What is the difference between a mockumentary and documentary? Most people state that mockumentaries are humorous whereas documentaries are more serious. Today I will elaborate on this, addressing how directors use techniques in mockumentaries to parody serious subject matters. In particular, I will analyse ‘Babakiueria’ (1986) by Don Featherstone and ‘The Majestic Plastic Bag’ (2010) by Jeremy Connor. In Australian history, a subject of conflict that we are aware of is the white settlers and the Aboriginal people. In ‘Babakiueria’, Featherstone parodies this subject through role reversal, where the Aboriginal people takes over the white settler’s land. Featherstone does this by using staged archival footage where the Aboriginal settlers are seen erecting their flags on the white's land. We can see that this is the start of a conflict just like when the white …show more content…
In this mockumentary, Konner shows how we often mistreat the natural environment by personifying a plastic bag. How is he able to show this through a simple object? Well Connor uses a close up of the plastic bag moving across the carpark where is it “unsure of itself”. This portrays how we leave objects carelessly, expecting someone or something to clean it up. Additionally, Konner uses a long shot of the plastic bag floating towards the ocean. We can see here that the wider society do not care or even glance at the plastic, just as we don’t take environmental issues seriously. Also, as the plastic bag is floating in the ocean, an eye-level angle shot is used to focus on the sea creatures as they devour the helpless plastic. By doing this, Konner proves to us what the plastic is going through and has hope of making us think about the animal's perspective too. Overall, 'The Majestic Plastic Bag' is a mockumentary which parodies the subject matter of how we negatively act and treat our natural