Some of the advantages associated with documentary films are their greater potential for exploration, innovation and integration. To take advantage of this broad scope for creativity offered by documentary films, the filmmakers should adopt a script-free approach. Documentaries such as Fahrenheit 911 and Bowling for Columbine, which have garnered much critical acclaim are good examples of this scrip-free approach. The filmmaker needs to possess an eye for spotting key moments in the film before, during and after the production of film content. In the words of a famous cameraperson, “working creatively and seizing the moment and turning the camera on when things are happening before the rehearsal are important”. To be successful in this approach a passionate approach to work, an elevated cause behind the production and a sense of intuition are all essential qualities in the filmmaker. In the case of Fahrenheit 911, its producer/director Michael Moore excels in all the above aspects (www.documentaryfilms.net).
A central unifying concept is essential to organize disparate footages and to integrate the various points of view expressed in it. While interviews and images of talking heads are important elements, there are many nuances to them. For example, “Interviews are not enough. Interviews may help define the point of view, but they are usually a terribly cumbersome way to get the documentary idea across, because they don’t show the topic; they show people talking about the topic. It takes pictures” (Barnouw, 121). The first good example of the utility value of still images in documentaries is The Civil War film made by Ken Burns. By clever maneuvering of camera across each photo, the director lets the viewers know that the rest of the film will revolve around still pictures. The time span of these visuals and the background music are also equally important to make the intended impact on the audience. In The Civil War sound track the rendition of the solitary violin “speaks” for the pictures. An oral background commentary would have been redundant and might even diminish the impact on the viewers (Barnouw, 25).
The 2006 motion picture release “Borat: The Cultural Leanings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” is a parody on documentary filmmaking. While the film deserves merit on presenting a comical view of the sober subject of documentary film making, it is still fictitious. We cannot read too much into the film and make concrete judgments on the nature of documentary films and filmmakers (www.documentaryfilms.net).
Some of the most successful documentaries of the last 50 years or so have come from not-for-profit production houses. The most notable of these is the British Broadcasting Corporation. The production ethic for making documentaries will not allow for cutting corners. Hence only media enterprises like the BBC that is committed to dissemination of objective and factual content to its viewers can undertake challenging projects and see them through to the end. Documentaries such as Ascent of Man and Civilization, presented by Jacob Bronowski and Kenneth Clark are true masterpieces to have emerged from the BBC (www.documentaryfilms.net).
Documentary films assume special significance in light of the fact that they are a potent tool in challenging “the power of business and government”. In other words, the genre is an aid to democratic functioning of society. Movements that require public solidarity are made possible by this genre. For example, the movement for global justice (which is derogatively termed as the “anti-globalization” movement) grew upon the communication forum provided by the internet. A little further back in history, President Franklin Roosevelt’s campaigns for social change during the 1930’s got the necessary public support due mainly to the films made on the policies. For example,
“When the Roosevelt Administration wanted to sell Americans on expensive new government programs, it commissioned some of the most remarkable visual poems made in the era, by Pare Lorentz and a talented team. Works such as The Plow that Broke the Plains (1936) and The River (1938) helped to invest taxpayers in programs that promoted economic stability and growth.” (www.documentaryfilms.net)
To this day, most “radical” or “progressive” political and social movements, including socialism, atheism, etc. are most active in the cyber space. The recent rise in number of documentary productions could be attributed to the fact that the internet allows for easy and convenient transmission of non-commercial documentary films.
Most documentary films are not made for monetary gains; yet their reliance on funding cannot be overlooked. If not for anything, the producers need decent returns on their investment to keep the cycle of production and distribution running smoothly. While documentaries are not subject to corporate and ideological influences as fictional motion pictures are, they do at times succumb to these pressures. A case in point is the wildlife film March of the Penguins released in 2005. The film uses “sensationalism, sex and violence” to attract audiences (Vic Alexander, 2007). Such state of affairs was predicted by Leo Tolstoy more than a century ago. He said upon leaving the theater, “What a wonderful instrument this could be in the schools, for studying geography and the way people live. But it will be prostituted. Like everything else.” (Vic Alexander, 2007). A similar sentiment is expressed by communications expert James Carey:
“Reality is a scarce resource. Reality is not what is out there, after all, but what we know, understand and share with each other of what is out there. Media affect the most expensive real estate of all, the real estate inside your head. Documentary is an important reality-shaping communication, because of its claims to truth. Documentaries are always grounded in real life, and make a claim to tell us something worth knowing about it.” (www.documentaryfilms.net)
While there is no denying the usefulness of this genre for propagation of information for the interests of the general public, there have been episodes in the past where documentary films have aided oppressive governments. The standout example of this is the employment of this genre for Nazi anti-Semitic propaganda of the late 1930s. By the end of the Second World War, as many as 6 million Jews were executed in gas chambers and ghettos as a result (Barnouw, 102).
The recent rise in the number of political and social documentaries that are critical of the corporate-government nexus is definitely a positive sign. The popularity of some of these films indicates the change in public consciousness over recent years. More and more people are raising their voices and having it heard. This is a healthy sign for democracy and cultural advancement. So, in the final analysis, the role of documentary films in contemporary society is a beneficial one as well as an essential one.
Works Cited:
Barnouw, Eric, Documentary: A History of Non-Fiction Film, Oxford University Press, United States, 1993.
Featured Reviews Archive, retrived from <www.documentaryfilms.net> on 9th December 2007.
Vic Alexander, The Importance of Documentary Film, retrieved from www.v-a.com/filmmaking on 9th December 2007