Category: Documentary

In the documentary novel by Avi, “Nothing But the Truth,” the outcome can be blamed on multiple people, depending on which side you take in the story. Philip is mostly to blame for the outcome, having started the whole story by breaking a known rule, telling a one-sided story, and by disrespecting Miss Narwin and the school administration.

One reason Philip is to blame for the outcome is breaking a known rule regarding the national anthem. In a memo about the format for the morning announcements, (Avi 7) it clearly states that students are to stand at “respectful, silent attention for the playing of the national anthem.” They also, during the actual morning announcements, they restate this. As the morning announcements are every day, as well as teachers restating the rule, and the student handbook, Philip, therefore, should have known the rule. Instead, he decides not to follow the rule, by humming and getting a response from Miss Narwin. Quite possibly, he knew the rule but instead decided not to follow it. He wanted to irritate Miss Narwin because he could not pass the class, and therefore could not do track. While one can certainly understand his frustrations, having just barely failed, it gives him no right to take his anger out on his teacher. In a letter to her sister, Miss Narwin reveals that she really does like Philip, but is just “he shows no desire to strive, to make sacrifices for the betterment of self, the way we were taught. And, oh, my, Anita, so restless! Worst of all, like so many of them, he exhibits no desire to learn. No ambition at all!” (Avi 9) Miss Narwin wants him to succeed, but Philip does not do his part.

Another reason that Philip is the most to blame for the outcome of the story is because he tells a one-sided story to his parents, and also when his father calls the reporter about it. Philip never spoke up that he might have been the problem and not the teacher. “But this teacher, she got real mad and started to yell at me to stop.” (Avi 30) According to the text from the actual incident, Miss Narwin kept it quite civil with “Is that someone humming?” to “Please stop it,” and finally, “Now! Thank you.” These do not seem like things to be yelled at in a classroom, and while she may have raised her voice slightly in the end, she certainly was not yelling. Philip told another one-sided story when his father took action and called Ted Griffen, their neighbor who was running for school board. Ted Griffen got them in contact with a reporter, who discussed the matter with Philip. Mr. Malloy doesn’t help, making statements such as “She’s always on the boy’s back. Bad teacher. The kids don’t like her.” (Avi 51) This is, untrue, as many students have stated before in the text that they do like her. But Philip says things like “Well, I like to, you know, sing along. But, see, she kicked me out. For singing it.” (Avi 51)

The last reason why Philip is most to blame for the outcome connects back to the last point. He blamed Miss Narwin for overreacting to him humming, when in reality, it happened several times, and Philip was also being disrespectful. When in reality, he was also talking back and being disrespectful. He said things like “I have the right to do it,” “It’s you who’s being disrespectful,” and “You have no right to stop me.”

The documentary film, “White Like Me”, created by Tim Wise, provides a clear picture of what it’s like to be a “white” person in America. Wise brings to the screen his investigative racism and prejudices through the eyes of whiteness and white advantage. The narrative’s point of view is to understand the obviously calculated thought of white advantage. It also shows how our mistake as an overall population perceives the psychological, social, and political aspects of whites disproportionately and race-based. Thus ‘White Like Me’ isn’t light pursuing, it is filled generously with accounts and individual stories, presented in an entirely receptive way and addresses areas underneath the bigotry into auxiliary prejudice and white benefit. Wise grew up in south Nashville with people of different races whom he had the chance to identify and relate with. Wise talks about how his family dealt with racism, and in their weakest moments, they would hurt. At very young age, Wise figured that race mattered and tried hard to make whites feel terrible about insufficient things our ancestors did for years. His parents, who were educated in a completely segregated environment, sent him to a black preschool where he learned to respect blacks. An example of racial division happened at an early age when he witnessed black friends being treated unfairly. The film additionally handles the idea of turned prejudice in the period of governmental policy regarding minorities in society and the conviction that America has moved past issues of race. In his story he discusses how the police used to overlook these occurrences and they never captured white individuals while in dark for straightforward stuff. Wise demonstrated how prejudice benefit can assume a major job in life. In the end Wise required people to turn their eyes into reality that a large portion of us are denying. We should admit to the unpredictability and face the irregularity with our own eyes and hearts open to reality or preference that defying this reality can make our life less complex.

