n
videsthe final,distinguishing
elementof documentary.
The exhibitor
of attractions,the tellerof stories,and the poet of photog1niecondensein the
figureof the documentaryfilmmakeras orator,speakingin a voiceall his
own abouta worldwe all share.
These elementsfirst came togetherin the soviet Unionthroughthe
1920sas the challengeof constructinga new societytook precedencein
all the arts.This particularmeldingof elementstook rootin othercountries
in the late 1920sand early1930sas governments,
thanksto advocateslike
John Grierson,saw the value of usingfilm to promotea senseof participatorycitizenshipand to supportthe rolein governmentin confrontingthe
mostdifficultissuesof the day,such as inflation,poverty,and the Depression.Answersto these problemsvariedwidelyfrom democraticBritainto
fascistGermanyand from a New Deal Unitedstatesto a communistRussia,butin eachcase,thevoiceof the documentarian
contributed
significantly
to framinga nationalagendaand proposingcoursesof action.
Nichols, Bill, Introduction to Documentary.
Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2001.
Chapter6
WhatTypesof Documentary
AreThere?
GROUPING THE MAN Y VOIC ES
OF DOCUM ENTARY
I very documentaryhas its own distinctvoice.Like everyspeakingvoice,
r)verycinematicvoice has a style or "grain"all its own that acts like a sigrr;rture
or f ingerprint.lt atteststo the individuality
of the f ilmmakeror direcl()ror, sometimes,
to the determining
powerof a sponsoror controlling
or,vrrnization.
Televisionnewshas a voiceof its ownjust as Fredwiseman or
t;hris Marker,EstherShub or MarinaGoldovskayadoes.
lndividualvoiceslendthemselvesto an auteurtheoryof cinema,while
,lraredvoiceslend themselvesto a genretheoryof cinema.Genrestudy
, onsidersthe qualitiesthat characterize
variousgroupingsof filmmakers
' rndfilms.In documentaryfilmand video,we can identifysix modesof repr('sentation
that functionsomethinglike sub-genresof the documentary
lrlrngenre itself:poetic,expository,participatory,
observational,reflexive,
l,crformative.
Thesesix modesestablisha looseframeworkof affiliationwithinwhich
rrrr
lividualsmay work;they set up conventions
that a givenfilm may adopt;
rrrl th€! providespecificexpectationsviewersanticipatehavingfulfilled.
I ,rr;hmodepossessesexamplesthatwe can identifyas prototypesor mod'III
I
I NT R O D U C T I O N
TO DOCUM ENT ARY
l ,'l l r r r tl
l ;l 9tt{) :;
( ) t r ) l ) .r !tv t t t { l
rv r' t t l : '
l l rl rl
l ; rl c t t t t l t l
l rt o t ; t ; t t t
: r: ; t l l l rr: y
wcttl
tttll
l l l ( 't o
The order of presentationfor thc..;r-.
six rnodescorrespondsroughryto
the chronologyof theirintroduction.
rt may thereforeseemto providea history of documentaryfirm,but it does so onryimperfecily.
A firm identified
with a given mode need not be so entirery.
A refrexivedocumentarycan
containsizabreportionsof observationar
or participatoryfootage;an expositorydocumentarycan incrudepoeticor performative
segmients.
The
characteristics
of a givenmodefunctionas a dominantinagivenfirm:they
grvestructureto the overallfilm,but they do not
dictateor determrneevery
aspectof its organization.
considerabreratituderemainspossibre.
A more recentfirmneed not havea morerecentmode
as its dominant.
It can revertto an earriermodewhirestiilincruding
erementsof ratermodes.
A performativedocumentarycan exhibitmanyquarities
of a poeticdocu,
mentary,for exampre.The modesdo not represent
an evorutionary
chain
in which later modes demonstratesuperiorityover
earrierones ano vanquishthem.once estabrished
througha set of conventionsand paradigmatic firms,a given mode remainsavairabre
to ail. Expositorydocumentary,for example,goes back to the 1920s but remains
highryinfruential
today.Mosttelevisionnewsand rearityTVshowsdepend
heaviryon its quite
datedconventions,
as do armostail scienceand naturedocumentaries,
bi_
ographiessuch as rhe A&E Biographyseries,and
the majorityof rargescalehistoricardocumentaries
such as The civirwar (19g0), Eyeson the
Prize(1987,1990), TheAmericancinema(1994),
or The peopte,scentury
( 1e e 8 ) .
To some extent,each mode of documentaryrepresentation
arisesin
part througha growingsense of dissatisfaction
among filmmakerswith a
previousmode.In this sensethe modesdo
conveysome senseof a doc_
umentaryhistory.The observationar
modeof representation
arose,in part,
f romthe avairabirity
of mobire16mmcamerasand magnetictape recorders
in the 1960s.Poeticdocumentarysuddenryseemed
too abstractand expositorydocumentary
toodidacticwhenit nowprovedpossibreto firmevery_
oay eventswith minimalstagingor intervention.
observationwas necessariryrimitedto the presentmoment
as firmmakersrecordedwhat happenedbeforethem. But
observationshareda
trait,or convention,with poeticand expositorymodes
of representation:
it, too,camoufraged
the actuarpresenceand shapinginfruenceof the firmmaker.Participatory
documentarytookshapewithrhe realization
thatfilm_
maKersneed not disguisetheir crose rerationship
with their sublectsby
1OO I
INTROD UCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTARY
uSthatNanookandhisfamilyface
lorcxlttttple,tell
lrrlcrtitlcsirrN;rrrooA
of the northcannotfindfood,buttheydo not
,t.rrvalion
lrrrrrLcr
if this-qrcirl
t,'ll us what Flahertyhimsellate or whetherhe made food availableto
I l,rrrook.Flahertyasks us to suspendour disbeliefin the fictionalaspectof
r,r,,storyat the priceof a certaindishonestyin what he revealsto us about
likeJean Rouch(Chronfilmmakers
trr,,actualrelationto his subject.With
r,lr: of a Summer,1960),Nick Broomfield(Ihe Aileen WourmosStory,
t' t92), Kazuo Hara (The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, 1987), and
lrrrrSilver(Watsonvitte
on Strike,1989)what happensbecauseof the filmpresencebecomesas crucialas anythingthathappensdespltehis
rrr;rker's
)sence.
I 't(
the worldconThe desireto comeup withdifferentwaysof representing
set of circumchanging
tll)utesto the formationof each mode,as does a
,tirnces.
New modesarise partlyin responseto perceiveddeficienciesin
prr:viorJs
ones,but the perceptionof deficiencycomesaboutpartlyfrom a
',,)nseof what it takesto representthe historicalworldf roma particularper',pectiveat a givenmomentin time.The seemingneutralityand "makeof it
cinemaaroseat the end of the quiet
wlratyou will"qualityof observational
formsof soobservation-based
lrlliesand duringthe heydayof descriptive,
, rolog!.lt flourishedin part as the embodimentof a presumed"endof ide,,logy"and a fascinationwith the everydayworld, but not necessarilyof
rlfinitywiththe socialplightor politicalangerof thosewho occupythe marr;rnsof society.
of perthe emotionalintensityand subjectiveexpressiveness
Similarly,
took
strongest
1
lt
tookshapein the 1980sand 990s.
l()rmativedocumentary
rootamongthose groupswhosesense of commonalityhad grownduring
tlrisperiodas a resultof an identitypoliticsthat affirmedthe relativeaugroups.Thesefilms reof marginalized
tonomyand socialdistinctiveness
rrrctedtechniquessuch as the voice-of-Godcommentarynot becauseit
or way
lackedhumilitybut becauseit belongedto an entireepistemology,
of seeingand knowingthe world,no longerdeemedacceptable.
We do wellto take with a grainof salt any claimsthat a new mode advancesthe art of cinemaand capturesaspectsof the world neverbefore
notthe qualityor ulWhatchangesis the modeof representation,
lrossible.
A new mode is not so muchbetteras it
limatestatusof the representation.
is frequentlytouted,esrsdifferent,eventhoughthe ideaof "improvement"
of a new mode.A new mode
peciallyamongchampionsand practitioners
lt will eventuallyprove
carriesa differentset of emphasesand implications.
vulnerable,in turn,to criticismfor limitationsthat yet anothermode of repWhat Types of Documentary Are There?
|
101
atjerTriniU
(JonEtse,
1980)photo
!!u ,r*
courtesy
ofJonElse
Post-'60s
reconsiderations
ol ColdWar
rhetoric
invited
arevision
oflhepostwar
record
Filmmakers
such
asConnie
Field
in The
Lie
yd_linesof Rosie
theBiveter
andJohn
Else
i1
naltafterTrinity
recircutate
historicai
lne
tootage
ina newcontext
Inthrscase,
Else
re_
Roberr
J
0ppenheimers
hesirancies
:liiirg:
anddoubts
about
thedeveiopment
ottheatomic
asalost,
or
suppressed.
vojce
ofreason
?omn
period
ol
near_hysteria
Oppenheimer
:rlnq.,
nrmsell
was
accused
ollreasorr
i3i:$:ffi,'! lih',ij"l"-"Ji,iill;
to
T:: r:,:: signarIessabetterway
Drgr
rarlessa betterway
representthe historical
to
worldtnan new;;;"""
ntnant
ranlIo
to organizea film,a nevl
ideologyto explainour rerefi^nr^ aF^^,ir.,
new
r"rrti^" l^
;^:;::."-"i'rrl
to realitv'and a new
srre.s
siresto
ro preoccupv
preoccupyan :l:,:t:"":
;J;;
and deaudience.
"J;;
""
We can now say
a bit moreabouteach
of the modesin turn.
THE POE TIC MOD E
As we saw in chapter
4, poetic documentary
shares a commonterrain
tll tt l;tttlttltttr
:;ltowtltltrt:;l;
lvrtttst:rc;ttt):;
llto lyil(;lntl)tr!:,,,t()tt
;rltprr-.ciitlr-.
nlg ovorArrtsturrlirrrr
of aladeptat openingup the possibility
The poeticrnorkrr; purticularly
transferof information,
tcrnativeformsof knowledgeto the straightforward
the prosecutionof a particularargumentor pointof view,or the presentamode
aboutproblemsin needof solution'This
tionof reasonedpropositions
stressesmood,tone,and affectmuchmorethan displaysof knowledgeor
The rhetoricalelementremainsunderdeveloped.
actsof persuasion.
Laszlo Moholy-Nagy'sPlay of Light:Black, White,Grey (1930),for example,presentsvariousviewsof one of his own kineticsculpturesto emphasizethe gradationsof lightpassingacrossthe film frameratherthan to
documentthe materialshapeof the sculptureitself.The effectof this play
of lighton the viewertakeson more importancethan the objectit refersto
Jean Mitry'sPacific231 (1944)is in part a
in the historicalworld.Similarly,
homageto Abel Gance'sLa Roueandin parta poeticevocationof the power
and speedof a steamlocomotiveas it graduallybuildsup speedand hurThe editingstressesrhythmand
destination.
tles towardits (unspecified)
form morethan it detailsthe actualworkingsof a locomotive.
