Issues in Contemporary Documentary

by Chapman, Jane L.

• ISBN13: 9780745640099
• ISBN10: 0745640095
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2009-08-17
• Publisher: Polity

Summary

Documentary is fast changing: with the digital revolution and the enormous increase in Internet usage, the range of information and outlets for distribution continues to become more diverse. In this context, are the traditional themes and frequently irreconcilable critical positions of study still valid or are they changing, and if so, how? In short, what are the issues for documentary studies now? The starting point of Issues in Contemporary Documentary is that although documentary history cannot be ignored, the genre needs to be understood as complex, multi-faceted, and influenced by a range of different contexts. Jane Chapman brings to life the challenges of contemporary documentary in an accessible way by balancing theoretical discussion with use of cutting edge material from Europe and North America and the developing world. Whilst the need for critical appraisal of documentary is greater than ever before, Chapman believes that future discourses are likely to be shared between academics and specialist online communities as viewers become makers, and both categories may also become activists. Maintaining all parties can benefit from an awareness of continuity and change, she predicts that activist documentary will increasingly become a category to follow in the future. Each chapter contains recent international case studies, and the content evolves thematically with definitions, representation, objectivity, subjectivity, censorship, authorial voice, reflexivity, and ethics as headings. This free standing, innovative study can also be used in conjunction with Documentary in Practice (Polity 2007) by the same author. The two books provide an essential 2 volume introduction for all students and scholars of film and media, plus those practitioners seeking insight into their craft.

Author Biography

Reader in Journalism Studies, University of Lincoln

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	p. vii
Introduction	p. 1
The question: continuity and change
Contextual issues
Methodology and how to use this book
Chapter summary
Definitions: Issues and Influences	p. 8
Summary
Introduction
Evolution of the genre
Cinema, television and ‘docu-soap’
Definitions of fiction and non-fiction
Case study: Death of A President (2006)
Genres, categories and uses of documentary
The journalistic documentary
Realism
Arguments about truth
Case study: Loose Change (2005) and Screw Loose Change (2006)
Conclusion
Representation: Problems, Purpose and Perspective	p. 28
Summary
Introduction
Representing history
Ethnography and pioneering democratization of representation
Ethnography and the ‘other’
Case study: She's a Boy I Knew (2007)
Institutions, minorities and identity politics
Representing collective struggle
Representing trauma, women, children and human rights
Comparative case study: War/Dance (2007), Autism: the Musical (2007)
Conclusion
Objectivity/Subjectivity: Pursuing Truth?	p. 48
Summary
Introduction
From verityé to television current affairs
Objectivity and the journalistic documentary
Institutional influences
Television impartiality and balance
Forms of subjectivity
Case study: Tarnation (2003)
Audiences and activism
Presenting the personal
Subjectivity and the essay form
Activist subjectivity
Case study: Sicko (2007)
Case study: 9/11 Chronicles (2007)
Mash-up, documentary and the Internet
Conclusion
Censorship: Whose World Is It?	p. 72
Summary
Introduction
Circumventing the State
Self-censorship
The self-censorship of the market and funding
Case study: Outfoxed (2004)
Institutional practices
Case study: The War Tapes (2006)
Historical memory and censorship by inertia
Political contexts
Potential audience reception
Conclusion
Authorial Voice: Editorial and Message	p. 93
Summary
Introduction
Uses of documentary and authorial voice
‘New documentary’ in the 1980s and 1990s
Role of subject matter
Case study: An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
Historical contexts
Direct Cinema and observational films
Case study: Être et Avoir (2002)
Use of interviews
Use of voiceover
Balancing evidence with argument
Comparative case study: Taxi To the Dark Side (2007), No End in Sight (2007)
Using authorial voice to extend a film's debate
Conclusion
Reflexivity: Techniques and Reflection	p. 114
Summary
Introduction
Reflexivity and anthropological films
Comparative case study: Tribe (2007), Amazon (2008), Return of the Tribe (2007)
Vertov and the reflexivity of process
Audience reflexivity
Political challenges and the audience
Reflexivity with deception
Producer reflexivity
Subjective reflexivity and personal autobiographical film
Case study: A Complete History of My Sexual Failures (2008)
Case study: Les Plages d'Agnès (2008)
Conclusion
Audience: A World View or Viewing the World?	p. 134
Summary
Introduction
Research
Counting values on the Net
Perceptions of responsibility
Changing viewing environments
Comparative case study: The Family (1974), The Family (2008)
The ‘contract’ with audience
Genres, activism and engagement
Case study: Battle for Haditha (2007)
Audience identification
Conclusion
Ethics: Shifting Boundaries	p. 156
Summary
Introduction
‘Consent’: dealing with participants, and payment
Rights
Trust
Balance of power
Case study: A Jihad For Love (2007)
‘Informed consent’
‘Privacy’ and institutions
Case study: Titicut Follies (1967) and informed consent
The problems of intervention and privacy
Voyeurism
A right to know?
Fakery and digital images
Case study: Zeitgeist (2007)
Codes and limitations on journalistic values
Conclusion
Conclusion	p. 178
Notes	p. 182
Bibliography	p. 186
Filmography	p. 196
Index	p. 201
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