I believe the weakest argument in the documentary is the fact of how Wise confuses class and race. He points how cultures that have never been exposed to other races still have similar attitudes about the lightness or darkness of the color of a people’s skin. There is likewise the mental advantage of simply the acknowledgment that as a white individual, one won’t be racially profiled when approaching their ordinary business. Wise also seems to confuse statistics and stereotypes. He appears to interpret everything in terms of anti-racism. Racism is often described in the film as people judged by the color of their skin. This is often misled when making statistical calculations. Mr. Wise, I have three objections to your film. First, you show what white benefit is and share your sentiment with respect to how to address white benefit in the public eye today. The unique form of explaining how white privilege hurt colored people more than society is led to believe something different which is not, and I find it not very convincing. Also, you arranged for tending to white benefit is one not of blame, yet of obligation, a distinctive feature. The idea of feeling regretful for white benefit needs reason since white benefit is something developed through ages and its reality isn’t of any one individual’s deficiency. Secondly, your film investigates a very limited number of points of view that stood to whites and the degree to which they have characterized the culture of racial separation, which I find quite controversial. Your most troublesome issue confronting America in the field of race relations may not be the most self-evident. The most troublesome issue confronting a racial America is knowledge. The individuals of America are not taught about the historical backdrop of race in this country and until they are race relations will have a lot of trouble improving. Lastly, your film aims to change the national discussion about race and racism in us pursuing to truly align our written American principals with current realities. As an anti-racism activist, you argue that “all” people will internalize elements of racist thinking, which may not be all true.

The narrative film “The Whistleblower” is about a woman, Sherry Hunt, who worked for Citigroup in the Quality Control Department and became a “whistleblower” after finding out the company had permitted numerous bad mortgage investments made fraudulent. After she blew the whistle with evidence sustaining her claims, Citigroup settled her lawsuit for 31 million dollars. In November 2004, Sherry joined Citigroup as a vice president in the mortgage unit. She was responsible for protecting Citigroup from fraud and bad investments by checking prospective loans to see whether they met the bank’s standards or not. At the time, investor demand was so strong and powerful for mortgages packed in securities that Citigroup couldn’t process them fast enough. As a result, it had a bunch of people processing them.

There were too many loans sold to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and Ginnie Mae. By 2006, the bank was buying mortgages from outside lenders with altered tax forms, unreal appraisals, and missing signatures. Shelley Hunt reported such discrepancies regularly to her bosses who buried her findings before, during and after the financial crisis, and even into 2012. When a mortgage wasn’t up to federal standards such as an unsigned document, a false income statement or exaggerated appraisal, her team labeled the loan as “defective”. In late 2007, about sixty percent of the mortgages Citigroup was buying, and selling were missing some form of documentation. Hunt says she took her concerns to her boss who alerted Citigroup executives in an email. Citigroup’s response was to move the boss from managing two hundred plus people to overseeing two. By January 2009, the boss no longer worked for Citigroup. She found even worse dealings in her new role. Hunt came across a list of about a thousand loans that the quality-control team had identified for possible fraud. Hunt sued Citigroup for false-claims complaint in U.S. District Court. There was no trial and Citigroup admitted wrongdoing and paid the lawsuit, Sherry Hunt.

The Corporation is a documentary film that documents the passage in modern societies of the right to private property to the creation of private enterprise. It narrates the most powerful held entities in the world and the importance of a legal detail that protects them. The recognized legal persons and ability to act like any other person for legal purposes which allowed the owners of large companies to enjoy legal immunity from the problems caused by corporations. The story exhibits the persuasive press not being the same as the genuine material related to business associations. Business organizations are regularly excessively liable to seeking benefits over the interests of individuals. The narrative raises the worry about moral issues however underpins an excessive amount of the possibility of open asset administration yet neglects to layout the social shameful acts that are submitted by these legislatures in the guise of overseeing open assets. It likewise gives extraordinary credit to socialism without investigating a portion of the negative sides of the equivalent. The full motion picture likewise neglects to gather proof and realities about these companies yet rather gives an abstract supposition about the issue. The film catches relevant examinations from a previous time. The story wins with respect to appearing to the viewer the distinctive negative pieces of a business organization, which consistently gets little thought in the dominating press and noticeable talk. One major theme is the damage caused to the environment by many corporations. One example was the way many paper mills plants were dumping toxic waste to nearby streams and rivers causing irreparable damage to humans. Another example was the case of Monsanto Corporation which introduced a bovine hormone injection proven to be unsafe to humans after testing trials which led consumers at risk. Many large corporations neglect to address these negative outcomes on the environment based on their profitability. Businesses and corporations are often too guilty of pursuing profit over the genuine interest of caring for people and the environment.