The documentarydimensionto the poetic mode of representation
stemslargelyfrom the degreeto which modernistfilms relyon the historical worldfor theirsourcematerial.Some avant-gardefilmssuch as Oscar
Fischinger'sCompositionin Blue (1935) use abstractpatternsof form or
coloror animatedfiguresand haveminimalrelationto a documentarytraditionof representingfhe historicalworld ratherthan a worldof the artist's
though,draw on the historicalworld for
imagining.Poeticdocumentaries,
their raw materialbut transformthis materialin distinctiveways. Francis
Thompson'sN.Y.,N.Y.(1957),for example,uses shots of NewYorkCity
that provideevidenceof how NewYorklookedin the mid-1950sbut gives
greaterpriorityto how these shots can be selectedand arrangedto producea poeticimpressionof the city as a massof volume,color,and movefilmcontinuesthe traditionof the citysymphonyfilm and
ment.Thompson's
poetic
potential
of documentaryto seethe historicalworldanew.
affirmsthe
The poeticmode beganin tandemwith modernismas a way of repreinsentingrealityin termsof a seriesof fragments,subjectiveimpressions,
qualitieswereoftenattributed
coherentacts,and looseassociations.These
generallyand the effectsof World
of industrialization
to the transformations
The modernisteventno longerseemedto makesense
War I in particular.
in traditionalnarrative,realistterms.Breakingup time and spaceinto mulvulnerableto erupdenyingcoherenceto personalities
tiple perspectives,
provide
solutionsto insurto
refusing
and
tions from the unconscious,
mountableproblemshadthe senseof an honestyaboutit evenas it created
Ti':1ffi ;ffi,x;.i*1t5$:1"'oo"l,l,,l,*"'*"conven.
:""11,",jff
illi',:fi
:Hl,il"H:
,llil?lfffi
r'n'";"il"::,:J:ifi
take on the fufl_bloooed
and a fixedview of the
u
otherobject. u. 1."*
,"
sociations
andparternsjl,l",i
cho_osins.
rs. Social actorsseldom
rsychological
complexity
lly functionon a par
with
*" n",?:,*X:|ruililg;'ir,l
cialactorsin Jorisrvens's
:;:
Rain(1gzg))i,'iorexampre,
butwe do cometo
1 02
I
INTRO DUCTI O N
TO DO CUM ENTAR Y
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
103
lly t;ottltir: ;1,
worlr lrl,l ll,r',rlWrrr;lrl':;
rtl()t:yhtrr
(11):14),
.'irrrrrT
orrllrc un
(.cylorr(lirrllrrrkir)
Iottcltcdllcitulyol
rjcspitcllrr:rnroirrl:;
ol r;orrrrrrcrr;c;rrrrl
(i/irss(1958),a tributeto tho skillol trirditionlrl
r;olonialisrn,
[]cr| | l;r;rrr;lrir'r;
r;lassblowersirrr<l
llrc Ircautyof theirwork,or Les Blank'sAlwaysfor Plcu:;ure(1978),a celebrationof MardiGrasfestivitiesin New Orleans,return
lo a moreclassicsenseof unityand beautyand discovertracesof them in
lhe historicalworld.The poeticmodehas manyfacets,but they all emphasizethe ways in whichthe filmmaker'svoicegivesfragmentsof the historicalworld a formal,aestheticintegritypeculiarto the film itself.
P6terForgdcs'sremarkablereworkingsof amateurmoviesinto historical documentsstressespoetic,associativequalitiesover transferringinformationor winningus overto a particularpointof view.FreeFall(1998),
for example,chroniclesthe fate of EuropeanJews in the 1930sand 40s
throughthe homemoviesof a successfulJewish
businessman,
GyorgyPeto,
and DanubeExodus(1999)followsthe journeysof a Danubecruiseship
as it takesJews from Hungaryto the BlackSea on theirflightto Palestine
and then takes Germansfrom Bessarabia(the northernpart of Romania
at the time) as they are drivenout by the Russiansand evacuatedto Germany,onlyto be relocatedin Poland.The historicalfootage,treezeframes,
slowmotion,tintedimages,selectivemomentsof color,occasionaltitlesto
identifytime and place,voicesthat recitediary entries,and hauntingmusic builda tone and mood far more than they explainthe war or describe
its courseof action.
worksof art that were
or ambiguousin theireffect.
Arthoughsome
,puzznng
filmsexproredmore crassicar
conc"ptiJnsof the poeticas
a sourceof or_
der' whoreness,and unity,this
stresson fragmentation
and ambiguityre_
loeticdocumentaries.
continuedaspectsof thispoetic
mode
1O4 I
INTRO DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTAR Y
THE EXPOSIT OR Y M OD E
This mode assemblesfragmentsof the historicalworld intoa more rhetoricalor argumentative
f ramethan an aestheticor poeticone.The expository
modeaddressesthe viewerdirectly,withtitlesor voicesthat proposea perspective,advancean argument,or recounthistory.Expositoryfilms adopt
eithera voice-of-God
commentary(the speakeris heardbut neverseen),
such as we find in lhe Why We Fight series, Victoryaf Sea (1952-53), The
City (1939),Blood of the Beasts(1949), and Dead Birds (1963),or utilize
a voice-of-authority
commentary(thespeakeris heardand alsoseen),such
as we find in televisionnewscasts,America'sMost Wanted,The Sellingof
the Pentagon(1971), 16 in WebsterGroves(1966),Robert Hughes'sIhe
Shock of the New (1980), Kenneth Clark's Civilization,or John Berger's
Ways of Seeing (1974).
The voice-of-God
traditionfosteredthe cultivationof the professionally
trained,richlytoned male voice of commentarythat proveda hallmarkof
the expositorymodeeventhoughsomeof the mostimpressivefilmschose
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
105
trttttl l ; t;l tl l r;tcrl tl l l tr,\/ ol
Yosenite
The
Fate
ofHeaven
(JonEIse,
19gg)photo
courtesy
ofJonElse
The
tension
public
between
access
andconservation
isthefocus
ofthisfilmRobert
Redford,s
commentary
fallsintothecategory
ofvojce-of-God
address
inasmuch
aswenever
seelVrRedfordTotheextent
thatMrRedford's
long{ime
advocacy
forenvjronmental
issues
makes
nrma
more
informed
speaker
than
ananonymous
commentator
would
be,healso
fullills
thefunction
0f
avoice
ofauthority
lesspolishedvoicesprecisery
forthe credibirity
gainedby avoidingtoo much
polish.Joris lvens'sgreatfilm urgingsupportfor the
Republican-defenders
of spanish democracy,The spanish Earth (1937),for exampre,
existsin at
leastthreeversions.None has a professionar
commentator.
Attthreenave
identicalimagetracks,but the Frenchversionusesan
ad-ribbedcommentary by the famousFrenchfilm directorJean Renoirwhile
the Engrishver_
sionsrelyon orson weilesand ErnestHemingway.
rvenschoseweilesfirst,
but his deliveryproveda bit too eregant;it bestoweda
humanisticcom_
passionon the eventswhere lvens hopedfor a
toughersenseof visceral
engagement.Hemingway,who had writtenthe commentary,proved
the
moreeffectivevoice.He broughta matter-of-fact
butclearlycommittedtone
to a film that wantedto garvanizesupportmore than compassion.(some
10 6
I
INTRO DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTAR Y
t' ov c r
l oW c l l tl :;
tl v tttt l l totttl l t
l l ttt v ott:c w c l ttl ;tl l :;
I lcrrrirtg;wiry':;
)
relyheavilyon an informinglogiccarriedby
rkrr:rrrttcttlitries
Expositclry
emphasisin film,images
tlresookenword.ln a reversalof the traditional
evoke,or act in counilluminate,
r;ervea supportingrole.They illustrate,
turpointto what is said.The commentaryis typicallypresentedas distinct
lromthe imagesof the historicalworld that accompanyit. lt servesto orryanizethese imagesand make sense of them just as a writtencaption
someof the manymeaningsand inryuides
our attentionand emphasizes
tcrpretations
of a stillimage.The commentaryis thereforepresumedto be
images.lt comesf romsomeplace
of a higherorderthanthe accompanying
lhat remainsunspecifiedbut associatedwith objectivityor omniscience.
fhe commentary,in fact, representsthe perspectiveor argumentof the
lrlm.We take our cue from the commentaryand understandthe images
news descripfor what is said.Television
irs evidenceor demonstration
provedby
"biblical,"
seemed
for example,
lionsof faminein Ethiopiaas
wide-angleshots of great massesof starvingpeopleclusteredtogether
on an open plain.
Editingin the expositorymode generallyserves less to establisha
rhythmor formalpattern,as it does in the poeticmode,thanto maintainthe
We can call this evidenr;ontinuity
of the spokenargumentor perspective.
lraryediting.Such editingmay sacrificespatialand temporalcontinuityto
ropein imagesfromfar-flungplacesif theyhelpadvancethe argument.The
cxpositoryfilmmaker often has greater freedom in the selection and
;rrrangement
of imagesthan the fictionfilmmaker.ln The Plow ThatBroke
the Ptains(1936)shots of arid prairielandscapescame from all overthe
Midwest,for example,to supportthe claim of widespreaddamageto the
tano.
andwellof objectivity
the impression
The expositorymodeemphasizes
supportedargument.The votce-overcommentaryseems literally"above"
thefray;it has the capacityto judge actionsin the historicalworldwithout
officialtone,like
commentator's
lreingcaughtup in them.The professional
lhe authoritative
mannerof news anchorsand reporters,strivesto builda
disinterestsenseof credibiiityfrom qualitiessuch as distance,neutrality,
Thesequalitiescan be adaptedto an irontcpoint
edness,or omniscience.
of view such as we find in CharlesKuralt'scommentaryfor 16 in Webster
Grovesor subvertedeven morethoroughlyin a film such as Land without
Bread,with its implicitattackon the very notionof objectivity.
argugeneralization
and large-scale
facilitates
Expositorydocumentary
general
argument
of
a
The imagescan supportthe basicclaims
mentation.
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
1O7
ol
ri rl l l ct l l t;i l r ( ()i l ',l i l tr | | \/t\/trl ' ,t' tl :;t: ()l l l l o l );l l l tt:ttl ;tttl tt::; l ();t t;tv { ' tt t;(} tl l t:l
()l
c
i
l
ll
i l l l i l l y l i l :; i ;l l l (l o l x )l l l l :'
i tn ()< ;()trOi l ry
l l r() WOtl rl l l l r,rrr, rrl r..rl ,,rr,rl l ()rrl :;
l 1; i l l l
i n w OrdS E x ;l tl s i tory doc tl l l l orl l i l ty
l rrt rnado sttt:r;ttrr;l l y ,rrrtl potttl t:tl l y
Triunph oftheWiIl (LeniRiefenstahl,
1935)
gapandhierarchical
Thephysical
distinction
between
leader
andfollowers
again
c0mes
across
clearly
inthisscene
ofHiiler's
parade
through
thestreets
of Nuremberg
TheSpanish
(Jorislvens193/)
Earth
lvens's
supportforthe
Republican
cause
against
theNazi-backed
rebellion
ofGeneralFranco
followed
fromhispolitical
commitment
todemocratic
andsocialist
ideals
Hisde-emphasis
onhierarchy
inthisshot
ofanofficer
anda soldier
contrasts
sharply
withRiefenstahl's
shooting
styte
withitrir Irittttc
Support
or mobilizing
tltlormation
rvr:yttt(J
r,lealmodc krrt ;{,r
our
stockpileof
to
workthat pre-existsthe film.In this case,a film will add
knowledgebutnotchallengeor subvertthe categoriesby whichsuchknowlcommon sensemakesa pedectbasisfor thistypeof
Odgegetsorganized.
aboutthe world Sincecommonsense,like rhetoric,is less
reoresentation
subjectto logicthan to belief.
