Lesson #9: Introduction to Documentaries

Today in class, we spent a period working on our foley projects. In our second period, we were introduced to our next unit - documentary. Zhu laoshi showed us two silent documentaries that are both produced in the 1900s. The topic of the two documentaries are quite different - one is about the traditional lifestyle of Eskimos and the other simply records a natural phenomenon (rain). My perspective on the authenticity of documentaries have completely changed after this lesson. 

Nanook of the North // Robert J. Flaherty // 1922

Zhu laoshi asked us if we thought that the content of the documentary about the Eskimos - "Nanook of the North" was preplanned / staged or not. At first, most of us believed that it was real, but it turns out that one of the most interesting / captivating scenes - the hunting of the walrus, was a staged event. The filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty, requested his Inuit actors to use the traditional harpoon to hunt instead of the modern rifles that they normally used. In addition, it turns out that the main character's name, supposedly Nanook, is a made up name as well. Despite the fact that many criticised him for “deceptively portraying staged events as reality”, I believe that his intention behind the act of staging the event is simply to show the audience the lifestyle of Eskimos from a different, unique perspective. Nonetheless, this was a complete surprise to me and I am shocked at how much control the director has on the film. Not only can he preplan a scene and manipulate the audience's minds, through the process of post production, the director can also rearrange the shots anyway he / she wants and change the entire scene.

Rain // Joris Ivens // 1929

The shots in the documentary "Rain" are all very aesthetically pleasing. Ivens, fascinated by natural phenomena, not only made a documentary about rain, he also created another one later on about wind. "Rain"'s subjects are numerous and anonymous and the film focuses on capturing intricate detailed shots of the rain's interaction with the city. It is unique as it is ambiguous - there is no clear fixed message that Joris Ivens is trying to convey, unlike "Nanook of the North". Perhaps he was trying to portray the beauty of nature / rain and thereby reminding us to appreciate our surroundings.