The main focus from ‘Letter From Birmingham Jail’ by Martin Luther King Jr, is that he was clarifying how they basically set up their peaceful protests and why they picked such particular day to protest for their human rights. Martin Luther King Jr. composed the letter in a way questioning his protests in Birmingham, Alabama. King went to jail for a week before being released on bond. The purpose of such writing was directed to address the critics, ministers, and rabbi, who targeted the peaceful demonstrations. King tried to defend the strategies against nonviolence resistance to racism. King effectively and powerfully presented his arguments that the discrimination of African Americans was unbearable and unlawful. King was adamant about having the moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. Most rhetoric appeals used in the text were very persuasive. King ends his letter by explaining why the letter was so long, despite being previously more concise and apologizes to the clergymen for his impatience and exaggeration.

Morality is not a fact but an aspect of ideology that would be objective if it had a purpose to it. Only in the human mind exists the essence of one’s existence. It is the root of how values and virtues can be obtained. It helps human beings thrive for existence, stability, and happiness. Morality sets a system where rules for right and wrongdoing integrates from each other. There’s a strong opinion on how the laws of the supernatural exist. The key to realization is that there is no universally right moral value system. There are universal moral laws but also cultural moral as well. Morality is a personal choice of the individual as taught not by society, family or peers. The moral and spiritual costs for those who see unethical practices and refuse to say anything have two areas to deal with which include immorality and ethics. Unethical behavior is something that falls under a gray area that most people do not know how to react. Always good to remember that unethical behavior is an illegal activity that leads to serious consequences.

The film “Witness: Voices from the Holocaust” is a recollection of testimonies from Holocaust survivors. Many of the personal accounts comprise declarations from Jewish people who came to live in Britain during and after World War II. These declarations sum the many personal genuine stories that portray the terrible life suffered from the Holocaust during Hitler’s dominance. For many, the Holocaust history brings back agony and torture lived throughout unbearable camps. In Witness: Voices from the Holocaust, we’re able to learn the human tragedy based on actual testimonies of survivors. Some of the examples presented throughout the film were the way many Nazis came barging in to capture the Jews that were hiding inside the homes. Another example was the way the Jews arrived at forced labor camps, had to undress, and be separated into groups. Also, there were 3 brothers that were being sent to cremation and the oldest told the youngest to go with his parents instead for safety not realizing that they were going to cremate. There was a mother carrying a baby completely wrapped in her arms as she tried to hide it from being taken away. After the baby began to suffocate, the Nazis noticed the baby crying and took the baby away. There were a Jew carpenter cutting woods and when he wrongly cut a piece of wood, the Nazi shot him. These are some of the examples of the horrifying events that happened during the Holocaust. For many survivors, the memories are still vivid. The declarations of these unfortunate fatalities were transcribed as original as it could be to keep the survivors’ stories truthful. Such accounts were vivid experiences that existed in a sole Holocaust experience.

During the Holocaust, people had a choice, whether to intervene or not. Jews often were targeted and separated from their families. They were sent to forced labor camps and killing centers. This happened until a small group of people from European countries risked their lives to help save the Jews. Some Jews survived because non-Jews risked hiding them. Non-Jews would mostly get killed and their houses and properties burned for hiding Jews. Those who rescued Jews showed that it is possible to have individual choice even if there are thousands against it even in dangerous circumstances. There was Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist, who was down for saving the lives of thousand Jews by employing them in his factory.

