Documentary Media - MIT 3832

DOCUMENTARY MEDIA Lindsay Mullin

[naira3832]

Realities vs. fantasies

[drewheb]

"They’re close enough"

[lindzmull]

" A Brother Remembers"

http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20198418,00.html 

[memorysong]

[docudeb]

John mentioned in class how it seems the only times Karen looks truly happy are when she’s playing the drums, and I know we’re only looking at a snapshot here, but come on: look at her.

[j-martin-jr]

A Literary Documentary of the Life of Karen Carpenter, Available for free on googlebooks. Sad, yet incredibly interesting read. The foreword by Dionne Warwick is gripping. Strongly recommend taking a look at it. Below is a link to the book.

http://books.google.ca/books?id=VeNVvoZdJ94C&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false

[lindzmull]

The Tarnation director delves deeper into the plight of his schizophrenic mother in Walk Away Renee, a companion film his celebrated 2003 debut.

"I just want to have these two films be this definitive representation of people with psychiatric problems..."

[lindzmull]

Oscars 2014: Act of Killing passed over, but leads to change in Indonesia

Joshua Oppenheimer's account of the anti-communist purge in 60s Indonesia was overlooked by the Academy, but the director remains upbeat about a film that has made a genuine difference

In Indonesia, official acknowledgement of the massacres had hitherto been almost non-existent. However, government officials were forced to respond to the film, not least when an outcry in China following the film's Oscar nomination shone a spotlight on the Chinese victims of the death squads.

Says Oppenheimer: "Whether or not we won the award, the nomination led the government to acknowledge what happened was wrong. That's a significant about-face in the struggle against impunity and that's something that wouldn't have happened without the attention from the Oscars."

[lindzmull]

5/5. The End. 

[lindzmull]

Part 4

[lindzmull]

Part 3!

[lindzmull]

Part 2!

[lindzmull]

Two Legends Together: A Young Bob Dylan Talks and Plays on "The Studs Terkel Program" In the spring of 1963 Studs Terkel introduced Chicago radio listeners to an up-and-coming musician, not yet 22 years old, "a young folk poet who you might say looks like Huckleberry Finn, if he lived in the 20th century. His name is Bob Dylan."  Dylan had just finished recording the songs for his second album, "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan", when he traveled from New York to Chicago to play a gig at a little place partly owned by his manager, Albert Grossman, called "The Bear Club". The next day he went to the WFMT studios for the hour-long appearance on "The Studs Terkel Program".  Things were moving fast in Dylan's life at that time. He was just emerging as a major songwriter. His debut album from the year before, Bob Dylan, was made up mostly of other people's songs. The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, which was finished but hadn't yet been released, contained almost all original material, including several songs that would become classics, like "Blowin' in the Wind," "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" and "A Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall." Within a few months Dylan would make his debut at the Newport Folk Festival and perform at the historic March on Washington. But when Dylan visited WFMT, it's likely that many of Terkel's listeners had never heard of him. In the recorded broadcast he plays the following songs: 1) Farewell 2) A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall 3) Bob Dylan's Dream 4) Boots of Spanish Leather 5) John Brown 6) Blowin' In The Wind

[lindzmull]

[lindzmull]

More Than Just A Pet Cemetery...

Gates of Heaven, a documentary by Errol Morris, had a number of elements that pushed this film past the initial narrative of a pet cemetery and allowed the audience to connect with each person interviewed to view the genuine humanness in each individual.

This film forces the viewer to reflect on their own genuine nature. One example of how Morris accomplishes this is through the mixture of long and still shots, which makes the viewer uncomfortable in the silence, which may allow the time for the viewer to reflect on themselves and their connection with the people appearing on the screen. Throughout the duration of the documentary, there is also no music to distract the audience members from connecting with the people who are being interviewed. Within the interviews, the camera captures each person in a way where I personally felt it was easy to connect with the person speaking.In each of these interviews , Errol allows the people to talk for as long as they will without any interruptions. In this, you see the flaws and contradictory elements within each person talking. In addition, the juxtaposition of the opposition of personalities within each scene also shows how “human” each person is within the film.

In many cases, each person within this film is simple, sad, pathetic, and are all very honest and wounded in some way. I believe that this film was much more than just a film about a pet cemetery but one that exposes the humanness and vulnerability of the self. In most ways this film is a reflexive piece of how “human” every one of us really are. It pushes past the usual broadcast or facade of the ego that is regularly portrayed in not only films but in everyday life and exposes the true colours of what it means to be human.

[lindzmull]

To simply summarize Gates of Heaven... #mit3832 

[lindzmull]

The first picture won a prize and the second one became controversial

This article displays two photographs. The first is Paul Hansen’s picture, which won in the Swedish Picture of the Year Awards 2011. This photo displays Fabienne, a 14 year old girl who was murdered by the police after she was caught stealing two chairs and some paintings from a store after the an earthquake that hit Haiti.

The second photograph taken by Nathan Weber, exposes Fabienne laying on the ground surrounded by photographers. This group of journalists were at the scene at the moment of the girl’s death. 

This has unleashed critics and a debate about photographers’ ethic.

"The debate that is arising in Sweden is based on the question, ´would have people given less donations to disaster help if that picture wasn’t published? Or would have been less resources and professionals intended for the cause?"

This type of work was viewed in Christian Frei's documentary War Photographer, based on photographer James Nachtwey and his collection of war photography. Being a war photographer has forced Nachtwey into many devastating and dangerous scenarios. Within the film, Nachtwey is also faced with the same sort of scene written about in the article above; witnessing a young man being beaten to death right in front of his eyes, while continuing to photograph throughout.

Many questions arise. Should photographers risk their own life to save the victims in which they photograph? Or should they continue to photograph tragic events, such as these scenarios mentioned above, in order to spread awareness to the rest of the world?

See more at : http://politicaysociedad.tumblr.com/post/70683618730/the-first-picture-won-a-prize-and-the-second-one-became#sthash.UnYrQOvU.dpuf

[lindzmull]

“I have been a witness and these pictures are my testimony. The events I have recorded should not be forgotten and must not be repeated.” - James Nachtwey