Frankcapra couldorganizemuchof his argumentfor why youngAmericanmen shouldwillinglyjoin the battleduringworld war ll in lhe why we
Fighfseries,for example,by appealingto a mix of nativepatriotism,the
the atrocitiesof the Axis war machine,and
rdealsof Americandemocracy,
the malignantevil of Hitler,Mussolini,and Hirohito.ln the blackand white
of a "freeworld"versusa "slaveworld,"who wouldnot choose
alternatives
to defenda free world?common sense made the answersimple-to the
predominantly
white audiencethoroughlyimbuedwith a "meltingpot" belief in Americanvalues.
some fifty years later,capra's appeal seems remarkablynaive and
overblownin its treatmentof patrioticvirtueand democraticideals.Comconditionedset of values
mon senseis lessan enduringthan a historically
For this reasonsome expositoryfilmsthat seem classic
and perspectives.
at one momentwillSeemquitedated
examplesof oratoricalpersUasiveness
basicargumentmaystillhavemerit,butwhatcountsas comat another.The
mon sensemay changeconsiderably.
THE OBSE R VAT ION AL M OD E
Triunphaf theWill
Thesoldier's
parallels
salute,
above,
this
low-angle
viewof theGerman
eagle
and
Nazi
swastjka
LikeHitler
theeagle
serves
asa symbol
powerlt presides
of German
overthestream
ol marching
troops
that
passbelow
it,galvanizing
theirmovement
intoa tribute
tonational
unity
1 08
I
TheSpanish
Earth
In contrast
to thepageantry
of Rlefenparades
stahl's
endless
andspeeches,
lvens
captures
quality
themodest
of everyday
rurallifein1930s
SpainThisimage
ofthe
town,
Fuenteduena,
situated
near
theshiftingbattlefront,
suggests
howordinary
lives
arejeopardized,
notgalvanized,
bythefasci strebel l i on
INTRO DUCTI O N TO DO CUM EN T A R Y
Poeticand expositorymodesof documentaryoftensacrificedthe specific
act of filmingpeopleto constructformalpatternsor persuasivearguments.
The filmmakergatheredthe necessaryraw materialsand then fashioned
a meditation,perspective,or argumentfrom them.what if the filmmaker
were simplyto observewhat happensin front of the camerawithoutovert
Wouldthis not be a new,compellingform of documentation?
intervention?
in canada, Europe,and the Unitedstates in the years
Developments
around1960in various16mmcamerassuch
afterWorldWar ll culminated
as the Arriflexand Auriconand tape recorderssuchas the Nagrathat could
with
be easilyhandledby one person.Speechcouldnow be synchronized
recorders
tethered
that
or
cables
equipment
imageswithoutthe useof bulky
and cameratogether.Thecameraand tape recordercouldmovefreelyabout
a sceneand recordwhat happenedas it happened.
What Types of Documentary Are There?
I
109
rl rrrttl l l tr'l ,t,,l
rl .ry..,,l
rl rrttl l l l tr'l l ,rl l ttrr;"1',trr",
r 1t;11's tftr;rl l r,rl
,r 1r l 1 r ol trl c rrrnrttl
tttl ,tttl t)l l ;
l o rl r,;rl l t, (l trttrrtr' !i l ttl l tt
(:ol l t:tl l l ;rl
l lrr, l r,rrrrl :, rrl l l rc l l C l l ' s A rl gc l s
( l 1)/{ )),
A l l ;trrl ()trl ' (l ' rl tl r' l l l l ' l '
w l l Il r'
ts l x rrti l tl l y < ;i tuql tl orl oi l rl l
, t,r,Don'lL<toltll,rr:/r
(11)(i/),
aboutBob Dylan'stour of Englanditt 19ti5,
Att)nterey
Pop (1968),abouta musicfestivalfeaturingOtis Redding,Janis
r,r1rlin,
Jimi Hendrix,the JeffersonAirplane,and others,or Jane (1962)'
Jane Fondaas she preparesfor a rolein a Broadwayplay.
1'rrfiling
The resultingfootageoftenrecalledthe work of the ltalianneo-realists.
Wc look in on life as it is lived.Socialactorsengagewith one another,ig,rorirgthe filmmakers.
Oftenthe charactersare caughtup in pressingdeanddrawsit away
theirattention
rrurnds
or a crisisof theirown.Thisrequires
to revealaslike
f
iction,
tend,
The scenes
lromthe oresenceof filmmakers.
We makeinferencesand cometo conl,cctsof characterand individuality.
The filmmaker's
, llisionson the basisof behaviorwe observeor overhear.
rctirement
to the positionof observercallson the viewerto takea moreacof whatis saidand done.
the significance
trverolein determining
that
The observationalmode posesa seriesof ethicalconsiderations
rrrvolve
the act of observingothersgo abouttheir affairs.ls such an act in
Doesit placethe vieweris a necessarilylesscomrrrdof itselfvoyeuristic?
Victory
atSea(Henry
Solomon
andlsaac
Kleinerman,
Irrtablepositionthan in a fictionfilm?In fictron,scenesare contrivedfor us
i952_53)
LikeNight
andFog,Victory
atSea
returns
pasttotellthestory
totherecent
l()overseeand overhearentirely,whereasdocumentaryscenesrepresent
ofWorld
Warll
MadeasatelevisionseriesforCBs,itadoptsacommemorativestance
ltrecallsbattlesandstrate- tlrelivedexperienceof actualpeoplethat we happento witness.This pogies,setbacksandvictoriesfromtheperspectiveolthesurvivororve
ran.ltcelebratesnavalpower ition,"atthe keyholei'canfeeluncomfortable
if a pleasurein lookingseems
anditscontribution,givingscantattentiontothegroundwarorthe
vilianconsequencesthatareIo take priorityoverthe chanceto acknowledgeand interactwith the one
attheheart
ofNight
andFogBoth
Iilmshowever,
relyoncompilation
offootage
shot
contemr;een.Thisdiscomfortcan be even more acutewhen the personis not an
poraneously
withtheevents
towhich
theIilms
nowreturn.
Compilation
films
invariably
alter
the
,rctorwho has willinglyagreedto be observedplayinga part in a fiction.
meaning
ofthelootage
they
incorporate
Here,
both
films
usefootage
forpurpgses
that
areposThe impressionthat the filmmakeris not intrudrngon the behaviorof
sible
only
tothose
whoreflect
onthemeaning
ofthepast
rather
than
report
theoccurrences
ofthe
or indirectintrusion.Do
othersalso raisesthe questionof unacknowledged
moment
lieopleconductthemselvesin waysthat will colorour perceptionof them,
lor betteror worse,in orderto satisfya filmmakerwho does not say what
All of the forms of controlthat a poeticor expositoryfilmmakermight
rl is he wants?Does the filmmakerseek out othersto representbecause
exerciseoverthe staging,arrangement,
or composition
of a sceneDecame
theypossessqualitiesthat may fascinateviewersfor the wrong reasons?
sacrificedto observinglivedexperiencespontaneously.
filmsthatobserve,in other
Honoringthisspirit
this questionoftencomesup with ethnographic
of observationin post-production
seem exeditingas wellas duringshootingresulted
cultures,behaviorthat may,withoutadequatecontextualization,
in filmswith no voice-overcommentary,no supplementary
than science.Has the
musicor sound
oticor bizarre,morepart of a "cinemaof attractions"
effects,no intertitles,no historicalreenactments,
and made it possino behaviorrepeatedfor
filmmakersoughtthe informedconsentof partrcipants
the camera,and notevenany interviews.
given?
To what extent
what we sawwas whattherewas,
blefor such informedconsentto be understoodand
or so it seemedin Primary(1960),High School(196g),Les Racquetteurs
of allowingbehaviorto
can a filmmakerexplainthe possibleconsequences
(MichelBraultand GillesGroulx,195g),abouta groupof Montrearers
he observedand representedto others?
enjoyingvariousgamesin the snow,portionsof chronicleof a
FredWiseman,for example,requestsconsentverballywhen he shoots
summe4which
profilesthe livesof severalindividuals
paris
in the
of 1960,Thechafu(1962),
but assumesthat when he shoots in publicinstitutionshe has a rightto
11 0
I
INTR O DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTAR Y
What Types of Documentary Are There?
|
111
l{)(;()l(lwltitllt ; r ppc n: t , lt c 1c v 1t
( lt ; 1t l: ip; t tl l r ; t 1 l l r 1 t : ; ; 1 t V rl t r l r r r l g v l r l l r l l r r t ; r l
ro srrll I vo ll 1; o, lllillly [ ) it r lt ot l) ir r ls n t lr y l t S c l t o t t l l o r r r r l l l r r 'l r l r 1
l;rrr rtnd
rep rescn tativ e ev en t hough m os l c r it ic s h a v e c o n s i d e r c t l r l ; r l r r r r s h
indictment of school regimentation and discipline. A radically different
approach
occursin TwoLaws(l9B.t),aboutAboriginalland rights,wherethe film_
makersdid not film anythingwithoutboththe consentand collaboration
of
the participants.
Everything
fromcontentto cameralenseswas opento discussionand mutualagreement.
since the observational
filmmakeradoptsa peculiarmodeof presence
"on the scene"in which he or she appearsto be invisibleand non-participatory,the questionalso arises of when does the filmmakerhave
a responsibilityto intervene?what if somethinghappensthat may jeopardize
or injureone of the socialactors?should a cameramanfilm the immolation of a Vietnamesemonk who, knowingthat there are cameraspresenr
to recordthe event,sets himselfon fire to protestthe Vietnamesewar, or
shouldthe cameramanrefuseor try to dissuadethe monk?should a filmmakeraccepta knifeas a gift from a participantin the courseof filminga
murdertrial,and then turn that gift overto the policewhen bloodis found
on it (as Joe Berlingerand Bruce sinofskydo in their tilm paradise Lost
[1996])?This lastexamplemovesus towardan unexpectedor inadvertent
form of participationratherthan observationas it also raisesbroadissues
aboutthe filmmaker'srelationship
with his or her subjects.
observationalfilms exhibitparticularstrengthin givinga senseof the
durationof actualevents.Theybreakwiththe dramaticpaceof marnstream
fictionfilms and the sometimeshurriedassemblyof imagesthat support
expositoryor poeticdocumentaries.
when Fredwiseman,for example,observesthe makingof a thirty-second
television
commercial
forsometwentyfive minutesof screentime in Modet(1ggo),he conveysthe senseof having observedeverythingworth notingaboutthe shooting.
similarly,when DavidMacDougallfilms
extendeddiscussionsbetween
his principalcharacter,Lorang,and one of his peersaboutthe brideprice
for Lorang'sdaughterin wedding camets (19g0),he shiftsour attention
fromwhatthe finalagreementis or whatnewnarrativeissuearisesbecause
of it to the feel and textureof the discussionitself:the body languageand
eye contact,the intonationand tone of the voices,the pausesand ,,empty,'
time that give the encounterthe senseof concrete,livedreality.