I believe thesis A and B both have very important facts about humanity. Humans indeed can cause horrifying things. At the pace that society is going, as in cruelty and evil, it has only gotten worse over time. Although it would be clever to give a person that has committed a crime another chance; it would also be a foolish thing to do. If one did give a felon another chance, it’s a very risky thing to do considering that they could be a danger to themselves and others. Today, humanity is so full of immoral and wicked people that is rare to find good people. Don’t misunderstand though, there are good people in this world but one must find them because it’s a small group. I mean when you learn about the Holocaust you start to think, how can there be so much hate in this world; how does someone so malevolent murder innocent women, men, and children. People still do indescribable things to each other. An example of being moral is when non-Jews risked their own lives and their own families by hiding Jews in their homes. Even though everybody was scared and was against Jews, there were people chosen to do the right thing and some chose their own path.

Citations:

1. Corporation, The. “THE CORPORATION [17/23] Unsettling Accounts.” YouTube, YouTube, 11 Feb. 2007, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZkDikRLQrw.
2. Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.], https://www.africa.upenn.edu/Articles_Gen/Letter_Birmingham.html.
3. “Rescue.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h66eoydNVCQ.
4. “The Whistleblower.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, https://www.pbs.org/video/playing-rules-ethics-work-whistleblower/.
5. “White Like Me.” YouTube, YouTube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ijK4hoh1D0s.
6. YaleUniversity. “Witness: Voices from the Holocaust (HVT-8076).” YouTube, YouTube, 27 Aug. 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leqkGOqyWMI.

Documentary films are about documenting real life and not creating life like the purpose of animation, ‘Waltz with Bashir’ (by Ari Folman), maintained simple story to get the message across, the filmmaker as the main character take us through the film and build up the story from not knowing what they are talking about to connect all the interviews to help us understand what actually happened. What make this film stand out other than the other documentaries, is when the interviewees tell the story the film will actually show us what’s happening, and this helps to get to the film and to fully understand what happened and what they been through in that war.

The film successfully captures the brutal and intense feeling of being in a war, by showing the audience the journey Folman had to go through to regain his memory, and what he has done during that time in full details. Folman was the eye of the audience through his journey, all the interviews engage the viewer through empathy and identification with unfolding narratives. As an example, when Ronny Dayag tells his sorry crossing the border inside a tank made him feel safe and nothing would happen until the commander got a shot and stopped responding then the explosion happens, later everyone dies except him and he swam to get to the other side of the sea. This example shows us the power of using animation, and make us understand what happened and feel what the character actually went through, seeing him swimming and being abandoned by his force gave us a perspective. Using animation helped Folman go beyond the limitation of the traditional live-action documentary.

The first interview scene when Folman visits Ori Sivan and talks about how memory works using the boy at a carnival as an example, was one of the best examples of how animation films can address some narratives other films can’t. ‘Waltz with Bashir’ was able to go beyond the boundaries of representation, what is done with the carnival make the scene stand more than the rest. Folman put the carnival scene behind himself in the window, as the carnival is part of the scene or the real world. Animation movies tend to be unreal and not sharing actual events, on the other hand, documentaries cover history or actual events. In ‘Waltz with Bashir’, the purpose is to live the experience to make feel like a narrative film.

Throughout ‘Waltz with Bashir’, Folman talks to friends and professionals about memory and experiences of trauma. One of the interviews Folman talks with post-trauma expert Prof. Zahava Solomon about memory and experiences of trauma, Prof. Zahava explains how one photographer viewed everything about war as imaginary camera. Until his camera broke, he stopped seeing the situation as fantastic as he thought. The photographer used the camera to view the world differently but once he saw everything in his own eyes, this broke his heart. The scene of dead horses wouldn’t be the same without animation, and that what made ‘Waltz with Bashir’ more powerful and made us attached to the situation and feel more empathy to the photographer.

The photography scene is a significance metaphor as providing a filter between reality and representation. Using animation helped to convey the experiences of trauma and memory in film form. As an example, the recurring nightmare from the war, a single vision appears from the mires of Folman’s mind. He and two other recruits rise naked from a black sea, clutching machine guns, walking toward Beirut’s Corniche illuminated by flares in the night sky, this scene is very affective to see and understand what Folman was going through and what he was seeing in his dreams. The unusual use of animation makes us aware of the form, and how we experience representations of war, violence, and suffering.

One of the best examples of using animation is, Folman had a flashback inside a taxi on the way to the airport to go to Amsterdam. This triggered his memories of the Lebanon War, this experience was not filmed, just as his experience in the tank on the first day of the war was not filmed. However, by reconstructing this scene in animation, Folman helps viewers to simulate his experiences, especially the experience of war.

