postmodern documentaries and reality tv

Postmodernism

In Reality TV and

Documentaries

Docu

menta

ries

As a human document � �dealing with not only the hard facts but also the social and personal �aspects … the �documentary is a representational, recorded version of the everyday.�(Stuart Hall, Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices)

Docu

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ry

Modes

Nichol’s theory of Doc

umentary Modes

Docu

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ry

Poetic Mode – which first

appeared in the 1920’s, was a

sort of reaction against both

the early fiction film. The

poetic mode moved away from

continuity editing and instead

organized images of the

material world by means of

associations and patterns.

Well-rounded characters—’life-

like people’—were absent;

instead, people appeared in

these films as entities, just like

any other, that are found in

the material world.

Regen (Rain)Netherlands 1929

Poetic Mode

Docu

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ry

Observational Mode -

attempts to simply and

spontaneously observe

lived life with a minimum of intervention. Filmmakers who worked

in this sub-genre often

saw the poetic mode as

too abstract and the

expository mode as too

didactic.

Children UndergroundRomania 2001

Observational Mode

Docu

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ry

Expository Mode – speaks

directly to the viewer, often in

the form of an authoritative

commentary proposing a

strong argument and point of

view. The (voice-of-God)

commentary often sounds

‘objective’ and omniscient.

Images are often not

paramount; they exist to

advance the argument. The

rhetoric insistently presses

upon us to read the images in

a certain fashion.

The Shock of the NewGreat Britain 1980

Expository Mode

Docu

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ries

Participatory Mode - believes that it is impossible for the act of

filmmaking to not influence or alter the

events being filmed. Not

only is the filmmaker

part of the film, we also

get a sense of how situations in the film are

affected or altered by

their presence.

Bowling for ColumbineUSA 2002

ParticipatoryMode

Though some argue Moore is expository

D

ocu

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ries

Reflexive Mode - don’t see

themselves as a transparent window on the

world; instead they draw

attention to their own

constructedness, and the

fact that they are representations. They

prompt us to “question the

authenticity of documentary in general.” It

is the most self-conscious

of all the modes, and is

highly skeptical of ‘realism

Surname Viet Given Name Nam

USA 1989

Reflexive Mode

D

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ries

Performative Mode - stress

subjective experience and

emotional response to the

world. They are strongly

personal, unconventional,

perhaps poetic and/or

experimental, and might

include hypothetical

enactments of events

designed to make us

experience what it might be

like for us to possess a

certain specific perspective

on the world that is not our

own.

Paris is BurningUSA 1990

Performative Mode

Thoughts

on

Post

modern

D

oco

s

Meta-documentary - a documentary about documentary

Postmodern documentary borrows features from fiction film – Galindo

The society of spectacle – Kellner

They have become self-reflexive authored and more popular than the traditional documentary, tending toward the respresentation of a traumatic past – Randolph

Is documentary still capable of expressing truth, or a fragmented representation of that truth? – Williams

Baudrillard – Simulacra/Hyperreality

Self-reflective and self-aware

Parody and Pastiche

The Postmodern Audience

Reality TelevisionThe Good, the Bad and the

Ugly

Realit

y TV

Reality TV has morphed from radio game show and amateur talent competition to hidden camera stunt show to dating show to documentary-style series.

The genre now encompasses unscripted dramas, makeover sagas, celebrity exposés, lifestyle-change shows, dating shows, talent extravaganzas and just about any kind of competition you can think of (and a few that you probably can't). - How Stuff Works

Realit

y TV

By definition, RTV is essentially unscripted programming that doesn't employ actors and focuses on footage of real events or situations.

Unlike scripted shows like sitcoms, dramas and news, RTV does not rely on writers and actors, and much of the show is run by producers and editors. Because of this, it can be a very affordable programming option from a production standpoint.

Here Comes Honey Boo Boo

USA - 2012

Reality TV

Here

Com

es

Honey

Boo B

oo

Representation

Media Language

Genre

‘All American’ Family Show

Ideology

Reality? Simulacra?

Audience – highly interactive with this show

Appearance across other media – Kardashians, Family Feud, Twitter, FB, Toddlers and Tiaras etc etc etc

PopstarsNew Zealand - 1999

Reality TV

Popst

ars

(and o

ther

sim

ilar

show

s) Representation

Ideology

Reality? Simulacra?

Audience – highly interactive with this show

Appearance across other media – concerts, merchandise, CDs etc.

Self-aware and self-reflective

Your

Task

Research the following international Reality TV and be prepared to explain…

What it is

When it was made

Audience and critic response (if possible)

5-10 points as to why it is PoMo

Mark - Doomsday Bunkers (USA)

Daisy – Nasabi (Japan)

Shannon – I want a Famous Face (USA)

Dan - Fidelity Test (Brazil)

Cristina – Rupaul’s Drag Race (USA)

Hazel - The Virgin Show (Japan)

Aiden – Be My Baby (USA)

Jake - Criminal Russia (USSR)