MacDougallhimselfdescribesthe fascinationof lived experienceas
somethingthat is mostvividlyexperienced
as a differencebetweenrushes
(the uneditedfootageas it was originallyshot) and an editedsequence.
The rushesseem to havea densityand vitalitythat the editedfilm tacks.A
rossoccursevenas structureand perspectiveare added:
11 2
I
INTR O DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTA R Y
I l to r ,r ,tr ',r 'ol
lo
Ir i l r l ttr l C l tr | ,r l
l r y ll r,
, ' r' t t t
lI
t rl | rrl t l y
t t l l l t l : l l l l ' l l { ): ;
lttt:'tltvtl vltltlC:' lttttt:tltvtltl
l t l t l t t t t r. ; l rt l l t t t t ' t r: l l t r: V c rl t t l l l t t l
l rl rrrrrr. rk r: t i l l l l l (l l l l l l (. ' t l l
tilmsaresomelormaking
ttrcveryreasons
ltlrrrll t ,,r" llrottt;lt
cornt)lol{)(l
a {ilmf rom
of
editing
processes
ofthemThe
I lryilr0rrrirking
rrlrtrl(lr
howcorrlr;
shots
most
cutting
and
overall
length
the
reducing
both
the rushesirrvr.rlvo
particular
center
progressively
processes
these
Both
lengths.
to shorter
meanings.SometimesfiImmakersappeartorecognizethiswhentheytryto
tnose
intheirfilms,or reintroduce
oftherushes
preserue
someofthequalities
cinema,
Iranscultural
ls
Less,"
("when
Less
qualities
throughothermeans.
p.215)
fhe presenceof the camera"on the scene"testifiesto its presencein the
lristoricalworld.This affirmsa sense of commitmentor engagementwith
theimmediate,intimate,and personalas it occurs.Thisalsoaffirmsa sense
of fidelityto whatoccursthatcan passon eventsto us as if theysimplyhappened when they have, in fact, been constructedto have that very apln this casethe
One modestexampleis the "maskedinterview."
Dearance.
to establish
subjects
his
with
way
participatory
filmmakerworks in a more
manobservational
the generalsubjectof a scene and then films it in an
An
films.
ner.David MacDougallhas done this quite effectivelyin several
exampleisthesceneinKenyaBoranwhere,withoutpayingheedtothe
camerabut in accordwiththe generalguidelinesestablishedbeforeshootrngbegan,two Kenyantribesmendiscusstheirviewsof the government's
of birthcontrolmeasures.
introduction
A morecomplexexampleis the eventstagedto becomepartof the hisfor example,may be filmedin a purely
toricalrecord.Pressconferences,
style,but such eventswould not existat all if it were not for
observational
the presenceof the camera.This is the reverseof the basic premisebefilms,thatwhatwe see is whatwouldhaveoccurredwere
hindobservational
the cameranot thereto observeit.
This reversaltook on monumentalproportionsin one of the first "observational"documentaries,Leni Riefenstahl'sTriumphof the will. After an
set of titlesthat set the stagefor the GermanNationalSocialrntroductory
ist (Nazi)Party's1934 Nurembergrally,Riefenstahlobserveseventswith
parades,reviewsof troops,
Events-predominantly
no f urthercommentary.
massassemblies,imagesof Hitler,and speeches-occur as if the camera
simplyrecordedwhat wouldhavehappenedanyway.At two hoursrunntng
time,the film can givethe impressionof havingrecordedhistoricalevents
all too faithfullyand unthinkingly.
And yet,very littlewouldhavehappenedas it did were it not for the express intentof the Nazi Partyto make a film of this rally.Riefenstahlhad
enormousresourcesplaced at her drsposal,and eventswere carefully
the repeatfilmingof portionsof
plannedto facilitate
theirfilming,including
What Types of Documentary Are There?
|
113
RoyCohn/lack
Snith(JtilGodmilow,
1994)
Photo
courtesy
ofJillGodmilow
Godmilows
Iilm,likemany
documentarjes
of
music
concerts,
observes
performance;
apublic
inthiscase
sherecords
twoone-man
plays
by
RonVawter
Given
thatsuchevents
areunder_
stood
tobeperformances
inthefirstplace,
they
allow
thefilmmaker
toavoid
some
oftheaccu_
sati0ns
thatthepresence
ofthecamera
altered
what
would
have
happened
hadthecamera
not
been
there
somespeechesat anothertimeand placewhenthe original
footageproved
unusable.(The repeatedportionsare reenactedso that
they brendin with
the originalspeeches,hidingthe coilaboration
that went intotheirmaking.)
Triumphof the wittdemonstratesthe power of the image
to represent
the historicalworrdat the same momentas it participates
in the construc_
tionof aspectsof the historicar
worrditserf.such participation,
especiailyin
the contextof Nazi Germany,carriesan aura of dupricity.
This was the rast
thingobservationalfilmmakers
likeRobertDrew D.A. pennebaker,
Richard
Leacock,and Fredwisemanwantedin theirown work.
The integrityof their
observational
stancesuccessfuily
avoidedit, for the mostpart,-andyet the
underlyingact of beingpresentat an eventbut firming
it as if absent,as if
the filmmakerweresimprya "fryon the wail,',invitesdebate
as to how much
of what we see wourdbe the same if the camerawere
not there or how
11 4
I
INTRO DUCTI O N TO DO CUM E N T A R Y
l{)w1l')l)
RoyCohn/Jack
Sm[h(JillGo(lrr
ofJillGodmilow
Photo
courtesy
lt ltt : r t r 'ttli'
m akes
useofedilit lr
G odm ilow
per specton
iveRonVit wlt; r1r
t r : t lir t
dist inct
l r ,rI r
lilt t t t t t ; t,l'r
m ance
as gayunder gr ound
t t t t t.t'lt (t tr r,
ant Cot
i
Sm it h
andt lght - wing,
gay)lawyerRoyCohtll3yittltrtrttll rtrl
closeted
perlormanccs
slttrtltrtw'l
thetwoseparate
w,tV l
to thecontraslitttl
creased
attention
rlrly,lrrr
whichthetwomendealtwiththeirscxtt,
ingthe1950s
muchwoulddifferif the filmmaker'spresencewere more readilyacknowlcontinuesto f uel
edged.That suchdebateis by its very natureundecidable
cinema.
a certainsenseof mystery,or disquiet,aboutobservational
THE PART IC IPAT OR Y M OD E
The social scienceshave long promotedthe study of socialgroups.Anforexample,remainsheavilydefinedby the practiceof f ieldwork,
thropology,
livesamong a peoplefor an extendedperiodof
where an anthropologist
what
she has learned.Such researchusuallycalls
then
writes
up
time and
researchergoesintothe field,
for someformof participant-observation.The
participates
in the livesof others,gainsa corporealor visceralfeelfor what
lifein a givencontextis like,and then reflectson this experience,usingthe
WhatTypesof DocumentaryAreThere? |
115
loo ll;;ttttl tt t t : llt t t t ll; ol lr t t llt r opolo( ly ( ) r r ; ( x ) r ( ) l r l r ; y
l o r k r : , . , ', 1l . 'r r r r ; l l r ( ) r o , '( ; i l l l s
I
I
lor partrcipirtiorr;"bcing
hcre"ailowsforobservatiorr
ilrlrrr:;ro :;;ry,lrrcrierd
workerdoes not alow herserfto "go native,"
undernorrrrirr
<;rrcurnstances,
but retainsa degreeof detachmentthat differentiates
her fromthoseabout
whom she writes.Anthroporogy
has,in fact,consistenfly
dependedon this
complexact of engagementand separationbetween
two cuituresto define
itself.
Documentaryfirmmakersarso go into the fierd;they,
too, riveamong
othersand speakaboutor representwhatthey experience.
The practiceof
participant-observation,
however,hasnotbecomea paradigm.
Themethods
and practicesof socialscienceresearchhaveremained
subordinate
to the
moreprevalentrhetoricalpracticeof movingand persuading
an audience.
observationardocumentaryde-emphasizes
persuasionto giveus a sense
of what it is liketo be in a givensituationbut without
a senseof what it is
likefor the firmmakerto be there,too. participatory
documentarygivesus
a senseof what it is likefor the filmmakerto be in a given
situationand how
that situationartersas a resurt.The types and degrees
of arterationherp
definevariationswithinthe participatory
mode of documentarv.
when we view participatorydocumentaries
we expectto witnessthe
historicalworrdas representedby someonewho
activeryengageswith,
ratherthan unobtrusivery
observes,poeticailyreconfigur"",o,.lrgumentativelyassemblesthatworld.The filmmakerstepsout
from behindthe cloak
of voice-overcommentary,
stepsawayfrom poeticmeditation,stepsdown
from a fly-on-the-wail
perch,and becomesa sociaractor (armost)rike
any
other.(Almostrikeanyotherbecausethefirmmakerretains
the camera,and
with it, a certaindegreeof potentiarpowerand contror
overevents.)
Participatorydocumentariesrikechronicreof a summer, portrait
of Jason,or word rs ouf invorvethe ethicsand poriticsof
encounter.
This is the
encounterbetweenone who wierdsa movrecamera
and one who ooesnot.
How do filmmakerand sociaractor respondto each
other?How do they
negotiatecontroland share responsibility?
How much can the filmmaker
insiston testimonywhen it is painfurtoprovideit?what
responsibirity
does
the filmmakerhavefor the emotionaraftermathof appearing
on camera?
what tiesjoin firmmakerand subjectand what needs
dividelhem?
The sense of bodilypresence,ratherthan absence,
locatesthe film_
maker"on the scene-"we expectthat what we rearnwiil
hingeon the natureand qualityof the encounterbetweenfirmmaker
and subjectratherthan
on generalizations
supportedby imagesiiluminatinga givenperspective.
we may see as weilas hearthe firmmakeract and respond
on the spot,in
the same historicar
arenaas the firm'ssubjects.The possibirities
of serving
as mentor,critic,interrogator,
collaborator,
or provocateurarise.
1 16
I
INTR O DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTA R Y
fakeover(Dauid
andJudith
MacDougall,
1981)
Photo
courtesy
ofDavid
MacDougall
TheMacDougalls
have
evolved
a collaborative
style
ofIilmmaking
withthesubjects
oltheir
ethnographic
filmsInaseries
offilms
made
onAboriginal
issues,
ofwhich
Takeoverisaplma
example,
they
have
often
served
aswitnesses
tothetestimonial
statements
oftraditions
andbc
people
liefs
that
Aboriginal
offer
intheir
disputes
with
thegovernment
over
land
rights
andother
participatory,
matters
Theinteraction
ishighly
although
theresult
canseem,
atfirst,
unobtrusive
prior
orobservational
much
since
ofthecollaboratl0n
0ccurs
tolheactoffilminq
Participatory
documentarycan stressthe actual,livedencounterbetweenfilmmakerand subjectin the spiritof DzigaVertov'sTheMan witha
MovieCamera,Jean Rouchand EdgarMorin'sChronicleof a Summer,Jon
Alpert's Hard Metals Disease (1987), Jon Silver's Watsonvilleon Strike
(1989),or Ross McElwhee'sSherman'sMarch (1985).The filmmaker's
presencetakeson heightenedimportance,
fromthe physicalact of "getting
the shot"that figuresso prominenllyinThe Man witha MovieCameralothe
politicalact of joiningforceswith one'ssubjectsas Jon Silverdoes at the
start of Watsonvilleon Strikewhen he asks the farm workersif he can film
in the unionhallor as Jon Alpertdoeswhenhe translatesintoSpanishwhat
theworkershe accompanies
to Mexicotry to sayto theircounterparts
about
the dangersof HMD (hardmetalsdisease).