The interviews in ‘Waltz with Bashir’ takes a different style than other documentaries, it gives more perspective and have a close relationship with the audience, the interviews continue in different styles with the subjects talk to Folman. As an example, when Folman visit Carmi Can’an, Carmi asked him: “Why you are here?’, and talked about how the soldier lost his memory. Another example the interview with Shmuel Frenkel. Frenkel asked Erez to give him the MAG, these examples give us a point of view or show perspective and this way allow the characters talk more intimately with the audience, this way show the audience the difference between a man composing interviews about the war and presenting himself as the person in the war.

Bill Nichols classifies ‘Waltz with Bashir’ as a documentary film that falls within the performative mode of documentary of representation. One of the examples is, the scene when Folman meets his friend at the bar and can’t remember anything about what happened. The performative mode underscores the complexity of our knowledge of world by emphasizing subjective and affective dimensions. In addition, the performative mode addresses the audience emotionally and expressively. The performative mode addresses subjective experience and emotional response to the world. ‘Waltz with Bashir’ highlights the subjective aspect of Folman’s own involvement in the war and his own journey looking for answers to regain his memory and heighten the audience’s responsiveness to the brutal feeling of being part of a war and to this experience. The documentary features a personal story from different perspectives the veterans, also the Folman himself has made this documentary in order to recollect memories if when he was there himself. The film is portraying through Folman’s eyes. The performative mode is not only about factual information and objective representation of the world. In performative documentaries, the filmmaker and his/hers subjective understanding of the problem at hand takes center stage. All the scene like his nightmare with the flares in the night sky, the last scene before the film turns into real footage, in the taxi on the way to Amsterdam and at the bar with his friend talking about his memory, are his own personal experience, sharing with the audience about what happened, and sharing his own perspective about the war experience.

One of the examples of performative mode in ‘Waltz with Bashir’ is the opening scene where Folman meets Boaz Rein Buskila at the bar, Buskila talks about having a nightmare for 20 years about dogs, and then share about his mission where he had to kill 26 dogs from there. In this example, this scene gives added emphasis to subjective qualities of experience and memory that apart from factual recounting.

‘Waltz with Bashir’ built of empathy and identifications this allowed audience both receive information’s and feel for the characters, this is what made different scenes especially the final part of the film so powerful because the divide that normally developed in a documentary film has been bridged.

What can the photograph do? It can create a freeze frame in time, but can it be more than a memory? Photography wasn’t originally used to ‘alleviate human suffering’5, but that is often the intention of those who photograph in an activist nature. The photograph can speak provide more truth than words or a painting can. It is a universal language that everyone can understand, there is no barrier between worlds. So, when presented with an image of a child suffering from the famine within their country, bones protruding from every part of their body, and their stomach inflated like a balloon, everyone can almost instantly deduce that this is a person in need of help. It causes the audience to react, whether that be to wince, or to feel unimaginable sadness, or to be intrigued by the circumstance. However, without the photograph, the audience would not truly know the intensity of the circumstance.

When photographing atrocity, the genre can be referred to as many names, such as documentary, photojournalism, humanitarian, and activist. It is key to note that these can often overlap, but also some would have a more distinctive style to the other. But all have been referred to when discussing and photographing activist-centric topics.

Since the documentary genre comprises the majority of activist photography, it is important to define documentary…The definition of documentary photography in the twenty-first century is complex, multi-layered, and nuanced. It is both process and aesthetic and applies to a broad range of imagery, from traditional, straight reportage-type images to manipulated faux documentary images that appear on gallery walls.6

In Michelle Borge’s ‘Photography as Activism’, she notes how the genre is not simply one style of photography, to reiterate, documentary is ‘complex, multi-layered, and nuanced’6. I personally feel as though describing this genre as documentary is valid, as a form of photographing other people and events is a documentation of that moment, but along with this:

It is important to note that all documentary photography is not activism. Many great documentary photographers think their only role is to take the photographs. And activist work is not always documentary photography.6

What I can infer from what Borge is saying, is that context is important, as well as subtle notes to style and photographic elements. But there are definitely instances of the genres overlapping and integrating. Personally, I feel as though the documentary genre alone is very professionally led, with a great consideration for the artistic elements regarding a photograph. When it comes to activist photography, it can often be a genre that anyone can participate within, a civilian photographing on their phone could be a part of activist photography6. Humanitarian and activist photograph definitely overlap, and could certainly be the same genre.

