The Similarities & Differences between Interactive and Reflexive Documentaries PDF

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1000 word essay. Comparing two documentary types using examples from Louis Theroux and Michael Moore. ...

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The Similarities & Differences between Interactive and Reflexive Documentaries: ‘Fahrenheit 9/11’ by Michael Moore & ‘Rap’ by Louis Theroux By Jenna Jaafri

“Documentary concerns itself with representing the observable, and to what Grierson called the raw material of actuality” [ CITATION Kei04 \l 2057 ]. The word ‘documentary’ has been difficult to define; there have been many attempts at defining the word by theorists that it has caused many others to re-define and to re-think what ‘documentary’ really is. John Grierson, a Scottish documentary filmmaker, coined the term: ‘The creative treatment of actuality’. Grierson’s definition has been widely accepted by theorists and filmmakers within the documentary community.

American documentary theorist Bill Nichols identifies that there are six different modes within documentary films. His aims were to identify particular codes and conventions in documentary film styles and group similar ones together, although there is often an overlapping of codes and conventions in individual documentaries. [ CITATION Wik15 \l 2057 ]. In this essay, my aim is to outline the similarities and differences between two of these modes; reflexive and interactive (participatory).

Reflexive documentaries tend to flaunt their constructive natures to their audiences. They rely on suggestion rather than fact and the presenter (or voiceover if present) is likely to be questioning and uncertain rather than authoritative. An example of a reflexive documentary filmmaker is Louis Theroux. [ CITATION Col \l 2057 ]. In his series titled ‘Louis Theroux’s Weird Weekends’, he travels to America to document ‘weird’ events and happenings by getting involved himself. In his episode titled

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‘Rap’, he puts himself in front of the camera, finding out from various people what it would take to become a ‘gangster rapper’. [ CITATION IMD15 \l 2057 ]. It signals to the audience that the documentary is a constructed view on a truth but not necessarily the truth.

Interactive (or participatory) documentaries are made from the filmmaker’s point of view. They emphasise on the filmmaker’s meetings with his/her chosen subjects and how these people react. The filmmaker usually includes the word ‘I’ in the voiceover and concludes more informal interviews. For example; the filmmaker and crew would walk in the street and conduct spontaneous interviews with passers-by or try to catch a few words from their chosen subject without asking permission beforehand, usually by using a hand-held camera. Michael Moore is considered to be an interactive documentary filmmaker. He intervenes and participates in the action and his point of view is always apparent. In 2004, he made Fahrenheit 9/11; a documentary about the Bush administration after the events of 9/11. [ CITATION IMB \l 2057 ]. He uses a lot of archive material such as news footage and stills to further persuade his audience that his truth is the truth, not a truth.

“Ironic representations inevitably have the appearance of insincerity since what is overtly said is not what is actually meant” [ CITATION Bil91 \l 2057 ]. In his documentary, Louis Theroux is often sceptical toward the subjects because they often lead lives that aren’t conventional in his opinion. He questions the subjects with hints of irony and low-key sarcasm which the subjects never pick up on, whereas Michael Moore uses irony and satire but at a more obvious level. Moore incorporates satire within his voiceover and uses archive material in an ironic way to further support his argument for or against his subjects. In Fahrenheit 9/11, he uses the satire and irony to create an argument against the Bush administration. He will often juxtapose two separate images to create a meaning which highlights the subjective nature of the documentary and his views/opinions about the subject matter and the subjects. Louis Theroux uses the satire/irony to attempt to help his subjects gain an 2

enlightenment, to help them to understand his beliefs and traditions and how their way of life is different to his own and although it is subjective in nature, it doesn’t over-indulge in the emotions from the subjects like Fahrenheit 9/11 does. The subject matter of both documentaries plays a big part in this. Fahrenheit 9/11 asks the question of whether the Bush administration did all they could to stop the attacks on 9/11 whereas ‘Rap’ concerns itself with the rap culture in the South and what it takes to become successful in the rap industry. Fahrenheit 9/11 is a very sensitive subject matter with much controversy and it wouldn’t have had a big impact on mainstream media if it was more objective rather than subjective. Theroux’s documentary would have been successful either way, however, when the subject matter concerns the private lives of people, a subjective approach would prove more successful than an objective one.

Michael Moore uses sound as a key role to further defame the Bush administration, playing popular music for a satirical effect. Near the beginning, he uses diegetic sounds over a black screen to emphasise the terror of the events on 9/11. Theroux’s documentary doesn’t use sound to create a meaning but instead to accompany the visuals and make for a better viewing for the audience. The cameras in both documentaries are almost always hand-held. Theroux is always in front of camera but Moore is only in front a handful of times- his voiceover narrates the film. Even though he is rarely in view of the audience, his voiceover still raises awareness on the constructed nature of the documentary. Of the handful of times he is on screen, his presence dictates certain responses and behaviours from the subjects. “Interviews are a form of hierarchical discourse deriving from the unequal distribution of power, as in the confessional and the interrogation” [ CITATION Bil91 \l 2057 ]. Moore’s aim is to provoke the subject into giving the information he seeks. Although Theroux also provokes his subjects, they seem more willing to give him information. Moore’s attempt is direct and straight to the point whereas Theroux’s is more subtle. There’s an unequal distribution of power in both films, with Theroux and Moore being more in power than their subjects although Theroux’s

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more reserved approach tricks the subject into thinking the power is equal, gaining the subject’s trust faster than Moore’s outspoken line of action.

Theoretically, reflexive and interactive documentaries share more similarities than they do differences, although it depends on the individual films chosen for comparison. Both Fahrenheit 9/11 and Rap reveal their constructed natures through camera techniques, sounds and the continuous appearance from Theroux and voiceover from Moore. Both documentaries are subjective as they deal with issues relating to people and due to the highly controversial and emotional events that Fahrenheit 9/11 covers, it uses more subjectivity to get its message across to the viewers. Moore and Theroux use certain levels of satire and irony to shape their documentaries into what they reveal to be truthful, however, Moore insists that his view is the truth whereas Theroux only reveals a truth, leaving much, but not all, of the debate with his viewers to make their own assumptions.

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Bibliography Beattie, K. (2004). Documentary screens: Non-fiction film and television. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. coleggwent.ac.uk. (2015). Modes of Documentary – Continued. Retrieved from coleggwent.ac.uk: learn.coleggwent.ac.uk/mod/resource/view.php?id=60261 IMBD.com, Inc. (2015). Fahrenheit 9/11. Retrieved from IMDB.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0361596/ IMDB.com, Inc. (2015). Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends: Season 3, Episode 6. Retrieved from IMDB.com: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1041442/?ref_=ttep_ep5 Nichols, B. (1991). Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. (2015). Documentary mode. Retrieved from Wikipedia.org: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_mode

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