Documentary film Essays

Documentary filmmakers strive to capture the real in their documentary films – a convention used by both fiction and non-fiction films to immerse their audiences into the issue. There are a few common methods used by filmmakers to capture the real, all stemming from Dziga Vertov’s theory of Kino Pravda, which explores the idea of truth in films. Realism is important to filmmaking as it helps question the relation of a film to reality. More often than not, our disbelief are suspended the moment we

Apart from Hollywood film, the documentary film is also an influential source of information that reveals real life situation of each group of people where the producer is filming. The controversial documentary film which reveals Thai woman real life is “The good women of Bangkok” (1991). The film was made by an Australian filmmaker, Dennis O'Rourke. He spent nine months involved with Thai prostitute named Aoi. “The film begins when O'Rourke travels to the Patpong the famous place for foreigners

subjectivity inevitably corrupts any possibility for the attainment of objectivity and that no absolute truth or reality can be captured in documentary film; while scholars like Stephen Mamber and filmmakers who ascribed to the schools of cinema verite and direct cinema suggest that objectivity is attainable through filming real people in uncontrolled situations. “Documentary presents first-hand experience and fact by creating rhetoric of immediacy and ‘truth’, using technology, which involves the cameras

comedy and documentary films, the qualitative and quantitative perspectives were employed in the analysis of the data. For the quantitative perspective, adjectives in the film reviews were counted and divided into two groups– evaluative and descriptive - to see which are the most frequently used, but for the qualitative research, the most frequently used evaluative adjectives were analyzed and divided into two sections – positive and negative adjectives. Firstly, forty different film reviews (twenty

Paris is Burning is a documentary that took place in New York dealing with the cultures of drag in the 1980’s. The movie portrays the controversies that represent the many problems and fears that homosexual and transgender people endured during this time. The movie goes into depth about the underground balls that took place for gay and transgender people all around New York City. We see how people took part of these events, individual feeling of being a runway model, and vogue dancing. The people

Documentaries inform viewers about significant events and often have a strong point to make about social, environmental and economic issues. In this case “Fahrenheit 9/11” directed and written by Michael Moore, focuses largely on the social aspect. The U.S. Political commentator and actor heavily addresses his biased ideas in the 2004 documentary, by using several film techniques, film styles, historical relevance, and with the help of montages and sarcasm to deliver his message about Bush’s awful

Michael Moore, director of the world-famous documentary, Bowling For Columbine is notorious for his truth-twisting and ultimately biased filmmaking ways. Through his arrangement of other successful films, the impression of whether or not the truth he puts forward is really the truth at all, becomes increasingly evident. So much so that columnist and author, Christopher Hitchens, believes that his films are “a spectacle of abject political cowardice masking itself as a demonstration of "dissenting"

The documentary Fed Up, released in 2014, was directed by Stephanie Soechtig and executive produced and narrated by Katie Couric (Fed). The film “Fed Up will change the way you eat forever” (Geary). In my opinion, a superior documentary film must present facts that are credible and accurate, display a compelling view of the topic, and educate the viewers. I believe Fed Up effectively shows the negative impact processed foods and added sugars have on childhood obesity by presenting credible and accurate

been a well-known name in the field of documentaries since his documentary filmmaking debut of Roger & Me (1989). Using a mix of modes and elements of documentary film, he has created many outspoken films that aim to hammer in his ideals to the audience. However, this has many times created the opposite effect of what Moore desires, and many of his critics argue his tactics have discredited him as a filmmaker. This essay will be focusing on two of Moore’s films in particular: a larger focus on Roger

with the dreadful system of slavery, share cropping and the Jim Crow era. Not once did I ever stop to think of a black civilization prior to being plucked out the arms of mother Africa. Imagine my bewilderment after watching “Hidden Colors", a documentary film that expounds the marginalization of African people in America. I learned of ancient Africans vast array of talents in the math, sciences, and architectural contributions