All of these genres can be used to alert the public to what is happening in the world. But there are various ways of doing so. Beginning with humanitarian and activist photography,

In this essay, I will be discussing and researching the history of documentary and the theories that I will include the like Bruzzi, Bill Nichols, Patricia White and so forth as they referred to Gaea Girls and Grey Gardens which are the two documentaries that I will emphasize my argument which is there are relationships between the real events and it’s representation shown in documentaries.

Documentary’ is a film or television or radio programme that gives facts and information about a subject (Cambridge Dictionary). “Very early films back in the 1900s…actuality films captured… actual events” (Desktop Documentaries, n.d.). This encounters that the first film back then were documentaries and also called newsreels. For example, they filmed a boat pulling up to the dock or workers leaving a factory. From there to now, a documentary has changed and developed more in-depth by different theories with it’s approach. From different categories’ and mediums. The Direct Cinema movement came in North America and the Cinéma Vérité movement in France, both established in the early 1960s. They are both are often considered the same, but they have very different motivations and ambitions in their film practice and intention to reveal ‘truth. Therefore, it still involves raising awareness of how real events and to allow the audience to participate whilst, watching it.

Gaea Girls (Longinotto, 2000) is an observational documentary film directed by a female film director called Kim Longinotto, who also directed other films including Dream Girls (1994), and Shinjuku Boys (1995). Along with her co-director Jano Williams who also participated and helped with Longinotto with this amazing film. It features a Tokyo school in Japan, that trains young Japanese wrestling women but, not with the style of Sumo. Focusing in particular on one trainee, Takeuchi, who is trying to prove herself.

She works as a cinematographer in her film. Patricia Whites explain her the use of her position “Her position as cinematographer… her authority by approximating the (presumably male)…ideal.” (White 2006: 124). This emphasises that she’s positioned as a cinematographer whereas, the male cinematographer is the priority within the film industry. Although, she was inspired by Nichols theory towards documentary modes. Observational documentary: “gives a sense of what it is like… what it is like for the filmmaker to be there, too… result.” (Nichols 2010: 181). This demonstrates that observational documentary is participating in what’s happening within the situation to see the results as to what the filmmaker is filming and observing from it’s truth.

In Gaea girls, has it’s the use of perpetual negotiation of the real event. According to the independent news article about Gaea girl, Kim Longinotto behind the story. “About being…not realising… horrible it was… to be” The Independent (2000). This foregrounds that, seeing a fight makes you feel emotional from what you see and it’s real because, you are watching it in front of you, the strengths and weakness of each wrestler, who is better than the other person knowing, that in wrestling match someone will have to win or lose. In addition to that, it refers to a flashback of Nagayo father ‘bitter relationship’ that she didn’t want to get abused again and wanted to be preferable as she is now as empowered women. Therefore, it raises back to Longinotto who had conditions like this in her childhood ‘Class traitor’ by her headmistress especially telling her she can’t succeed in life instead she was able to be a female filmmaker as her horrible foregone especially, her education. Equivalently, Nagayo and Longintoo faced temptations growing up with the horrifying situation.

Representation is presented in Gaea Girls, where Longinotto and Williams filmed a new trainee called Sato, who also desires to become a professional wrestler after Wakabayashi run away. It reveals about her and women’s bodies in japan. “No academic…changing their… body of their…transformation” Fujimura-Fanselow, K. (2011). This clarifies, how Sato body is contrasting from other professional wrestlers, who also trains to fight well. Longinotto was observing that she was struggling to do squats exercises, showing that she was weak as the senior wrestler beside her is stronger and also muscular. Reasonably, I chose to highlight on this particular sequence is considering, she’s never done these type of professional wrestling techniques before as she only watched them on Television, which gave her inspiration to become one of them. As a result, her mother was anxious as she didn’t require her to do in the first place nor watching her in a wrestling match either.

