Abstract
This essay examines the question of the presentation of film and looks at the topic of truth within the documentary film. The writer considers the words of Errol Morris, the director of 'The Thin Blue Line', who believes that documentaries can be as personal as fiction film making. The writer discusses that Morris challenges the concept that objective truth may be captured through film.

From the Paper
"Errol Morris, director of 'The Thin Blue Line', has criticized the cinema verite style of documentary, arguing that: "There is no reason why documentaries can't be as personal as fiction filmmaking and bear the imprint of those who made them. Truth isn't guaranteed by style or expression. It isn't guaranteed by anything". In making this argument, Morris is not only challenging the idea that objective truth can be captured through film, but that the generic line between fictional film and documentary film can often be extraordinarily blurred."

Tags:film, documentary, truth

Abstract
This paper focuses on the development of documentary films. The paper first looks at the role of John Grierson in the development of the documentary film in the 1930s and examines his documentary called "The Drifters". The paper then looks at how Germans utilized the documentary film during World War II, specifically those films made by Leni Riefenstahl. Finally, the paper discusses the development of neorealism during and after World War II and how it borrowed a good deal from the documentary film.

Outline:
John Grierson and the Documentary Film Movement
The Documentary Film in Germany
The Development of Neorealism

From the Paper
"John Grierson was a key figure in the development of the documentary film in the 1930s and beyond, helping to create and operate a number of documentary film units in Britain and Canada and himself directing a key documentary in 1930 called The Drifters. Grierson also wrote a good deal about the documentary, and while he never wrote a comprehensive aesthetic of the documentary, one can be gleaned from the many writings he did do."

Tags:John, Grierson, Leni, Riefenstahl, Germans, propaganda, neorealism

Abstract
This paper explains that the documentary film "The Corporation" demonstrates the way the ideologies of corporations impact society and the public good. The author points out that, in this film, the corporation is analyzed and treated as if it were a person with a personality of a textbook psychopath. The paper relates that corporations manipulate the mass media and the consumers by ignoring social accountability, moral rules and sometimes even direct laws.

From the Paper
"The corporation is probably the most dominant institution in our society today. It is the most wealthy, powerful, pervasive, and influential institution on earth today. The principal goal of a corporation is to make as much legal monetary profit as possible, regardless of the consequences. It is also an institution legally not concerned with the well being of the society at large. This essay will argue that the limited liability of corporations makes them all-powerful and that it is this status quo that the corporations want to maintain, using propaganda and consumerism in order to do so."

Tags:thecorporation, ideology, globalization

Abstract
This paper explains that, by identifying the dominant figures in Confucianism, Christianity and Islam, the film "Three Pillars: Confucius, Jesus, and Mohammed" argues that these religions share experiential, ideological and social characteristics. The paper describes the historical progression from Confucianism as the touchstone to Christianity and Islam, both of which are based on Judaism, as led by these founders. The paper concludes that, in today's environment, the sharp philosophical divergence of these religions seems irreconcilable; however, this film demonstrates that the collective ambition of these founders was to seek peace and a common ground with their counterparts.

From the Paper
"For all intents and purposes, the documentary is concerned with the work of prophets. The individuals represented, seen by some as divinity incarnate and by others still as spiritually inspired men, reflect a singular tradition that is concerned with providing ethical grounding to the difficult challenges of human existence. Whether concerned with government, family or personal moral hygiene, the purposefulness of a faith is found in the way that those beliefs are applied."

Tags:relevant evolution, personal mythology, constancy, common ground

Abstract
This paper analyzes Robert Flaherty's contributions to cinema, particularly with regards to documentaries. It focuses on Flaherty's 1922 documentary film, "Nanook of the North" and how it has become inextricably associated with the development of modern documentary film. The paper analyzes Flaherty's masterful cinematic touch, from shot order to the pacing and treatment of his subjects and explains why he is widely considered one of the most influential filmmakers in the documentary genre.

From the Paper
"As Nanook declared to Flaherty before the filming of the walrus hunt, "the aggie [film] will come first." Though some modern critics have loudly proclaimed Nanook a fake by contemporary documentary standards, it is important to note that Flaherty can hardly be held accountable to the later standards of a film movement which did not, until he helped create it, exist. Though he drew heavily from historical precedent in nonfiction film and documentary-style presentations, Flaherty stands out because he was perhaps the first to fully integrate traditional ethnographic nonfiction into a satisfying and utterly engaging narrative form. Additionally, making Nanook the protagonist of his film, and portraying him in a respectful light set a precedent for future documentaries. By the time Nanook of the North had circled the globe, it had influenced and inspired filmmakers worldwide and triggered a nonfiction movement that has continued to this day. Flaherty's film contributes to the understanding of film as a whole by posing the most fundamental questions about nonfiction film, asking, what is reality? What is not? Where is the line between the two? Most importantly, Flaherty's Nanook of the North helped establish the often-unacknowledged fact that documentary film is not a newsreel but, first and foremost, art."

Tags:nonfiction cinema, motion picture

Abstract
The paper discusses the documentary film's six primary modes of filmmaking and illustrates some of these modes with reference to different documentaries. The paper then applies the data to two specific documentaries; "Out of Control: AIDS in Black America" and "Other Faces of AIDs," which address the growing AIDs crisis in the African-American community. The paper shows how in both films the expository mode takes over, creating a sense that the white reporters and filmmakers are lecturing, which undercuts the effectiveness of the message and separates the black community.

