Discussion/Journal Questions for Week 2

Here are a few questions suggested by the Nichols reading, "How can we define documentary film?" pp. 1-33.

On page 5, Nichols writes doc “filmmakers maintain their distance from the authoritative tone of corporate media in order to speak to power rather than embrace it.”

How do we see (or hear) this "distance" in The Thin Blue Line? What about it seems "distanced" from the tone of corporate media?

What do you think is Morris's critique—that is, what is the truth the film/filmmaker “speaks to power”?

Consider the assumptions about documentary Nichols describes, starting on page 7. What kinds of exceptions can you think of, or what kind of objections might you make to those assumptions?

Week 1 Slides

What is a documentary? Brakhage's Wonder Ring

My first semester of graduate film school, I saw a short film about an elevated train. It made a big impression on me in terms of opening up my mind to what a film could be. It took me more than ten years to track down that film, and luckily it is on YouTube. Here it is.

The film is called "The Wonder Ring" and it is an early film by avant-garde filmmaker Stan Brakhage, who was commissioned to document NY's Third Avenue elevated train before it was torn down. It's a simple short, silent documentary that, like I said, hints at the expressive possibilities of the form. Here's a brief description of it by someone else, Fred Camper: "the film focuses on the rhythms of the ride and reflections in train windows, finding a real-world version of the superimpositions Brakhage would later create in the lab."

Another Lists of Best Docs of 2013

There is an abundance of riches when it comes to good documentaries this year. Here's an article from Indiewire with a list of many the critics have deemed "the best". Check YouTube and Netflix especially to find these. There's even a couple at Redbox, I know.

POV Starts New Season

POV is an excellent anthology documentary series on PBS. That is, it showcases independently produced documentaries on a variety of subjects. Their new season begins soon and runs weekly through the spring. They have some of the previous programs available to stream for free on their website.

One of their docs which you can stream for free is Girl Model, which we actually showed here as part of our first South Texas Cinematheque several years ago.

Watch Video | Girl Model: Feature Films | POV | PBS

Stream Oscar-Nominated Docs

If you subscribe to Netflix, you can stream 4 of the Oscar-nominated documentaries right now: Act of Killing, Dirty Wars, Cutie and the Boxer, and The Square. I've seen them all and they're all good. One I'd even say is great (Act of Killing).

I even wrote about it on my blog.

You can also find Blackfish on Netflix, which is another one of the best docs of the year, according to multiple sources.

Here's an article with trailers and links for the various docs.

And here's an image from Act of Killing: