All documentaries have ‘problem’, where in creating a piece of media which represents the ‘truth’ the actual ‘truth’ becomes influenced by the director’s input on the creative intention and the cinematographer influences what is in the shot and what is kept out the shot. “John Grierson’s definition of documentary filmmaking – ‘the creative treatment of actuality’ – summarises its overarching fallacy. The fallacy being that documentaries often purport to reveal truths, however by the very act of documenting actuality, the director inadvertently alters its ‘truth’.” Whereby an attempt is made to capture the truth, the truth is altered, however many documentaries don’t separate themselves from this fact and instead choose to embrace it. A lot of documentaries will pose a problem or question and encourage watchers to challenge their own beliefs, the very nature of documentaries is not to change beliefs but to expand on them. This creates the documentary ‘problem’.
Here is an example of where the truth of the situation is altered, as the documentary covers the experience of a working class old coal-mining community of over 60 houses, in Oulton Leeds, and how they face threat of demolition which would displace a large number of residents. The documentary covers the perspective of the residents and their vulnerability to the harsh reality of the system, however it doesn’t cover the compensation or the reason why their houses are being demolished and only covers the perspective of the home residents therefore creating a bias.
Harvard Referencing
www.mediafactory.org.au.(n.d.). – ‘the creative treatment of actuality’ |. [online] Available at: http://www.mediafactory.org.au/arielle-richards/2018/03/05/18-1-the-creative-treatment-of-actuality/.
Films, C. (2021). ‘Hanging On’ (Short) – Directed by Alfie Barker. [online] Vimeo. Available at: https://vimeo.com/537369045.