Even though, Longinotto described its representation in her film especially, Gaea girls. “ Films as…. strong women… who are brave outsiders… oppress them” Austin, T. and Jong, W. (2008), Geritz (2006). This suggests empowered women that they can be strong to from what they can represent as. Regarding the fact, that this helps Longintto to produce films with stories that can make a change because, it can happen also it will make her proud of what she represents especially, in her films as she is one of the ‘Documentaries on women’s histories’ (Documentary and gender: Performativity in Practice). Along with that, there’s another outstanding female film director called Agnès Varda who directed The Gleaners and I (2000).

In contrast, Grey Gardens is also observational documentary and it’s about two elderly women called Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale, the mother and Edith Bouvier Beale, the daughter who talks about their real-life and living in a decay mansion. When they were younger, they were members of a society called New York City high society. After a long period of years later, they were withdrawn from it and advised to stay in an estate home ‘Grey Gardens’. Every day, they had conversations about their personal lives and the realness of what they do, whilst living in a mansion that is collapsing slowly, throughout the film.

Representation is shown in Grey Gardens. The house is shown as a representation within the documentary. “domestic architecture…about the entwinement domestic… space” (John David Rhodes 2006). This verifies that they want to show cinematic space between the space of the house, the space between from each room means from viewing it and also the two characters story and their lives within living in this house. For instance, when both them stay in upstairs in a living room/bedroom which is the only room they use with a lot of property and how they are isolated from the other rooms within in the house as it’s slowly decaying. Therefore, Rhodes was also trying to reference it to a genre film to be placed in with the mode of ‘Meditation’ by the use of the house and the domestic space itself.

According to the ‘Concentrated Ground”: Grey garden and the cinema of the domestic. The Real event is presented that Grey Gardens House being haunted. “Three ghosts living…terror of doors…know” (The National Enquirer 1972). This symbolizes that Little Edie was haunted by a ghost or evil spirits her from childhood back then and the house itself it gives a sense from the cinematic melodrama. Due to the fact, that there was paranormal activity within in the house is because it’s old and everything is being devastated slowly every day with ceiling linking, mouse and raccoons making massive holes in order to enter and escape from the house and most of all dust is everywhere, making the house looking like it’s been demolished, abandoned or Haunted overall.

Considering that, Grey Gardens is similar to but the filmmaker who’s behind the camera interviews the character in the frame to choose to have a direct conversation, question and answer in-between. “The subject of the film is performance, and the filmmakers are no mere observers of the action, they’re its catalysts” Richard Brody (2015). As a result, there are sequences where the directors and the crew with him stay silent as they listen to the character in the frame as they are the story of the film. Most filmmakers like to participate themselves in their own films, as it offers a huge opportunity to create awareness and really inspires people and it’s a powerful form of communication. However, for those who preferred to be unlikely shown, as they want to concentrate on the storytelling of what’s presented from their perspectives.

In both documentary films, they are different such as in ‘Gaea girls’ they don’t interview the characters who are in the frame as the film observes the scene that is the idea of honesty and unbiased truth within the documentary film. It mostly relies on what see do nowadays like people film and speaks in front of their cameras instead of the individual behind the camera proverb something or interviewing the character too.

Conclusively, exploring the use of perpetual negotiation of the real event and it’s representation in documentary films in a sense of understanding point of views and preceptive of the filmmakers. Especially, the relationship between the two types of different documentary films from Gaea girls and Grey gardens with it’s viewpoints, arguments and opinions of the filmmakers towards it. Overall, it reliefs we as filmmakers for ourselves to identify and explore the aspects of the film theories such as Bruzzi, Nichols, Fanselow, K and others towards different forms of documentary modes in a way of turning into a theory based in a way of their preceptive in comparison with what they learnt from and they take the idea and elevate into their own to be shared.

Documentary photography is a style of photography that is about capturing the decisive moment, some people treat it as a synonym for photojournalism. It gives us a clear and precise portrayal of individuals, events, and items, and is regularly utilised in real life reportage „Documentary relies on the construction of an image in the representation of reality” – David Bate. There is often a story behind the documentary photography which is to affect social change. This type of photography shows us alternative ways of seeing and understanding the situations that shape the world in which we live.

