Do documentaries in the 1970’s represent realism or are they staged?
“Did the filmmakers distort, through selection and arrangement, what actually occurred?” (Ellis, McLane, 223)
Filmmakers are in control of what is being presented. There are film techniques and manipulation methods such as editing which can change the perspective of the film and provide the viewer with a distortion of the truth.
Although documentary films are shown in the perspective of the videographer, and modifications are easy to make, some documentaries simply want to demonstrate real and un-staged events.
Harlan County represents a form of historical documentation.
One may argue that this documentary is one sided, that it demonstrates only the struggles of the coil mineworkers and their families against the Duke Power Company in Kentucky (1973). In contrast Harlan County is a perfect example of a documentary, which represents a true historical event.
The example, which I will show, will demonstrate how events in Harlan County are true. The camera is acting as a sort of hidden camera, and when it is revealed to the public, they react and throw it to the floor.
(Time of INTRODUCTION clip to watch: 2:32)
As we will be discussing: “Reality” television may be preserved as being a true indication of reality documentation today, but in contrast this form of documentary involves editing, scrip and sometimes even staged events.
An example is Growing Up Gotti :
Nichols, Bill. "Representing Reality." Indiana University Press (1991).
Is documentary film realistic?
