The Bill Nichols piece titled, Engaging Cinema: An Introduction to Film Studies, introduces the reader to some concepts about documentary films in chapter three. What is the purpose of documentary films? How do they work? What are the various modes and how are they different?
Documentary films are not works of fiction. They address the real world. And real-world issues. Nichol states that, “Many documentaries make frequent use of poetic and narrative storytelling techniques as well as rhetorical ones” (Nichols 99). Narrative storytelling is exactly what it sounds like. It is driven by narration either without or outside of the documentary. The poetic is pieced together differently and will be discussed later. In Nichols’ view, there are elements of a rhetorical emphasis in most documentaries. According to Nichols, “rhetorical film discourse serves to move or affect, persuade, or convince the audience.” (Nichols 100) With this in mind, I wonder if there is a rhetorical element in Herzog’s, Grizzly Man? There is the element of a documentary inside another documentary in Grizzly Man. How does this shape the type and mode of this documentary film? These are questions to consider in class. There are two ways, at least, that documentaries function. We engage emotionally or intellectually and sometimes both ways with documentaries. The modes of engagement will be discussed later.
To persuade your audience it is important to understand who your target audience is. As Nichols points out, we are all different, shaped by our experiences. What may have a desired affect of one person may have the opposite on another (this may be your intent). So how can one sway another’s opinion or viewpoint. One way to do this is to use syllogisms. Nichols define them as ways to state premises and draw conclusion; some valid but some only appear valid. This is a come rhetorical tool in politics. Nichols give us the dog example of valid and faulty syllogisms. Decisions to leave out or focus on certain aspects in the documentary can help sway the viewer in the desired direction of the filmmaker. One example given is the documentary, The Plow that Broke the Plains, by Pare Lorentz. This documentary focusses on the dust bowl in the West and Midwest in the 1930s. The way that it is filmed makes it a very pro-government film and thus pro democrat. The government is the hero of the film saving lives with innovation. It uses a narrator to push its agenda and sway the viewers in a particular way. A film by Spike Lee, When the Levees broke does just the opposite and paints the government as an institution that failed the people of Louisiana. This documentary used a different strategy. Instead of a narrator it captured, sync sound, the words or the people effected directly from their own mouths. Sync sound is when filming and the sound or voice is recorded at the same time. This is what Timothy Treadwell does while documenting his life with the bears. Herzog uses this footage masterfully to give a true sense of Treadwell’s life, as he sees it. Sync sound used in conjunction with certain filming techniques can be very powerful! Lee’s closed-framed portraits of his interviewees opposed to the wide- open framed shots of then President Bush and Vice President Cheney paint two very different powerful picture. Like, Treadwell’s synched sound of the rushing water, the bears, the sound of the insects and Treadwell’s voice, the framing of the interviewees telling their stories provide an affect that moves the viewer. Another example can be seen in footage used by Michael Moore and many other documentarians of President Bush’s response when he was told about the 911 attacks at the 4:55 mark ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suB5wNSNBjs ). I can explain more in class but the short story is that it outraged many people. I think this was in part due to the distance of the filming, synch sound and detachment from the situation. One question to consider in class is on page 106. Concerning The Plow that Broke the planes and When the Levees Broke, Nichols states, “neither film finds a community-based or indigenous organization to channel this suffering into a collective action…neither film can be said to exhibit a radical political perspective.” Do you agree with this? Does Grizzly Man, exhibit a radical political perspective? Is Nichols forgetting what he said earlier about a persons background and experience having a determining factor in how the film is viewed?
Six Modes of Documentary film
- Expository – Uses a narrator to speak to the audience. This voice can be an outside announcer that guides the viewer through the film or in inside the film that takes the viewer through the film. Many times this narrator represents the voice of the filmmaker and can thus express the filmmakers views. This is not always the case. Sometimes they can help the viewer navigate difficult terrain of the film. The choice of narrator can influence the viewer in many different ways. Imaging a children’s story being narrated by Samuel L. Jackson as opposed to Morgan freeman.
- Poetic- This mode “stresses form or pattern over explicit argument. (Nichols, 116) It looks to give a poetic rendering of the world not the logical, rhetorical method. There is a focus on the artistic. There is a use of patterns and continuity editing, “that stimulate the look and feel of real- world activities and processes. This type of film doesn’t rely of the verbal but more on the visual.
- Observational- This is exactly what it sounds like. A direct cut. There is a continuity that captures the image and the sounds at the same time. one example is seen in, The Bear Man when Treadwell is talking about the bear in the background and finishes his shot. He lingers a while and the fox comes by with its pup right behind. They seek the authenticity of events as they unfold in real time
- Participatory- This is the “interactive”(Nichols, 118) documentary. This style uses direct questioning. This style also uses synch sound. The filmmaker is directly involved more in front of the camera. She can influence the film with this direct interaction. No Narrator is needed but can be used. In Grizzly Man, Herzog can push any agenda he has by directly interviewing people in the film. Again, I as, is he seeking to influence the viewer?
- Reflexive- This mode is considered more “abstract” (Nichols, 122) that the other modes. The film maker challenges the viewer to consider the fact that this is a documentary that is controlled by the director and others and can be altered according to their whims. The warm sunny day that you perceive on film may in fact simply be a close-up of a painting. The authenticity of what is viewed come into question. The film may not be the desired focus on the director. It could be the chaos surrounding the filming representing the chaos in a riot for example.
- Performative- The emotional opposite of the Reflexive intellectual mode. The viewer is directed towards an emotional involvement. The goal is the experience of an affectual performance. There is more than an intellectual approach and this type of film is there to provide it. It could be the visceral display of the carnage of war or the violent responses to civil rights peaceful protest. It is meant to be felt not to simple inform or teach