Name: Auwal Lawal Daura
Module: Understanding documentary
Student ID:500566812
Documentary films are considered as motion pictures that interpret or
remake factual events for the purposes of educating the audiences or
maintaining historical records. This essay is going to carefully explore
the question of whether we should expect documentary films tell the
truth or otherwise. This question is going to be answered by exploring,
the meaning of truth in general, the relationship of documentary with
actuality/truth, ethics in documentary film making and articles
questioning the authenticity of documentary films and citing the
problems and solutions of documentary film making in the process,
respectively.
The term truth is simply defined as the state or quality of being sincere.
It is the process of being real or stating a point in accordance with
reality. In this world that we live in, the definition of truth is universal,
but the perspective in which truth is seen is numerous. According to a
book published by William (2002), truth is described as an intellectual
objective and cultural value. Truth has two basic virtues which are
accuracy and sincerity, whereby the first has to do with searching for
the truth and the second has to do with telling it. The traditional faith
believes that the word truth and truthfulness is guaranteed by its value.
He suggests that when the value of the truth is lost, then we will surely
lose everything both politically and personally.
The term truth has a lot in common and is incredibly important,
especially when looking at documentary films. Documentary films came
into existence in 1900, and were formally known as actuality films,
, because they are primarily made to educate people and to maintain
historical records. Documentary films are made to recreate a factual
event which has occurred in order to give the audience an insight of an
event that has happened, in which one of the most popular and
interesting modes of documentary film include: poetic, expository,
reflexive, observational, performative, and participatory documentary.
There are also numerous genres of documentaries in which one of the
most popular ones is true crime documentaries, wildlife etc.
In reference to Shapiro (2002), documentary films in the words of Bill
Nicholas are considered as one of the “discourses of sobriety”, which
includes science, economics, politics, and history. In simple terms this
means the conversation that claim to describe the “real”, to tell the
truth. Butchart (2006), states, it is argued that visual representation still
stands as the truth of any documentary and three modes are given to
which a principle of disclosing the truth can be practiced, in order to
achieve morality based ethical systems. He reveals that one truth about
documentary films is the role being played by vision as a mediate
between the real and reality. This means that if the mode of address for
documentary films was not visual then it would not have existed in the
first place because there would be nothing to see.
The documentary film institution has numerous rules and regulations
that is expected by the audience to be strictly upheld by the film maker,
because those ethics and principles are the evidence used to uphold
the integrity of the film industry, and it further promotes the
documentary films characteristic of being truthful. In relation to
Winston (1988), one of the ethics of documentary film, which is known
as the ethics of journalism, shapes the public's belief about fairness,
integrity, and good taste in documentary films. Another mode in which
the truth of a documentary is upheld and brought to form is the skill of
redoubling the visual apparatus. Buchart (2006), believes that
Module: Understanding documentary
Student ID:500566812
Documentary films are considered as motion pictures that interpret or
remake factual events for the purposes of educating the audiences or
maintaining historical records. This essay is going to carefully explore
the question of whether we should expect documentary films tell the
truth or otherwise. This question is going to be answered by exploring,
the meaning of truth in general, the relationship of documentary with
actuality/truth, ethics in documentary film making and articles
questioning the authenticity of documentary films and citing the
problems and solutions of documentary film making in the process,
respectively.
The term truth is simply defined as the state or quality of being sincere.
It is the process of being real or stating a point in accordance with
reality. In this world that we live in, the definition of truth is universal,
but the perspective in which truth is seen is numerous. According to a
book published by William (2002), truth is described as an intellectual
objective and cultural value. Truth has two basic virtues which are
accuracy and sincerity, whereby the first has to do with searching for
the truth and the second has to do with telling it. The traditional faith
believes that the word truth and truthfulness is guaranteed by its value.
He suggests that when the value of the truth is lost, then we will surely
lose everything both politically and personally.
The term truth has a lot in common and is incredibly important,
especially when looking at documentary films. Documentary films came
into existence in 1900, and were formally known as actuality films,
, because they are primarily made to educate people and to maintain
historical records. Documentary films are made to recreate a factual
event which has occurred in order to give the audience an insight of an
event that has happened, in which one of the most popular and
interesting modes of documentary film include: poetic, expository,
reflexive, observational, performative, and participatory documentary.
There are also numerous genres of documentaries in which one of the
most popular ones is true crime documentaries, wildlife etc.
In reference to Shapiro (2002), documentary films in the words of Bill
Nicholas are considered as one of the “discourses of sobriety”, which
includes science, economics, politics, and history. In simple terms this
means the conversation that claim to describe the “real”, to tell the
truth. Butchart (2006), states, it is argued that visual representation still
stands as the truth of any documentary and three modes are given to
which a principle of disclosing the truth can be practiced, in order to
achieve morality based ethical systems. He reveals that one truth about
documentary films is the role being played by vision as a mediate
between the real and reality. This means that if the mode of address for
documentary films was not visual then it would not have existed in the
first place because there would be nothing to see.
The documentary film institution has numerous rules and regulations
that is expected by the audience to be strictly upheld by the film maker,
because those ethics and principles are the evidence used to uphold
the integrity of the film industry, and it further promotes the
documentary films characteristic of being truthful. In relation to
Winston (1988), one of the ethics of documentary film, which is known
as the ethics of journalism, shapes the public's belief about fairness,
integrity, and good taste in documentary films. Another mode in which
the truth of a documentary is upheld and brought to form is the skill of
redoubling the visual apparatus. Buchart (2006), believes that
