Representing Reality

Representing Reality

Trompe l'oeil - art technique using realistic imagery to create optical illusions

Platos analogy of the cave 

- Sun = truth and reality

- twilight, world of change and decay

Mimetic - mimic, representation

"Images are mysterious imitations of the very things that written language can demystify, make into an object of knowledge, and render available for production purpose"

"Images may fascinate but they also distract"

"We prepare ourselves not to comprehend a story but to grasp an argument"

"Our access to historical reality may only be by means of representation, and these representations may sometimes seem to be more eager to chose their own tails than able to guarantee the authenticity of what they refer to"

Nihilism - An extreme form of scepticism that denies all established authority and institutions

Semiotic - relating to signs and symbols

- page 10 para 2

Mise-en scene - arrangement of scenery

Tautologically - repetition of same sense in different words - needlessly

"It is important to talk about something then to talk about how we talk about something"

Evidentiary editing - Cutting to bring together the best possible evidence in support of a point

Film makers responsibility to make his or her argument as accurate as possible. Even if it requires recontextualizing the points of individual witness or experts. - Page 17

Arguments occupy an imaginary space (they are abstract) Page 20

Chiaroscuro - An effect of contrasted light and shadow created by light falling unevenly 

Juxtaposition - position side by side outlining contrast 

"New Hybrid versions documentary and reality television produce a new kind of public sphere in which shared knowledge and the experience of the everyday take centre stage" (Bignell, 2005:71)

"A kind of primal pleasure of anthropological joy in images, a kind of brute fascination unencumbered by aesthetic, moral, social or political judgements"
(Baudrillard quoted in representing reality, 1991:6)

- reflection of our own ordinariness

Viewers can watch, judge and "enjoy seeing the pain or distress of others" - Oxford Dictionary definition of "voyeur"

- Voyeurism is inherent in our society and not just in the the television spectrum

Has reality Tv become the new documentary? Although they lack depth in these programmes, the popularity as well as:

• Both genres are based on realism and human behaviour, reality shows - superficial, trivial. Exactly like our consumer society
• Reality TV shows our attitude and desire in our era

Cultural narrative we are told, the way we are presented with information, the way meaning is designated, the significance given to certain issues and not to others and the light in which stories are told

The Four types of Documentary

• Expository
• Observational
• Interactive
• Reflexive

How can people and issues be represented appropriately?

Expository:

• Expository uses "voice of God" commentary - network anchor relaying the report with a string of reporters in the field.
• Continues to be the the primary means of relaying information since the 1920's
• The voice - how does the text speak objectively or persuasively e.g - an instrument for propaganda.
• Expository texts take shape around commentary directed toward the viewer. Images serve as illustration or counterpoint.
• Editing an expository documentary generally serves to establish and maintain rhetorical continuity.
• Expository mode emphasises the impression of objectivity and of well substantiated judgement - due to the voice over points can be made succinctly and emphatically
• The voice over commentary can easily extrapolate from the particular instances offered on the image track
• This made supports the impulse of generalisations.
• Knowledge in expository documentary is often epistemic knowledge
• Topical issues can be addressed within a frame or reference that need to be questioned or established but simply take for granted