Online Response #1 – “The Documentary Idea”

The power of a single camera, the evidence of something real happening in a real time and space, connected to a real people, has power for change.  Nichols notes that “documentary has become the flagship for cinema of social engagement and distinct vision” (p. 2) and that this comprises, as Grierson observed, “a creative treatment of reality.” (p. 6)  Though all visual narratives are manufactured or constructed in some way, this does not diminish their social impact.  Indeed, the reflective voice engaged through the retelling of an event is a revealing representation of the world in which we exist.  The camera functions as an observer of the actuality, and the filmmaker as the storyteller. 

Perhaps most important is the observation that documentaries belong to the world we share.  They are verifiable evidence of an event or a people and allow a perspective (though sometimes tainted with a bias) beyond mere newsreel, into the lives of the people in the center of the plight.  Throughout the past few years, I watched news updates as I got ready for work each morning (when it was featured) of the revolution in Egypt.  While brushing my teeth and packing my lunch for the day, I felt relieved to not have to be a part of something that chaotic and violent.  But I didn’t take the time to observe how the events exposed in The Square, were in fact, real.  This documentary gave a faceless mass of people distinctive voices and recognizable faces.  Moreover, it gave us their journey.  How often can one see, in the span of 80 minutes, a hopeful youth, eyes full of triumph and the future,

crumble to a man who has seen too much to get lost in optimism? 

As Nichols so accurately surmises: “The presentation of self in everyday life involves how a person goes about expressing his or her personality, character, and individual traits, rather than suppressing them to adopt a role.  It is how people undergo change as people, rather than how they represent change.” (p. 9) This very presentation of self is what takes the audience/spectator from an early morning newsreel to a piece of art that keeps pricking as the back of the mind.  Now, I have a face (6 of them really) to put to the revolution.  I have vibrant colors and close-ups, wide shots encompassing masses of people

and sound bites like: “There was no such thing as a Muslim or a Christian. We were all present.  We were one hand.” and “As long as there is a camera, the revolution will continue.” ringing through my ears.  Just as the protestors needed a distribution medium like YouTube, film equipment and cell phone cameras through which to make their story real and credible to the world, the same technology allowed a voice for these people to show “our own cinema, because only we can tell our stories.”