Traditional documentary Defined perspective/attitude/agenda Selected editing to promote point Voice-over commentary Use of interview quotes Propaganda

Triumph of the Will: Hitler as god-like

Cinema Verite Documentary Little intrusive commentary/music Little editing/long takes Events/world not staged Ethnographic perspective on a culture Seemingly non-ideological Few interviews

Cinema Verite: Frederick Wiseman Focuses on institutions

High School II: East Central HS Neiman Marcus Panama Welfare

Rhetorical impact: audience Placate/sooth audience: nostalgia Challenge/implicate audiences

Force audiences to rethink beliefs Encourage audiences to act

Rock documentaries Gimmie Shelter, 1970, (Rolling Stones) A Hard Day’s Night, 1968, (Beatles) Don’t Look Back, 1967, (Bob Dylan) Quadrophenia, 1979 (The Who) Almost Famous, 2000 (rock star life) Hedweig & the Angry Inch, 2001 The Last Waltz, 1978 (The Band)

Use of 35mm cameras Re-released DVD

Documentary Students create own documentaries

Use of photos/video clips Use of multi-genre writing Present using hypermedia Tour/promotion documentaries

Draw on image databases Select an issue/theme

Pollution/sprawl/testing Interviews/analysis

Ethnography and documentary Study of events/celebrations/rituals

“Fiction”/“reality” vs. “truth” Problem with concepts

Fiction = “not real” Reality = “not fictional”

Alternative: “documentary truth” Explores tensions/complexity vs. propaganda:

“one truth” Invites recognition of the complexity of a

problem/issue

Brainstorm: Criteria for determining “truth” Groups: pick a topic

Your school, an event (state fair, celebrations),community history,etc.

Identify some of the “truths” in this topic If you were to make a documentary,

how would you portray these “truths”? Interviews Portrayal of event/old video footage