when they were setting up the red carpet. After half an hour or so people started walking the carpet, including William H. Macy. Came within hand-shaking distance before the paparazzi swarmed in. A neat experience, but overrated.

Afterwards we saw our first film, The Deal, which was directed by Steven Schachter and starring William H. Macy and Meg Ryan. It was a pretty enjoyable dark comedy/romance about a depressed producer who decides to shake up the business. The director and Macy were available for a Q&A session after the film, which was good but too short.

Rating:

The next day, Friday, we went to an awesome panel discussion about “The State of the Critic”. The panelists  were Jim Ridley, Joe Leydon, Scott Foundas, and Steven Gaydos. One of the first things mentioned was that with the different ways of critiquing films, we are in a transitional state for film criticism.

Steven Gaydos made an interesting comment that newspaper editors are a major problem. If you review crap films, people will primarily only watch crap films. They create a level of stupidity. Jim Ridley responded by saying, “It’s a self-fulfilling prophecy.”

Joe Leydon observed that the online community, for the most part, is there “for the love of art”, not getting paid. Movie sites are niche, not for general  interest like newspapers are.

The second film that I watched was a fascinating documentary called American Teen, where the lives of a group of high school seniors were followed as they finished up their last year. I thought it was really well done, but it raised a lot of questions in my mind about how documentaries like this are made: Are the subjects too self-conscious, making it more of a self-fulfilling prophecy than a documentary? How do they get the shots that they do? How much is actual footage and how much is reenactments?

Rating:

The last film we saw on Friday was a peculiar Swedish film called You, the Living. It was very episodic with many different stories, some of which briefly overlapped. The humor in the film is very subtle, and I like how the director makes you look around for it. He completely challenged every conception I have about humor. Laughter is confusingly complex.

Rating:

(The Nashville Film Festival was a blast. I’m pretty busy at the moment, but will be posting about the experience soon.)

Movie Zeal has been chronologically reviewing the Coen Brothers films for the last month, and asked me to write up a review for Intolerable Cruelty. Be sure to check our the rest of their reviews.

Intolerable Cruelty

Intolerable Cruelty is one of the Coens more commercial films and is seemingly underrated. I think this is largely due to the script actually being written by three other writers, not the Coens themselves. Miles Massey (George Clooney) is a well-established divorce attorney. He even has a marriage contract named after him: The “Massey pre-nup”, which is reportedly impenetrable. At the top of his game, Massey is bored with his job and accomplishments. He is also smitten by the foxy Marylin Rexroth (Catherine Zeta-Jones), who is in the process of divorcing her husband in the hopes of acquiring a hefty alimony. Massey has been hired by Marylin’s train-loving husband (Edward Herrmann) to represent him. When all is said and done, will these two opposites attract or repel?

The film is a dark romantic comedy and deals with such themes as love, revenge, and ultimately, power. The characters in Intolerable Cruelty are perfectly cast. George Clooney, channeling Cary Grant, and Catherine Zeta-Jones, the femme fatale, have a dynamic on-screen chemistry from day one. Clooney’s character is also similar to the character he plays in the Coens’ O Brother Where Art Thou? In that film, Everett is obsessed with his hair, and in this one, Miles Massey is obsessed with his teeth. In one interview, Clooney claimed his characters in these two films are part of the “Idiot trilogy”, which will conclude with Hail Caesar (a new project from the Coen Brothers, now in pre-production).

Even the supporting characters are played well, with great performances from Geoffrey Rush, Cedric the Entertainer, Paul Adelstein, Billy Bob Thornton, Edward Herrmann, and Richard Jenkins. Each character is unique and contributes to the overall story. Intolerable Cruelty is a step back to the older screwball comedies where Katherine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy, and especially Cary Grant reigned. It’s witty and intelligent, while at the same time being off-the-wall with a dark dash of the Coens tossed into the mix. Although the script is written by other writers, there is still a clear Coen feel throughout the film, especially with the opening scene and Wheezy Joe.

There are times in the film when the Coens seem to rely too heavily on plot devices to move the story forward, but it ends up being an enjoyable film, one that I enjoy watching again and again.

