Mass Communication & Media Literacy 10

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Mass Communication & Media Literacy 10

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Raymond WilliamsA Lecture on Realism

The development of Realism:

A move towards social extension – including the working classes

A movement towards action about the present – the inclusion of contemporary issues

An emphasis on secular action – action including human figures

the inclusion of the ordinary

The inclusion of the profane

* The development of technology

http://www.afterall.org/journal/issue.5/lecture.realism

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Documentary

Photography as a form of social investigation.

The development of a close association between seeing, knowing and aspects of power.

This reflected a will to philanthropic reform and control.

http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Collection/Photography/PhotographsCollection/CollectionItem.aspx?id=1987-5201/28

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Robert Flaherty

Nanook of the North (1922)

Capturing unseen ‘reality’. Ethnographic documentation.

‘Sometimes you have to lie. One has to distort a thing to catch its spirit.’

(In Heider, 2006)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLERFRQl5EY

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John Grierson(1898-1972)

Coined the term documentary film

Night Mail (dir. Wright and Watt, 1936)

Provided insights into the lives of under-represented groups – the world of everyday work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WO7JxYlhOM

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Observational Expository

Unobtrusive observation of the world

A series of found scenes

Intimacy and accessEvents unfold before

the cameraLoose naturalistic

organisation

An active attempt to interpret and explain

Narration that endorses a ‘god-like’ view

Normally a single, coherent, authorial view is offered

Representing a view of ‘others’ to ‘us’

Documentary Film Making

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John Grierson

Long, 2008

This is not about mere reproduction but about the correct kind of mediation and interpretation of the world

The ordinary was the guarantor of truthA responsibility to reality encourages a

social awareness that can lead to social reform and social cohesion

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Who is speaking, about whom, and to whom?

What is the nature of the knowledge produced by the text?

Questions

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Nick Broomfield

http://www.nickbroomfield.com/home.html

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Reality Media: The Ordinary

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Evidence of a democratic turn?

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Cheap programming?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_the_United_Kingdom

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Truth, responsibility and ethics

We are all witnesses of the world and reality Although not present, we often perceive

events ‘live’ in co-presenceDoes our expanding knowledge of our times

bring with it a collective responsibility?

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYOj_6OYuJc

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Band Aid

New Media – Eye Witnesses

New Media – Eye Witnesses

New Media – Eye Witnesses