Thisstyleof filmmakingis what Rouchand Morintermedcin6mav6rite,
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
117
It;ttr:;llrltttr
; Ircrrr;lrL)zrt;irVcr
trrlo
lov'l;ltllclor lrl; ncw:irr.r,l.,
ol l;()vrol:;(x)i"lilrrt
oly,ktttoptitvr*t.
As
Irutlt,"
tlrc idoaernphasizes
tlr;rlllrr:rr; lltg lruthof
an encounterratherthan the absoluteor untampered
truth,we see how
the filmmakerand subjectnegotiatea relationship,
howtheyacttowardone
another,what forms of powerand controlcome into play,and what levels
of revelationor rapportstem from this specificform of encounter.
lf there is a truth here it is the truth of a form of interactionthat would
not existwere it not for the camera.In thissenseit is the oppositeof the observationalpremisethat what we see is what we wouldhaveseen had we
beentherein lieuof the camera.In participatory
documentary,
whatwe see
is what we can see only when a camera,or filmmaker,is there insteadof
ourselves.
Jean-LucGodardonce claimedthat cinemais truthtwenty-four
timesa second:participatory
documentary
makesgoodon Godard'sclaim.
Chronicleof a Summe[ for example,involvesscenesthat resultfrom
the collaborative
interactions
of filmmakersand theirsubjects,an eclectic
groupof individuals
livingin Parisin the summerof1960.In one instance
MarcellineLoridan,a youngwomanwho latermarriedthe Dutchfilmmaker
Joris lvens, speaks about her experienceas a Jewish deporteefrom
Francewho is sent to a Germanconcentration
camp duringworld war ll.
The camerafollowsher as she walks throughthe place de la concorde
and thenthroughthe formerParisianmarket,Les Halles.she offersa quite
movingmonologue
on herexperiences,
butonlybecauseRouchandMorin
had plannedthe scenewith her and givenher the tape recorderto carry.lf
they had waitedfor the eventto occuron its own so they couldobserveit,
it neverwouldhaveoccurred.They pursuedthis notionof collaboration
still
furtherby screeningpartsof the film to the participants
and filmingthe ensuingdiscussion.
RouchandMorinalsoappearon camera,discussing
their
aim to study"thisstrangetribelivingin Paris"and assessing,at the end of
the film,what they havelearned.
Similarly,
in Nof a LoveStory(1981),BonnieKtein,the filmmaker,
and
LindaLee Tracy,an ex-stripper,
discusstheir reactionsto variousformsof
pornography
as theyinterviewparticipants
in the sexindustry.ln one scene,
Linda Lee posesfor a nude photographand then discusseshow the experiencemade her feel.The two womenembarkon a journeythat is partly
exploratoryin a spirit similarto Rouch and Morin'sand partly confessional/redemptive
in an entirelydifferentsense.The act of makingthe film
playsa cathartic,redemptiverole in their own lives;it is less the world of
theirsubjectsthat changesthan theirown.
ln somecases,suchas MarcelOphuls'sTheSorrowand the pity (1g70),
on Frenchcollaboration
with Germanyduringworld war ll, the filmmaker's
voiceemergesprimarilyas a perspectiveon the subjectmatterof the film.
11 8
I
INTRO DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTAR Y
(Ierry
1994)
Zwigofl
Crunb
lVany
participatory
tothecartoon
stripartistR Crumb
relationship
adopts
ahighly
Terry
Zwigofl
not
had
Zwigoff
as
they
do
occurred
would
nothave
clearly
andinteractions
oftheconversations
probmore
himsell
and
a
toward
rellective
attitude
takes
amore
withhiscamera.
Crumb
there
been
thecomplextoexamine
s desire
withZwigoff
ashecollaborates
toward
hisbrothers
ingattitude
ofhislife
ities
andcontradictions
reporter.In other
The filmmakerserves as a researcheror investigative
in
cases,the filmmaker'svoiceemergesfrom direct,personalinvolvement
the eventsthat unfold.This can remainwithinthe orbitof the investigative
in the storycentralto its
reporterwho makeshis own personalinvolvement
MichaelRubbo,
filmmaker
An exampleis the work of Canadian
unfolding.
such as his Sad Song of YellowSkin (1970), where he exploresthe
ramifications
of the VietnamWar amongthe civilianpopulationof Vietnam.
Anotheris the work of NicholasBroomfield,who adoptsa brasher,more
confrontational-ifnot arrogant-style inhis Kurtand Courtney(1998):his
susdespiteunsubstantiated
withCourtneyLove'selusiveness
exasperation
picionsof her complicityin Kurt Cobain'sdeathcompelsBroomfieldto film
of her at a ceremonialdinhis own, apparentlyspontaneousdenunciation
ner sponsoredby the AmericanCivilLibertiesUnion.
stanceto take up
In othercases,we moveawayfrom the investigative
to unfoldingeventsthat ina more responsiveand reflectiverelationship
This latterchoicemovesus towardthe diary and pervolvethe filmmaker.
voicebecomesprominentin the overall
The first-person
sonaltestimonial.
What Types of Documentary Are There?
|
119
r
I
i
LasMadresdelaPlazadeMayo(SusanaMuflozandLourdesPortillo,
1985)
Photocourtesyof
Lourdes
Portillo
These
participatory
twowomen
Iilmmakers
adopt
a highly
relationship
withthemothers
who
"dirtywar" Thesons
public
risked
theirlivesto
stage
demonstrations
during
Argentina's
anddaughtersofthese
women
were
among
the"disappeared"
whom
thegovernment
abducted,
andolten
proceedings
killed
without
anynotice
orlegal
Mufloz
andPortillo
notshape
could
thepublic
events,
butthey
could
draw
outthepersonal
stories
ofthemothers
whose
couraqe
ledthem
to
defy
a brutally
repressive
regime
structureof the film.lt is the filmmaker'sparticipatory
engagementwith unfoldingeventsthat holdsour attention.
NicholasNecroponte'sinvolvementwith a woman whom he meets in
NewYork's
CentralPark,who seemsto havea complexbutnotentirelycrediblehistory,becomescentraltothe overallstructureol Jupiter'sWife(1995).
Similarly,
it is EmikoOmori'seffortsto retracethe suppressedhistoryof her
own family'sexperiencein the Japanese-American
relocationcamps of
WorldWar ll that givesformto Rabbitin the Moon(1999).MariluMalletoffers an even more explicitlydiary-likestructureto her portraitof life as a
Chileanexile livingin Montrealmarriedto CanadianfilmmakerMichael
Rubboin UnfinishedDiary(1983),as does KazuoHarato his chronicleof
the complex,emotionally
volatilerelationship
he reviveswithhisformerwife
as he and his currentpartnerfollowher overa periodof time in Extremely
PersonalEros:LoveSong(1974).Thesefilmsmakethe filmmakeras vivid
12 O I
INTRODUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTAR Y
Duernel
Nunca
Diablo
SleepslEl
TheDevitNever
olLourcourtesy
Photos
(Lourdes
Portillo,1995)
desPortillo
priasahard-boiled
Portlllo
Lourdes
Director
journey
Mexico
to
her
vateeyeThelilmrecounts
olheruncle
death
thesuspicious
toinvestigate
n0netheless
P0rtill0
andironicattimes,
Re{lexive
metwith
her
uncle
ofwhether
thequestion
leaves
open
a
relative,
of
possibly
atthehands
Ioulplay,
a personaas any other in their films.As testimonialand confession,they
often exude a powerthat is revelatory.
stressthe ongoing,open-endedexdocumentaries
Notall participatory
oerienceof the filmmakeror the interactionbetweenfilmmakerand suboftenone
jects.Thefilmmakermaywishto introducea broaderperspective,
ancommon
most
The
done?
be
this
can
that is historicalin nature.How
address
to
filmmaker
the
The interviewallows
swer involvesthe intervrew.
peoplewho appearin the film formallyratherthan addressthe audience
The interviewstandsas one of the most
throughvoice-overcommentary.
filmmakerand subjectin participabetween
commonforms of encounter
tory documentarY.
They differfrom ordilnterviewsare a distinctform of socialencounter.
by dint
nary conversationand the more coerciveprocessof interrogation
protocols
specific
the
and
occur
they
which
in
framework
of the institutional
or soor guidelinesthat structurethem.lnterviewsoccurin anthropological
medicine
"case
in
history"
cioiogicalfieldwork;theygo by the name of the
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
121
The
DevilNever
Sleeps
Thefilmmaker,inthecourseof
aninterview,insearchof
clues,and,ideally
theconfessionthat
willsolve
themystery
Although
shenever
obtains
aconlesslon,
thesense
that
shemrghldo
so
lends
anairofnarrative,
Iilmnoir-like
suspense
tothefilm
and socialwelfare;in psychoanalysis,
they take the form of the therapeutic session;in law the interviewbecomesthe pre{rial processof "discovery"and,duringtrials,testimony;on television,
it formsthe backboneof talk
shows;in journalism,it takesthe form of both the interviewand the press
conference;andin education,it appearsas Socraticdialogue.MichelFoucaultarguesthat theseformsall involveregulatedformsof exchange,with
an unevendistribution
of powerbetweenclientand institutional
practitioner,
and that they havetheir root in the religioustraditionof the confessional.
Filmmakersmake use of the interviewto bring differentaccountstogetherin a singlestory.Thevoiceof the filmmakeremergesfromthe weave
of contributing
voicesand the materialbroughtin to supportwhatthey say.
This compilationof interviewsand supportingmaterialhas given us numerousf ilm histories,lromln the Yearof the Pig (1969),on the war in Vietnam, to Eyes on the Prize,on the historyof the civil rightsmovement,and
lrom The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter,on women at work during
WorldWar ll, to Shoah,on the aftermathof the Holocaustfor those wno
experiencedit.
Compilationfilmssuch as EstherShub'sThe Fallof the RomanovDv1 22
I
INTRO DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENT A R Y
r:rllr.lyorr,rrr;lrtvr
rl loolltr;clotttttlllyljltttll;tttrltctttltltltl
u,t:;lV,wllr
lrr,,1r,,..
tlot;tttttt:tt
<tlttxptlsttoty
rl,rlr,lr;
rcklo tho bt-'qittttttttls
lo lcll lr r;orr,rllrr,.trrry,
rkrt;rrtttotttaries
add the activecngagcmcrllol thc tilttr
l;rry.Pittlrt:rp;rlory
voice-over
exandavoidanonymous
rnakerwitlrlru r;rrlljcr;ts
or informants
position.
Thissituatesthef ilmmoresquarelyin a givenmomentanddistinct
perspective;it enrichescommentarywith the grain of individualvoices.