Originally posted at Movie Zeal.

Getting ready to leave for the Nashville Film Festival. I’ll be there until  Sunday.

The opening film tonight is Steven Schachter’s The Deal, starring William H. Macy, Meg Ryan, and Elliot Gould. Schachter and Macy should be in the audience, which would be awesome.

The Nashville Film Festival is coming up pretty soon. It will take place April 17-24. I’m planning on attending it for a few days during the weekend. I wish I could be there for more, but my class schedule doesn’t agree with this train of thought. Online tickets go on sale this Tuesday, so I’ve been perusing the offerings the many offerings this year.

The opening film, The Deal, sounds like it could be really good. It stars William H. Macy, Meg Ryan, and Elliott Gould. I’m also interested in the “State of the Critic” panel on Friday, which addresses the influence of (ahem) bloggers and what it means to be a film critic today.

Also on Friday is an intriguing film called American Teen, which apparently is a documentary that follows four senior students at a high school in Indiana.

We’ve also got Werner Herzog’s latest documentary entitled Encounters at the End of the World, which is centered on Antarctica. It’s Herzog; count me in.

Depending on when I leave the festival, Sunday has an interesting bag to choose from

Alexandria, directed by Aleksandr Sokurov (Russian Ark)
In the City of Sylvia, which sounds more like a short film than a feature-length one
In the Company of Actors; a behind the scenes look at theater and acting. Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving star; can you get better people to listen to?

Is anyone else going to be there?

R.I.P. Mr. Heston (MSNBC)

Funny Games
Is quite disturbing
Has a good message to tell
Will it register?

And here’s something I haven’t done in a while. The following is the top 250 films list from IMDB, based on user ratings. I have emboldened the films that I have seen. How many have you seen? The list is a week or so old, so there will be some changes from the most recent one.