Outline:
Introduction
Six Primary Modes of Documentary Filmmaking
Conclusion

From the Paper
"The classification of documentary films into six modes was proposed and explained by Bill Nichols. As Nichols describes these six modes, he suggests that each of the six corresponded to a particular period in documentary filmmaking when that mode prevailed, though all persist and may be found in some films at any given time. The observational mode is considered by some to be the truest form, given that it involves the least direct interference or interpretation by the filmmaker. As Nichols writes, these are films that "eschew commentary and reenactment [and] observe things as they happen" (Nichols, Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary 138). This is considered by many to be the most "documentary-like" of all the documentary forms, and perhaps the best-known practitioner of this form is Frederick Wiseman."

Tags:poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, performative, attitudes, biases, African-American

Abstract
In this paper, the problem between documentary and non-documentary filming has been analyzed within the context of the "protest era" in 1960s and 1970s Japan. The films by Shinsuke and Hara provide a context in which films in the late 60s define the problems with objectivity in filming protest events due to the affect he camera has on people. While Shinsuke does provide a deeper context for filming on site at the village, the political message of the 1960s appears to be contrived through his own vision of protest, rather than that of the village he filmed.

From the Paper
Thank you for purchasing a customized research paper from Essay Experts LLC. We strive to deliver to our customers the most accurate and up-to-date research each and every time we prepare a custom work. Your Writer ID: #255 Order ID: 16161 Topic: Film Studies Disclaimer: This document should be used in precisely the same way you would use any article you might find in your local research library. Remember, you must cite it properly just like you would any other source listed in your bibliography. If you have any questions regarding citing

Tags:business, film, japan

Abstract
The paper discusses the value of Bill Nichols' system of documentary modes and outlines the "Poetic Mode", "The Observational Mode", and "The Participatory Mode". The paper shows how not all of his modes fit exactly into a neat category. The paper also explains why viewers place faith in documentaries, more so than other formats and then shows why a good, ethical documentary can engender tangible change.

Outline:
The Value of Nichols' System of Documentary Modes
Why Viewers Place Faith in Documentaries - More So than Other Formats
The Assumption is that a Good, Ethical Documentary can "Engender Tangible Change."

From the Paper
"The value first of all is in the fact that Nichols' system puts a microscope on the topic of documentaries. Nichols slows down the process of how critics and reviewers tell the movie-going public about certain films that are non-fiction films. Nichols attempts to break the discussion down into sections (components) that people can understand.
"For example, the Nichols' "Poetic Mode" offers clarification that this form of documentary is probably what people would call "arty." That is, it will be slow and maybe dull. And historical material will probably be in this documentary, and it will be done in a "lyrical form, usually associated with the 1920s and modernist ideas," according to Nichols. Right there is value because if a teacher, for example, is looking for an interesting documentary to show to high school students, and that teacher has a copy of Nichols' Introduction to Documentary, he or she will definitely avoid a documentary that has "Poetic Mode" written on it by reviewers."

Tags:Poetic, Mode, Observational, Mode, Participatory, Mode, ethics

Abstract
This paper given an analysis of documentary film, which is not identifiable as having any one particular approach. Instead it is characterized as having at least one of six primary modes of documentary filmmaking: poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, and performative. These different modes are not entirely separate, and many see the documentary as necessarily having a degree of reflexivity as part of the form, for instance. The paper concludes that the different modes have their unique characteristics and can be identified by those characteristics.

From the Paper
"The documentary film is not identifiable as having any one particular approach and instead is characterized as having at least one of six primary modes of documentary filmmaking: poetic, expository, observational, participatory, reflexive, and performative. These different modes are not entirely separate, and many see the documentary as necessarily having a degree of reflexivity as part of the form, for instance. Still, the different modes do have their unique characteristics and can be identified by those characteristics. Some of these modes will be illustrated with reference to different documentaries, and the data..."

Tags:nonfiction, film, documentary

Abstract
In this paper, the author examines and discusses the development of modern day documentary film makers, especially since the US led invasion of Iraq. According to the author, the ability today to bring to almost every home, events occurring many thousands of miles away, almost instantaneously has changed the way journalists report news and specifically how they approach the making of a documentary film. One of the contentions made by the author is that documentary film politics is usually one of the most purely unbiased, democratic politics available to the public because the nature of the documentary is one that lends itself to the voice of the subject of the documentary. The writer goes on to examine various documentary film makers and discusses their work, finally concluding that today, given the environment of politics and corporate ratings and individual ambitions, documentary film may be the most pure form of unedited and unbiased information available to the public.

From the Paper
"One such documentary filmmaker was Deborah Scranton (2006), who went 180 degree turn left of the traditional media, and chose what she refers to as "virtual" embedding with the troops (WBH Forum 2006). Speaking before the WBH Forum about the "process" of making the documentary, Scranton explained that the New Hampshire National Guard offered here the opportunity to document their Guard in Iraq. Scranton decided that the film needed to be from the perspective of the soldier, and instead of traveling to Iraq, she would equip the troops with cameras, and the reporting and the film would be 100% the story of the soldiers based on their experiences. Scranton discussed at length the soldier's concerns when she met with them and explained her idea. Their concerns were that their stories would become lost in her personal agenda. This suggests that the soldiers had their own experiences with, and impressions of previous embedded reporting."

Tags:iraq, war, bush, america, cinematography, journalism, unbiased, soldier, national, guard, director, ethic, news, information, invasion