Some,such as BarbaraKopple'sHarlanCounty,U.S.A.(1977),on a coal
or MichaelMoore'sRogerand Me (1989),dwell
miner'sstrikein Kentucky,
on eventsin the presentto which the filmmmakeris a participant,while
Some,suchas ErrolMorris'sThe Thin
addingsome historicalbackground.
Blue Line, Leon Gasts's When We Were Kings (1996),on the 1974 fight
betweenMuhammadAli and GeorgeForeman,or Ray Mueller'sThe Wonderful,HorribleLife of Leni Riefenstahl(1993),on her controversialcareer,
centeron the past and how thosewith knowledgeof it now recountit.
The experienceof gays and lesbiansin the days beforeStonewall,for
example,couldbe recountedas a generalsocialhistory,with a voice-over
commentaryand imagesthat illustratethe spokenpoints.lt couldalso be
recountedin the wordsof thosewho livedthroughthesetimes by means
of interviews.Jon Adair'sWord ls Out (1977)opts for the secondchoice.
Adair,like ConnieFieldfor Rosiethe Riveter,screenedscoresof possible
subjectsbeforesettlingon the dozenor so who appearin the film. Unlike
Fieldor Emilede Antonio,Adairoptsto keepsupportingmaterialto a bare
fromthe"talkingheads"of those
he compileshishistoryprimarily
minimum;
who can put this chapterof Americansocialhtstoryinto their own words.
Likeoral historiesthat are recordedand writtenup to serveas one type of
primarysourcematerial,whichthisform resemblesbut also differsfrom in
the carefulselectionand arrangementof interviewmaterial,the articulatenessand emotionaldirectnessof thosewho speakgivesfilmsof testimony
quality.
a compelling
Filmmakerswho seekto representtheirown directencounterwiththeir
worldandthosewho seekto representbroadsocialissuesand
surrounding
throughinterviewsand compilationfootageconstihistoricalperspectives
tute two largecomponentsof the participatorymode.As viewerswe have
the sense that we are witnessto a form of dialoguebetweenfilmmaker
and
and subjectthatstressessituatedengagement,negotiatedinteraction,
emotion-ladenencounter.These qualitiesgive the participatorymode of
appealas it roamsa wide variety
filmmakingconsiderable
documentary
of subjectsfrom the most personalto the most historical.Often, in fact,
of
this modedemonstrateshow the two intertwineto yield representations
that are bothcontingentand
the historicalworldf rom specificperspectives
committed.
What Types of Documentary Are There?
|
123
T HE RE F LE X I V T
pholos
Cadillac
(JonElse,
Desert
1992)
courtesy
ofJonElse
MODE
ttl tttr
ll the hislorrr;;rl
worklprovrrlos
the meetingplacetor lhc procttsst):i
modc, tho
r;otiationbctwt:crrlilrrrrnaker
and subjectin the participatory
[)rocessesof negotiationbetweenfilmmakerand viewerbecomethe focus
of attentionfor the reflexivemode.Ratherthan followingthe filmmakerin
her engagementwith othersocialactors,we now attendto the filmmaker's
engagementwith us, speakingnot onlyaboutthe historicalworldbut about
it as well.
the problemsand issuesof representing
Trinh Minh-ha'sdeclarationthat she will "speak nearby"ratherthan
"speakabout"Africa,in Reassemblage(1982),symbolizesthe shift that
produces:we nowattendlo howwe representthe historicalworld
reflexivity
Insteadof seeingthroughdocumenas well aslo whatgets represented.
ask us to see doctariesto the worldbeyondthem,reflexivedocumentartes
Jean-LucGodardand
umentarylorwhatit is:a constructor representation.
Jean-PierreGorincarrythis to an extremein Letterto Jane (197), a a5minute"letter"in which they scrutinizein greatdetaila journalisticphotographof Jane Fondaduringher visit to NorthVietnam.No aspectof this
apparentlyfactualphotogoes unexamined.
Just as the observationalmode of documentarydependson the filmin the eventsrecorded,
maker'sapparentabsencefrom or non-intervention
the documentaryin generaldependson the viewer'sneglectof his or her
actualsituation,in front of a moviescreen,interpretinga film, in favorof
imaginaryaccessto the eventsshownon the screenas if it is only these
not the film.The mottothat a documeneventsthat requireinterpretation,
tary film is only as good as its contentis compellingis what the reflexive
mode of documentarycalls into question.
is the
One of the issuesbroughtto the fore in reflexivedocumentaries
one with whichwe beganthis book:whatto do with people?Somefilms,
DaughterRite(1978),BontocEulogy(1995),or Farfrom
likeReassemblage,
Poland(1984),addressthis questiondirectlyby callingthe usualmeansof
representation
into question:Reassemblagebreakswith the realistconto questionthe powerof the camera'sgazeto repventionsof ethnography
others;DaughterFife subvertsrelianceon soresent,and misrepresent,
cial actors by using two actressesto play sisters who reflecton their
relationship
to their mother,usinginsightsgatheredfrom interviewswith a
themwide rangeof womenbut withholdingthe voicesof the interviewees
selves;BontocEulogyrecountsthe familyhistoryof the filmmaker'sown
grandfather,
to appearas partof an exwho wastakenfromthe Philippines
hibitof Filipinolifeat the St. LouisWorldFairin 1904throughstagedreenrulesof evidence
actmentsand imaginedmemoriesthat call conventional
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
125
surname
vietGiven
Name
Nan(Trinh
T.Minh-ha,
19g9)photos
courtesy
ofTrinh
T Minh_ha
These
three
successive
shots,
each
anextreme
close-up
portions
that
omits
0ltheinterviewees
face,
correspond
tothepre-production
storyboard
designed
bythefilmmaker
Their
violation
of
lhenormal
conventions
forfilming
interviews
both
calls
ourattention
totheformality
andconventionality
ofinterviews
andsignals
thatthisisnota(normal)
interview.
into question;Far from poland'sdirector,Jill Godmilow,addressesus directlyto ponderthe problemsof representing
the solidaritymovementin
Polandwhen she has only partialaccessto the actualevents.Thesefilms
set out to heightenour awarenessof the problemsof representing
others
as much as they set out to convinceus of the authenticityor truthfulness
of representation
itself.
Reflexivedocumentaries
also addressissuesof realism.This is a style
that seemsto provideunproblematic
accessto the world;it takesform as
physical,psychological,
and emotionalrealismthroughtechniquesof evidentiaryor continuityediting,characterdevelopment,
and narrativestructure.Reflexive
documentaries
challengethesetechniquesand conventions.
surname viet Given Name Nam (19g9),for example,relieson interviews
with womenin vietnamwho describethe oppressiveconditionsthey have
faced since the end of the war, but then halfwaythroughthe film we discover(ifvariousstylistichintshaven'ttippedus off) thatthe interviewswere
stagedin morewaysthanone:thewomenwho playvietnamesewomenIn
Vietnamare actuallyimmigrantsto the Unitedstates reciting,on a stage
set,accountstranscribedand editedby Trinhfrom interviewsconductedin
Vietnamby someoneelse with otherwomenl
similarly,in TheMan witha Movie camera, DzigaVertovdemonstrates
how the impressionof realitycomesto be constructedby beginningwith a
sceneof the cameraman,MikhailKaufman,filmingpeopleridingin a norsedrawncarriagefroma carthat runsalongsidethe carriage.Vertovthencuts
to an editingroom,where the editor,Elizavetasvilova,Vertov'swife, assemblesstripsof filmthat representthis eventintothe sequencewe have,
1 26
I
INTR O DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTA R Y
T.Minh-ha
ofTrinh
courtesy
1989)Photos
T.Minh-ha
Nan(Trinh
Nane
Viet
Given
Surname
we
than
filmmakers
Ior
documentary
consideration
more
frequent
area
andcostume
Make-up
prepares
Bich
Yen
for
a
scene
Tran
Thi
actress
T.
Minh-ha
Trinh
Here
filmmaker
might
assume
Theinterviewappearstobeset
playanintervieweedescribingherlifeinVietnam
whereshewill
likeFarfronPoland,IhislilmexploresthequesinVietnambutwasactuallyshotinCalifornia
tothe{ilmmaker
available
notdirectly
situations
tionofhowtorepresent
just seen.The overallresultdeconstructsthe impressionof
presumably,
unimpededaccessto realityand invitesus to reflecton the processby which
this impressionis itselfconstructedthroughediting.
Otherf ilms,suchas DavidHotzman'sDiary(1968),No Lies(1973),and
Daughter Rite(1978),representthemselves,ultimately,as disguisedfictions.They rely on trainedactorsto deliverthe performanceswe initially
of peopleengagedin everydaylife.Our
believeto be the self-presentatron
throughhintsand cluesduringthe
sometimes
this
deception,
of
realization
film.or at the end.when the creditsrevealthe fabricatednatureof the performanceswe havewitnessed,promptsus to questionthe authenticityof
revealaboutthe self;
"truth"do documentaries
in general:what
documentary
performance;what
conventions
or
scripted
staged
from
a
how is it different
performance;
and
promptus to believein the authenticityof documentary
subverted?
how can this beliefbe productively
mode
and self-questioning
modeis the mostself-conscious
The reflexive
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
127
()l tll)t{.,(,nl,tlt( , n
I l( . , r lr : , 1, r r : t . r , : ; :lo
, llt c wot k l , l l r r . , r l r r l r l y l o I r r ) \ / t r t ( ) l ) {) l
r,u ;t:,tv{'r'vrrlcrr r ; c ,llr c
l) ( ) : ; : ; t l) t lt lyol t t t t ll; 1lt t l; t l l l c l r t o o l , l l r r , , rr l r . r r r r rn, t q o x l
r ;;rl lro nrl lrclwcc r r ; r l in( . lox ic illir r x t gc anc l wh a t i t r c p r c : ; c r r l : ,
;rll llese norro nr;o orn o u nd c r s us pic ion. That s uc h not ion s c a n c o m p c l
fetishistic belief
l)rornptsthe reflexivedocumentary
to examinethe natureof such belief
rirtherthanattestto the validityof what is believed.
At its best,reflexivedoc_
umentaryprodsthe viewerto a heightenedform of consciousness
about
her relationto a documentaryand what it represents.
Vertovdoes this in
TheMan witha Moviecameraro demonstratehow we constructour Knowredge of the world;Bufrueldoes this in Land withoutBreadto satirizethe
presumptionsthat accompanysuch knowledge;Trinh does this
in Reassemblageto questionthe assumptionsthat underriea given body
of
knowledgeor modeof inquiry(ethnography),
as chris Markerdoesin sans
soleilloquestionthe assumptions
that underliethe act of makingfilmsof
the livesof othersin a worlddividedby racialand politicalboundaries.
Achievinga heightenedform of consciousness
involvesa shiftin levels
of awareness.Reflexivedocumentarysetsout to readjustthe assumptrons
and expectations
of its audience,not add new knowledgeto existingcate_
gories.For this reason,documentaries
can be reflexivefrom both formal
and politicalperspectives.
From a formal perspective,reflexivitydraws our attentionto our as-
ationeffects,"or what the Russianformaliststermed ostranenie,or,,mak_
ing strange."This
is similarto the surrealisteffortto see the everydayworld
rn unexpectedways.As a formalstrategy,makingthe familiarstrangeremindsus how documentaryworksas a film genrewhoseclaimsaboutthe
worldwe can receivetoo unthinkingly;
as a politicalstrategy,it remindsus
how societyworksin accordwithconventions
and codeswe mav too readily take for granted.