1. The Godfather (1972)
2. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
4. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
5. Pulp Fiction (1994)
6. Schindler’s List (1993)
7. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
8. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
9. Casablanca (1942)
10. Seven Samurai (1954)
11. Star Wars (1977)
12. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
13. 12 Angry Men (1957)
14. Rear Window (1954)
15. Goodfellas (1990)
16. City of God (2002)
17. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
18. Once Upon a Time in the West (196
19. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
21. Psycho (1960)
22. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
23. Fight Club (1999)
24. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
25. Citizen Kane (1941)
26. North by Northwest (1959)
27. Memento (2000)
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
29. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
30. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
31. The Matrix (1999)
32. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
33. Se7en (1995)
34. Apocalypse Now (1979)
35. Taxi Driver (1976)
36. American Beauty (1999)
37. The Professional (1994)
38. There Will Be Blood (2007)
39. Vertigo (195
40. Amélie (2001)
41. American History X (199
42. The Departed (2006)
43. Paths of Glory (1957)
44. M (1931)
45. No Country for Old Men (2007)
46. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
47. The Third Man (1949)
48. Chinatown (1974)
49. The Lives of Others (2006)
50. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
51. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
52. Alien (1979)
53. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (194
54. The Shining (1980)
55. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
56. The Pianist (2002)
57. Spirited Away (2001)
58. Double Indemnity (1944)
59. Forrest Gump (1994)
60. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
61. Saving Private Ryan (199
62. L.A. Confidential (1997)
63. Das Boot (1981)
64. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
65. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
66. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
67. Downfall (2004)
68. Aliens (1986)
69. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
70. Raging Bull (1980)
71. Rashômon (1950)
72. Metropolis (1927)
73. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
74. Modern Times (1936)
75. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
76. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
77. Sin City (2005)
78. Rebecca (1940)
79. 2001: A Space Odyssey (196
80. The Seventh Seal (1957)
81. All About Eve (1950)
82. Some Like It Hot (1959)
83. City Lights (1931)
84. Amadeus (1984)
85. On the Waterfront (1954)
86. Life is Beautiful (1997)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. Touch of Evil (195
89. The Prestige (2006)
90. The Elephant Man (1980)
91. Full Metal Jacket (1987)
92. Jaws (1975)
93. The Sting (1973)
94. Cinema Paradiso (198
95. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
96. The Apartment (1960)
97. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
98. Braveheart (1995)
99. The Great Dictator (1940)
100. Blade Runner (1982)
101. Strangers on a Train (1951)
102. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
103. Batman Begins (2005)
104. Bicycle Thieves (194
105. High Noon (1952)
106. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
107. The Big Sleep (1946)
108. The Wages of Fear (1953)
109. Notorious (1946)
110. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
111. Back to the Future (1985)
112. Ran (1985)
113. Oldboy (2003)
114. Fargo (1996)
115. Unforgiven (1992)
116. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
117. Donnie Darko (2001)
118. Princess Mononoke (1997)
119. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
120. Ratatouille (2007)
121. Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003)
122. For A Few Dollars More (1965)
123. Yojimbo (1961)
124. The Green Mile (1999)
125. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
126. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
127. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
128. Gladiator (2000)
129. Into the Wild (2007)
130. Die Hard (198
131. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
132. Annie Hall (1977)
133. Ben-Hur (1959)
134. The Deer Hunter (197
135. It Happened One Night (1934)
136. The Sixth Sense (1999)
137. The General (1927)
138. Platoon (1986)
139. Life of Brian (1979)
140. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
141. The Killing (1956)
142. Wild Strawberries (1957)
143. Amores Perros (2000)
144. Diabolique (1955)
145. Finding Nemo (2003)
146. The Incredibles (2004)
147. V for Vendetta (2005)
148. Heat (1995)
149. The Wild Bunch (1969)
150. Brief Encounter (1945)
151. Children of Men (2006)
152. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
153. The Graduate (1967)
154. 8½ (1963)
155. The Princess Bride (1987)
156. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
157. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
158. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
159. Juno (2007)
160. The Big Lebowski (199
161. Stand by Me (1986)
162. Crash (2004)
163. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
164. Gandhi (1982)
165. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
166. The Adventures of Robin Hood (193
167. Snatch (2000)
168. Harvey (1950)
169. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
170. Kill Bill Vol. 2 (2004)
171. The Thing (1982)
172. The African Queen (1951)
173. Trainspotting (1996)
174. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
175. Gone with the Wind (1939)
176. The Gold Rush (1925)
177. Groundhog Day (1993)
178. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
179. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
180. Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
181. Scarface (1983)
182. The Conversation (1974)
183. American Gangster (2007)
184. Patton (1970)
185. Duck Soup (1933)
186. Toy Story (1995)
187. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
188. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
189. Nosferatu (1922)
190. The Terminator (1984)
191. Sleuth (1972)
192. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
193. Umberto D. (1952)
194. The Hustler (1961)
195. Stalker (1979)
196. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
197. Glory (1989)
198. Ed Wood (1994)
199. King Kong (1933)
200. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (199
201. The Lion King (1994)
202. The Exorcist (1973)
203. Grave of the Fireflies (198
204. Grindhouse (2007)
205. The Lost Weekend (1945)
206. Spartacus (1960)
207. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
208. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
209. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
210. The Lady Vanishes (193
211. Magnolia (1999)
212. Stalag 17 (1953)
213. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
214. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
215. Run Lola Run (199
216. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
217. Frankenstein (1931)
218. Big Fish (2003)
219. Out of the Past (1947)
220. Casino (1995)
221. Rosemary’s Baby (196
222. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
223. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
224. Mystic River (2003)
225. Toy Story 2 (1999)
226. 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
227. Once (2006)
228. Rififi (1955)
229. A Christmas Story (1983)
230. Hot Fuzz (2007)
231. Infernal Affairs (2002)
232. Manhattan (1979)
233. Ikiru (1952)
234. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
235. Young Frankenstein (1974)
236. Dial M for Murder (1954)
237. Rope (194
238. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
239. Roman Holiday (1953)
240. In Cold Blood (1967)
241. His Girl Friday (1940)
242. The 400 Blows (1959)
243. Shaun of the Dead (2004)
244. Hero (2002)
245. La Strada (1954)
246. Harold and Maude (1971)
247. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
248. The Searchers (1956)
249. Le Samouraï (1967)
250. Barry Lyndon (1975)

188/250