The film maker, Michael Moore, of Fahrenheit 9/11 uses pathos, ethos, and logos as tools to effectively persuade the audience to believe that the Bush’s Administration was corrupt. Michael Moore, a left-wing political crusader, is an American filmmaker. Known for his thought-provoking and unscripted documentaries, Moore takes risks and asks the questions that everyone wants the answers to. Moore is an amazing political commentator and knows exactly how to use the art of language, film, and facts

Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) is a feature film length documentary that presents a critical look into the Bush administration and the allegedly poor decisions that they made, including waging war on Iraq for the wrong reasons. These reasons include to profit from the oil present in Iraq for the ‘elite’ of America. The documentary follows the Bush administration’s alleged decisions after the devastating attack 9/11. Moore carefully constructs the documentary by using clever mise en scene, selection

The documentary and movie brought up many serious and important issues that happened to Kat/ Beth in her early years of life. In thing essay we will be bringing up many things including, why they were portrayed differently in the movie from the documentary, why should she know that the dream wasn't just a dream, and what she has done to animals. It will also bring up how she abused her brother, why she attacked her father, and the therapy they put her through. Finally, the movie shows the importance

Michael Moore is an American documentary filmmaker, who is best known for his line of controversial documentaries exploring and addressing political and social issues in the US. Moore has a number of films, including 9/11: Fahrenheit, Sicko and Roger and Me for example. In particular, he has produced and directed “Bowling for Columbine” which I will be close viewing for my 3.9 report. During this film he raises and explores the issue of gun violence in the United States and uses a variety of techniques

The documentary 13th directed by Ava DuVernay and was the first ever documentary to open the New York Film Festival in 2016. DuVernay is a two-time academy award nominee for her films Selma - Best Picture and 13th - Best Documentary Feature (Time). She grew up in Compton California in the 1980s and 1990s where she saw a heavy police presence which she said was terrifying. She recalls seeing her father wrestled to the ground in his own back yard because he met the description of a man “running around

Throughout time Michael Moore has created many great documentaries and made a name for himself. Most of Moore’s documentaries consist of a similar theme and a similar directional diction. Two of Moore’s documentaries that really stood out to me personally are the tragic stories of Bowling for Columbine and the harsh truth of Fahrenheit 9/11. I found two specific scenes in these documentaries being the scene where the shooting occurs in Bowling for Columbine and the scene where the plane crashes

Seth Wilson English Composition 1 Professor Catherine Stoynoff 4/22/23 Improving Higher Education in the United States The film “Declining by Degrees” is a documentary film that explores the challenges and issues facing higher education in the United States. The film is based on extensive research and interviews with students, educators, policymakers, and experts in the field of higher education. It examines a range of issues, including the quality and rigor of college courses, the cost of higher

13th 13th, directed by Ava DuVenay, is a Netflix original documentary released in 2016 which brings to the table many individuals to discuss the evolution of the criminalization of African Americans using the thirteenth amendment and the growth of the U.S. prison industry. About the Director Ava DuVenay was born on August 24, 1972 in Long Beach, California. Mostly known as a director and filmmaker, DuVenay directed the Oscar-nominated film Selma (2014), which depicts the role Dr. Martin Luther King

Super Size Me opens the documentary with young children singing “A Pizza Hut, a Pizza Hut. Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut… McDonald's, McDonald's. Kentucky Fried Chicken and a Pizza Hut.” This kind of introduction in a documentary sets the mood for an average Morgan Spurlock documentary, which revolves around using humor to draw our attention. Super Size Me is one of the many documentaries made by Morgan Spurlock, but in this documentary, he wanted to see why the obesity rate in America was

Michael Moore systematically uses logos, pathos, and ethos in his documentary to persuade viewers to view his ideas in a similar manner. Moore touches on each form of rhetoric because individuals are persuaded in different ways, whether it is through emotional appeal, credibility of the speaker or the effectiveness of the messages supporting evidence (The Art of Rhetoric). Moore incorporating the three main forms and being passionate about his views has caused him to have many followers, but also