The riseof feministdocumentaries
in the 1970sprovidesa vividexample
of the worksthat call socialconventionsinto question.Filmssuch as rhe
woman'sFilm (1971),JoyceatThirty-four(1972),and GrowinglJp Femate
(1970)followedmost of the conventionsof participatory
documentary,
but
they also soughtto producea heightenedconscrousness
aboutdiscriminationagainstwomenin thecontemporary
world.Theycounterthe prevailing
(stereotypical)
imagesof womenwithradicallydifferentrepresentations
and
displacethe hopesand desiresfueledandgratifiedby advertising
and melo-
128
I
INTRODUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTARY
'l
s' ""'W.
MacDougall
ofDavid
Photo
courtesy
1980)
MacDougall,
andJudith
wedding
canels(Dauid
adopt
MacDougall
andJudith
David
Kenya,
olnorthern
ontheTurkana
o{films
Inthistrilogy
tne
insnaping
involvement
o{the{ilmmakers'active
usaware
tomake
strategies
reflexive
several
some
discussion,
putbythelilmmakers
thalprompts
ttlsaquestion
14re
seeSometimes
scenes
0tanotner
process
members
olrepresentlng
remind
usolthecomplex
that
titles
itiswritten
times
acts
reflexive
Such
canunderstand
culture
o{anEnglish-speaking
lna formmembers
culture
Nanaok
theimpression
want
togive
{ilms
such
lilmMany
rare
atthetimeinethnographlc
were
"naturally"
ot
nolasa result
occur,
asthey
gave:
andbehavior
customs
wewitness
of theNarth
andsubject
{ilmmaker
between
interaction
dramaswith the experiencesand demandsof womenwho have rejected
these notionsin favorof radicallydifferentones.Such films challengeentrenchednotionsof the feminineand also serveto give nameto what had
and hierarchythat can now be
devalorization,
oppresston,
laininvisible:the
intocommonperceptions:
combine
experiences
calledsexism.Individual
the
socialorder,emerges.
a new way of seeing,a distinctperspectiveon
may havea formalor cinematic
prevailing
"Alienation"from
assumptions
component,but it is also heavilysocialor politicalin its impact.Ratherthan
provokingour awarenessprimarilyof form, politicallyreflexivedocumentariesprovokeour awarenessof socialorganizationand the assumptions
WhatTypes ot Documentary AreThere?
|
129
!
, , 1 ; r r r r l r t t t l 0lll r l ! w o rIl '1 .,l \i l r ]w l r ) ( l ( l o l r tl l ;l r l tl l ;t;ti l l o tl ;r :;;tIr l ;tti l cl ;ttl tl tl t:;cttl
<l fWtl l ;l cttt
l r o t l i O t l , l l l t l ; r t r l ( ) tt ( l r 'tt{'t;tl tz,tl l o tl l ; i tr td th e typ i ca l , i r l tl tc" l r i r d i l i tl tl
e m b o d i cd '
a
n
d
co
n
cr
e
tc
a
s
d e scr i b e d
l r l r r l o s o p h y '/ o r r : t kr r o w kXk;tl b ctte r
in the traditionof poetry'
of personalexperience,
lrrsed on the spccitit;itics
documentaryendorsesthe latterpolrtoralure,
and rhetoric?Performative
.,rtionand sets out to demonstratehow embodiedknowledgeprovidesenof the moregeneralprocessesat work in society.
rry intoan understanding
(Lourdes
CarpusA HomeMovieforSelena
Portillo,
1999)Photo
courtesy
of Lourdes
Portillo
Director
Lourdes
Portillo
lnvestigates
the
repercussions
thatfollowed
fromthemurder
of
thepopular
Tex-lVlex
singer
Selena
Wasshea
positive
rolemodel
foryoung
women
wholearn
tochannel
lheirenergies
popuintobecoming
larsingers,
orwassheherself
ayoung
woman
encouraged
to recycle
stereotypical
images
of
female
sexual
ity?Porti
Ilodoes
noIanswer
such
queslions
somuch
asposetheminanengagingwayShedoes
sopartly
byshooting
invideo
portrait
tocreate
a family
ofSelena
andher
legacy
that supportit.They tend, therefore,to inducean "aha!"effect,where we
graspa principleor structureat workthat helpsaccountfor whatwouldotherwisebe a representation
of more localizedexperience.Insteadwe take
a deeper look. Politicallyreflexivedocumentariesacknowledgethe way
thingsare butalso invokethe waytheymightbecome.Our heightenedconscrousnessopensup a gap betweenknowledgeand desire,betweenwhat
is and whatmightbe.Politically
pointto us as viewreflexivedocumentaries
ers and socialactors,not lo films,as the agentswho can bridgethis gap
betweenwhat existsand the new formswe can makefrom it.
T H E P E R F OR MA T IV E MOD E
Likethe poeticmodeof documentary
representation,
the performative
mode
raisesquestionsaboutwhat is knowledge.
What countsas understanding
or comprehension?
What besidesfactualinformationgoes intoour under1 30
I
INTRO DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTA R Y
Meaningisclearlyasubjective,affect-ladenphenomenon'Acarorgun'
lrospitalol.p"r.on will bear differentmeaningsfor differentpeople.Experiquestionsof value and belief,
{)nceanctmemory,emotionalinvolvement,
of thoseaspects
()ommitment
and principleall enterintoour understanding
frameinstitutional
0f the worldmostoftenaddressedby documentary:the
work(governmentsandchUrches,familiesandmarriages)andspecificsor;ia|practices(|oveandWar,competitionandcooperation)thatmaKeupa
documentaryunderscores
:;ociety(as discussedin chapter 4). Performative
thecomplexityof our knowledgeof the worldby emphasizingits subjective
;rndaffectivedimensions.
Ngozionwurah,slhe
WorksIikeMar|onRiggs,sTongueslJntied(1989),
(1995)stress
BodyBeautiful(1991),and MarlonFuentes'sBontocEulogy
the filmtne emotionalcomplexityof experiencefrom the perspectiveof
noteentersintothesefilmsthat
makerhim-orherself.An autobiographical
filmmaking.Perforparticipatory
of
bears similarityto the diaristicmode
qualities
of experience
mativefilmsgiveaddedemphasisto the subjective
for examand memorythat departfrom factualrecounting'MarlonRiggs'
ple,makesuse of recitedpoemsand enactedscenesthat addressthe inbuilds
tensepersonalstakesinvolvedin black,gay identity;onwurah'sfilm
uptoastagedsexua|encounterbetweenherownmotherandahandsome
escape
youngman;and Fuentesenactsa fantasyabouthis grandfather's
Acf rom captivrtyas an objectof displayat the 1904St. LouisWorld'sFair'
combinafree
The
ones.
imagined
by
tual occurrencesDecomeamplified
performation of the actualand the imaginedis a commonfeatureof the
tive documentarY.
What thesefilms and otherssuch as lsaacJulien'sLookingfor Langston
(1988),aboutthe lifeof LangstonHughes,or Julien'sFrantzFanon:Black
skin/white Mask (1996),about the life of Frantz Fanon;Larry Andrews's
video Black and sitver Horses(1992), about issues of race and identity;
(1985),aboutfuneralpracticesin Benares,
RobertGardner'sForestof Blis.s
india;ChrisChoyandReneeTajima,sWhoKittedVincentChin?(1988),
workers
aboutthe murderof a chinese Americanby two out-of-workauto
Memory
who reportedlymistookhim for Japanese;ReaTajiri'sHistoryand
(1991),abouther effortsto learnthe storyof her family'sinternmentin deWhat Types of Documentary Are There?
|
131
fl
(iilllll)i;tlttttttt;
ftlttlttrtl
wotlt.lwi rt ll; irrtrll,titltllltirl,ilrrr,rr
':, llttt:;lt(lIx)l),
ilboutbcillgAsiarl-tsritislt
trndgay,sttareis a deflectiorr
ol tkrr;rrrrr6rrtarry
emphasisawayfroma realistrepresentation
of the historicalworldand toward
poeticliberties,more unconventionar
narrativestructures,and more suD_
jectiveformsof representation.
The referentiar
qualityof documentaryrhat
atteststo its functionas a windowonto the worrdyierds
to an expressrve
qualitythat affirmsthe highrysituated,embodied,
uiuiotypersonarper_
spectiveof specificsubjects,includingthe filmmaker.
"no
Ever since at reastrurksib(192g), sattfor svanetia(1g30),
and, in a
satiricvein,Land withoutBread(1932),documentary
has exhibitedmany
pedormative
quarities,
buttheyseldomhaveservedto organizeentirefilms.
Theywere presentbut not dominant.Someparticipatory
documentaries
of
the .1980s,such as LasMadres de ra ptaza de Mayo (r9g5)
and Rosesin
December(1982),incrudeperformativemoments
that draw us into sub_
jective,"as if" renderingsof traumaticpast
events(the,,disappearance,,of
the son of one of the motherswho protestedgovernment
repressionin Argentinaand the rape of Jean Donovanand three
otherwomenby Er sarvadoranmilitarymen respectivery),
butthe organizingdominantto the firms
revorvesarounda linearhistorythat includesthese
events.performative
documentaries
primariryaddressus, emotionailyand expressivery,
rather
than pointingus to the factualworldwe hold in common.
These firmsengageus resswith rhetoricarcommands
or imperatives
than with a sense of their own vivid responsiveness.
The firmmaker,s
re_
sponsrveness
seeksto animateour own.we engagewith their represen_
tationof the historicalworrdbutdo so obliquely,
via the affectivechargethey
applyto it and seek to maxeour own
Tonguesuntied,for exampre,beginswith a voice-over
cailthat ricochets
from left and right,in stereo,"Brotherto Brother,,',,Brother
to Brother.. . ,,,
and endswitha decraration,
"Brackmenrovingbrackmenis the revorutionary
act."The courseof the firmovera seriesof decrarations,
reenactments,
po_
etic recitations,
and stagedperformances
that ail attestto the comprexities
of racialand sexuarrelationswithingay subcurture
strivesto animateus to
adoptthe positionof "brother"for ourserves,
at reastfor the durationof the
film.we are invitedto experiencewhat it is riketo
occupythe subjective,
socialpositionof a brack,gay mare,such as Marron
Riggshimserf.
Just as a feministaestheticmay striveto moveaudience
members,re_
gardlessof their actuargenderand sexuar
orientation,into the subjective
positionof a feministcharacter'sperspectiveon
the world,per{ormative
doc_
umentaryseeksto move its audienceinto subjective
arignmentor affinity
with its specificperspective
on the worrd.Likeearrierworkssuch as Listen
to Britain(1941),on resistanceto Germanbombing
by the Britishpeopre
1 32
I
INTR O DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTA R Y
An$ela J6ndsll, from the House of Jendell walking as fuluristic
l0nrm€ queen
Pllf_slt(;l
1991)
lsBurning(Jenny
Livingston
Paris
young
gaysub-culture
mencluster
into
inwhich
enters
intoadistinct,
black,
Paris
lsBurning
"houses,"
ofmimicry
anddragat"balls"
otherinvarious
categories
which
compete
against
each
partly
immerses
us
Pailsls Burningalso
tononparticipants,
toexplain
thissub-culture
0rganized
performatively
thal16in Webster
Grovesor
ol thisworldto a degree
in thequality
andtexture
Dead
BirdsdoesnoI
duringWorldWar ll, or ThreeSongs of Lenin(1934),on the mourningof
try
documentaries
Lenin'sdeathby the Sovietpeople,recentperformative
joins
general
to
the
that
the
give
representation
to
a
social
subjectivity
to
particular,the individualto the collective,and the politicalto the personal.
but it
The expressivedimensionmay be anchoredto particularindividuals,
extendsto embracea social,or shared,form of subjectiveresponse.
