Documentaries

Paper Summary:

This paper deals with the emergence of documentary films as a way to express and promote partisan political opinions, contrary to the traditional factual objectivity of this kind of films. It studies the examples of Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11" and "Bowling for Columbine", their influence on people and the justification for the use of this kind of media production, such as the need for a counterweight to mainstream media. The notions of bias, subjectivity in journalism and pluralism in the media are also discussed.

From the Paper:

"But the limits of documentary as a form of political media production do not only come from the filmmaker's subjectivity or partisanship. External factors can heavily influence its display and perception in the audience's eyes. One of the main reasons is of course the restricted number of broadcasting means of diffusion, and the even more limited number of channels or cinematographic companies with a critical weight in the media panel. As the documentary's main goal is to be displayed to the largest audience possible, the filmmaker is thus dependant on a few decision-makers whose objectives are often not truth-seeking and pedagogical information. "The documentary used to belong to the filmmaker. But now, documentary filmmakers are dependant on the world of television, and therefore, documentaries undergo a type of natural selection."

More papers on Documentaries:

• Analytical Essay # 123992 : "The American Psyche and Nature Documentaries"
• Analytical Essay # 117974 : "Political Documentaries"
• Term Paper # 146944 : "Documentaries - Entertainment and Serious Issues"

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