The Struggle Between Creativity and Ethics
Paper by Katie Seib. Viewed on DVD.
Documentary film is an authentic interpretation of the world that we live in. It utilizes facts from a subject, person, or event of historical reality to inspire the audience of the film’s purpose. However, since documentary film is a creative vision showcasing the historical world, there is a bit of a paradox among truth and fiction. The filmmaker’s goal is to incorporate their voice to these historical events, convincing or informing the audience of the film’s purpose. This requires a balance of ethical responsibilities and creative motives, which can create criticism within the world of documentary film. Each containing strengths and weaknesses within their styles of filming, Land Without Bread, True Life, and Catfish exhibit the ways in which a filmmaker must balance ethical concerns and their own creative vision.
Documentaries represent issues, qualities, people, and other aspects from the historical world. However, everything we see is from the viewpoint of the filmmaker and how he wants to represent that world. This can be a problem with filmmakers, as they want to employ their vision
The Wide Spectrum of Objectivity/Subjectivity in Documentary Film
Paper by Christina Miramontes. Viewed on DVD.
“I find that people have such strong positive and negative emotions […] that the Rashomon effect is often evident. But I’ve done the best I can to balance conflicting accounts fairly and be transparent about the sources I used” (Isaacson xx). This quote stated in the introduction of Steve Jobs puts into perspective the ways behind seeking the truth of a particular story and the difficulties one may experience. In documentary film, there are various facets in which the filmmaker chooses to portray its subject matter. Within the facet that the filmmaker attempts to analyze, there are two differing ways in giving this information known as objectivity and subjectivity. Although some see objectivity and subjectivity as black and white, with analysis it is evident that combinations and gradations in between can be found within these two. Because of this, it is important to recognize the extent of which is involved in filmmaking and what is meant when the viewer cognitively understand the information being received. By attempting to send meaningful messages to audiences globally, the directors of Food, Inc., The Cove,