In recentwork this social subjectivityis often that of the underrepreof womenand ethnicminorities,gays and lessentedor misrepresented,
bians.Performative
documentarycan act as a correctiveto thosefilmswhere
"Wespeakaboutthemto usJ'Theyproclaim,instead,that"Wespeakabout
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
133
olll:i()lvoi;
l o yo tl," ( ) l "Wo lil) o ilk
itl) o u l oU l j ol vc:;
l,
l *,"
l ,rrrl ()',i l l tvo
(Joc
tltttottlitry
sll;trt:sit tcbttlitttcittg
and corrective
terrrlcrrr;y
wrllrlrrrtorethnography(ethnographically
inlormedwork madeby membersof the communitieswho are the traditionar
subjectsof westernethnography,
suchas the
numeroustapesmadeby the Kayapopeopreof the Amazon
riverbasinand
by the Aboriginalpeopleof Australia).lt does not, however,
countererror
withfact,misinformation
withinformation,
butadoptsa distinctmodeof reo_
resentation
thatsuggestsknowredge
and understanding
requirean entirery
differentform of engagement.
Likeearlydocumentary,
beforethe observationar
mode pracedpriority
on the directfirmingof sociarencounter,performative
documentaryfreery
mixes the expressivetechniquesthat give textureand
densityto fiction
(point-of-view
shots,musicalscores,renderingsof subjectivestatesof mind,
flashbacksand freezeframes,etc.)withoratoricaltechniques
for addressing the socialissuesthat neithersciencenor reasoncan
resorve.
Pedormativedocumentaryapproachesthe domainof
experimentar
or
avant-gardecinemabut gives,finaily,ressemphasisto the
serf-contained
quality of the film or video than to its expressive
dimensionin retationto
representations
that referus back to the historicalworld for their ultimate
meaning.we continueto recognizethe historicalworldby
meansof famil_
iar peopleand praces(LangstonHughes,Detroitcityscapes,
the san Francisco Bay Bridge,and so on), the testimonyof others (participants
in
Tonguesuntied who describethe experiencesof brack,gay
men; the personalvoice-overconfidencesof Ngozionwurah about her
relationshio
to
her motherin The Body Beautiful);and scenesbuirtaroundparticipatory
or observationar
modesof representation
(interviewswith variouspeopre
in Khush and lh British but. . .; observedmomentsof
dairy ritein Forest
of Bliss).
The world as representedby performativedocumentaries
becomes,
however,suffusedby evocativetones and expressive
shadingsthat constantlyremindus thatthe worldis morethanthe sum of the
visioleevidence
we derivefrom it.Anotherearry,partiarexampreof the performative
mooe,
AlainResnais'sNightand Fog(1955),aboutthe Horocaust,
makesthispoint
vividly.The film'svoice-overcommentaryand imagesof
iilustration
nomi_
nateNightand Fogtor the expositorymode,butthe haunting,personar
quarity of the commentarymovesit towardthe pedormative.
Theiilm is ressabout
historythanmemory,ressabouthistoryfromabove-what
happenedwhen
and why-and moreabouthistoryfrom berow-what one person
mightexpeflenceand what it mightfeel like to undergo
that experience.Through
the elliptic,evocativetone of the commentaryby Jean
cayror,a survivor
of Auschwitz,Night and Fog sets out to representthe unrepresentabre:
13 4
I
INTRO DUCTI O N TO DO CUM ENTA R Y
(Alain
1955)
Resnais
etbrouillardl
Night
andFoglNuit
then
officers,
camp
presente
andFogwasshotbyconcentration
dinNight
ofthefootage
Much
AlainResnaiscompilesthisfootageintoasearingtestim
discoveredalterthewarbytheAllies
Iturges
HislilmofferslarmorethanvisualevidenceofNaziatrocities
tothehorrorsofinhumanity
tothe
ltlinks
thepast
camps
long
agointhese
what
happened
forget,
andnever
ustoremember,
conscience
amoral
ofsustaining
present
theburden
tomemory
andgives
of acts that defy all reasonand all narrativeorthe sheer inconceivability
and bodies,of victimsand
der.Visibleevidenceabounds-of belongings
survivors-but the voiceof Nightand Fogextendsbeyondwhat evidence
f romus thatacknowledges
confirms:it callsforan emotionalresponsiveness
pre-established
frameof reference
within
any
this
event
how understanding
judgment
of the heinous
at
a
(evenas we mayarrive
is an utterimpossibility
monstrosityof such genocide).
In a similarspirit,HungarianfilmmakerP6terForgdcshas described
notto explain,notto argueor judge,so much
hisgoalas notto polemicize,
past
experienceswere likefor thosewho lived
as to evokea senseof what
them. His extraordinarydocumentariesare made from home moviesreof the socialturmoilcaused
organizedinto performativerepresentations
life of a successfulJewish
the
recounts
Fall(1998),
by world war ll: Free
caughtup in
who
is eventually
in the 1930s,GyorgyPeto,
businessman
What Types of Documentary Are There?
|
135
( i c t r t l t t t y ': ; r l l r t , , r rr r l ,r l . r r r l l tc w i tt, l o ;r l l p l y l l ttl tt "l ttt;tl l ;o l ttl to tt" l o Il tl tt
( l i l r l i l t , f g w : , , , t r l l It,r ttr tl tr , l xo tl L ts( 1 9 9 9 ) te l l s t- r l th e l o r co d ttttq r l tl to tts o I
. k t w s d o w t t l l t c l ) ; rttttl r c tttt r o u te to Pa l e sti n e , i n th e fa C e o f Br i ti sh r e si su p r i ve r
l i l n c e t o t h c i r r r r v i r l o l a n y m o r e r e fu g e e s, a n d o f Ge r m a n sw h o fl e e
lrom Romaniaback to Germanywhen the Sovietarmy drivesthem from
theirland.The film reliesprimarilyon home moviestakenby the captainof
;r Danubecruiseship involvedin transportingboth of thesegroups.
Danube Exodus makes no attempt to tell the overall hrstoryof world
war ll. By focusingon these specificevents,seen from the viewpointof a
participantratherthan a historian,Forgdcssuggestssomething,however,
aboutthe overalltone of the war: he suggestshow,for some participants,
the war was primarilyan enormousflux of peoples,in and out of various
countries,for a wide varietyof reasons.Loss occurs,alongwith dislocation.The war takes its toll not from bombsalone but from these cases of
civilianexodusthat transformedthe face of Europe.
ForgScswantsto leaveevaluationand judgmentto us but alsoto postponethis kind of reflectionwhilewe experiencea moredirectlysubjective
encounterwith these historicalevents.He invokesaffectovereffect,emotionover reason,not to rejectanalysisand judgmentbut to placethem on
a differentbasis.Like Resnais,Vertov,and Kalatozovbeforehim, and like
Forgdcssidestepsready-madepositions
so many of his contemporaries,
categories.He invitesus, as all great documentarians
and prefabricated
do, to see the world afreshand to rethinkour relationto it. Pedormative
documentaryrestoresa senseof magnitudeto the local,spectfic,and embodied.lt animatesthe personalso that it may becomeour port of entryto
the political.
We can summarizethis generalsketchof the six modesof documenlikethe avant-garde,
in thefollowingtable.Documentary,
taryrepresentation
when a mode
signify
in
this
table
beginsin responseto fiction.(The dates
Oecomesa commonalternative;each mode has predecessorsand each
continuesto this day.)
Free
Fall(P1ter
Forg6cs,
1998)photos
courtesy
ofpeter
Forgacs
P6ter
Forgilcs
relies
entirely
onfoundfootage,
inthiscase,
home
movies
fromtheig30sand
1940s
suchfootagerevealslifeasitwasseenandexperiencedatagiventime
Forg6csreworks
thefootage,
cropping
images,
slowing
downmotion,
adding
titlesandmusic,
tocombine
asense
perspecttve
ofhistorical
withaformofemotional
engagement
Theresult
isquitepoetic,
radicarry
different
intonefromtheclassic
worldwarll documentaries
inanexpository
mode
suchasthe
WhyWeFightseries
WhatTypes of Documentary AreThere?
|
137
ll
(i I
l r r l r hr
Docurnentary
Modes
ClriefCharacteristics
-Deficiencres
Hollywoodfiction [1910s]:fictionalnarratives
of imaginaryworlds
-absence of ',reality,'
Poetic documentary llg2osl: reassembrefragmentsof the
worldpoetically
-lack of specificity,
too abstract
Expo s itory documentary [192Os]:d
irecilyaddressissues
in the historical
world
-overlydidactic
ObservationaI documentary l1960sl: eschewcom_
mentaryand reenactment;
observethingsas
theyhappen
-lack of history,context
Parti cipatory doc umentary [196Os]: interview
or Interactwith subjects;use archivalfilm
to retrievehistory
-excessive faithin witnesses,
naive
history,too intrusive
Reflexive documentary [1980s]:ques_
tiondocumentary
form,defamilrarrze
the othermodes
-too abstract,losesightof ac_
tualrssues
Pertormativedocumentary[1g8Os]:stress
subjectiveaspectsof a
classically
objectivediscourse
-toss of emphasison objectivity
may relegatesuchfilms
to the avant-garde;',excessive',
use of style.
138
I
INTRODU CTI O N TO DO CUM ENTARY
Chapter7
HowHaveDocumentaries
Addressed
lssues?
Socialand Political
PEOPLE AS VIC T IM S OR AGEN T S
Whenwe first asked"Whatto do with people?"in Chapter1, our discusr;ionfell primarilywithinan ethicalframe.What consequencesfollowfrom
rlifferentformsof responseto and engagementwith others?How may we
representor speak about others without reducingthem to stereotypes,
lrawns,or victims?Thesequestionsallowfew easyanswers,but they also
suggestthat the issuesare not ethicalalone.To act unethicallyor to misrepresentothersinvolvespoliticsand ideologyas well.
In a harsh critiqueof the documentarytradition,especiallyas representedby televisionjournalism,Brian Winstonarguesthat 1930s documentaryfilmmakersin GreatBritaintook a romanticview of theirworkingclasssubjects;theyfailedto see the workeras an active,self-determining
agentof change.Instead,the workersufferedfrom a "plight"that others,
namelygovernmentagencies,shoulddo somethingabout.
HousingProblems(1935),for example,gaveslum dwellersthe opportunityto speakfor themselves,in a synchronous
soundinterviewformatset
withintheir own homes.The words of actualworkersappearedon British
screensfor the firsttime, a sensationalachievementin the days long beforetelevisionor realityTV.But they appearedas if they came with hat in
139