„Actually, documentary pictures include every subject in the world – good, bad, indifferent. I have yet to see a fine photograph which is not a good document.” – Berenice Abbott

The initial concept for What is Documentary is to focus on documenting street style fashion scene. It will be a representation of reality. My work will be a series of photographs caught ‘of the guard’ in a slight paparazzi style. Because the truth is that we – as people crave attention and we love it. We put things on our body to feel more confident, show off or to camouflage ourselves. So that is why I wanted to capture people who had dressed in a way that caught my eye to contribute to the democratisation of fashion.

Development Ideas

The first idea was to take photographs from a music event, a concert that I went to. Robin Schulz – he is a well-known electronic dance music DJ, was performing at Ministry of Sound on 6th of April and I wanted to capture his amazing set. I thought it was a good idea because it would be a challenge for myself to document the atmosphere of the show. Unfortunately, I come out with disappointing photographs because of bad, low light conditions and flash that I used ruined the colourful effects of a laser show.

The second idea is to document the fashion street style. The place I choose to take my photographs was Camden because it is an interesting place with lots of interesting people. It was a challenge to me because in this part of London everyone seems to be busy and in a rush. So I thought that it would be a good opportunity to photograph as many individuals as I could spot and would agree to be a part of my project. I approached those who caught my eye and looked interesting.

Bill Cunningham

My first inspiration was an American fashion photographer Bill Cunningham. He is a hero of fashion street photography who always managed to be in the right place, at the right moment to get the best photographs for his „The New York Times” column called “On the Street”. His work is authentic and has been honoured with the Officier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres for his absolutely amazing work by the French Ministry of Culture. Cunningham was extremely passionate about what he was doing and was never motivated by money or fame, he preferred putting a spotlight on others, rather than himself – “He wanted to find subjects, not be the subject. He wanted to observe, rather than be observed.”

„Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.” – Bill Cunningham

Here are some photos that were taken by Bill Cunningham and inspired me:

Bill Cunningham for the NY Times, 2014

The photographs seen above were featured in „The New York Times” publication back in 2014. The photographer focused mostly focused on shoes, particularly sneakers in this issue. Some of them were designed by Giuseppe Zanotti, some are high heeled and others are from Jeremy Scott’s collaboration with Adidas. We can tell that Cunningham focused on the shape and uniqueness of the shoes.

Mario Testino

The second inspiration of mine was a really famous fashion photographer – Mario Testino. He focuses on capturing celebrity campaigns, modelling and fashion editorial work with the high-end fashion magazines. His work has been exhibited in the National Portrait Gallery in association with Vogue in 2002.

Mario Testino „Towel Series”, Cara Delevingne and Jourdan Dunn

„I think girls and guys feel this freedom at being able to express themselves because there is no predetermined way of how they should put the towel on. You can do anything you want… wear it however you want” – Mario Testino

Towel Series Highlights

Each of those images is a portrait of the celebrity, striking a pose either straight forwards or sideways. They both have towels wrapped around their heads. Eye contact is really strong because it seems like they are looking into our eyes. The first image is Cara Delevingne. She is leaning her arm to the side and touching her face. The tone of the image is cold with bright whites and harsh shadows comparing to the second one, which is soft toned with light greys and whites. Natural lighting reflects around the subject. The second image is also a portrait but of Jourdan Dunn. The white background shows empty space. I can tell that the image was taken in a studio. I feel if Mario Testino is trying to show the true, natural beauty. This series of portraits inspired me so much that I decided to create something similar – show the true beauty and pleases the aesthetic senses.

Scott Schuman aka The Sartorialist

My final inspiration was Scott Schuman, also known by the name of his blog as The Sartorialist. He is a street style blogger and photographer. He gained popularity in 2005 when he began taking photographs of random, stylish people in the city and posted them on his website. From that point forward, it has turned out to be a standout amongst the most conspicuous blogs. Schuman’s work joins the fashion editorials and the genuineness of street photography. His fundamental intrigue is taking photographs of ordinary individuals in the city.

„I thought I could shoot people on the street the way designers looked at people, and get and give inspiration to lots of people in the process. My only strategy when I began The Sartorialist was to try and shoot style in a way that I knew most designers hunted for inspiration.” – Scott Schuman

The Sartorialist „On the Street…Palais de Tokyo, Paris”, 2018 The Sartorialist „On the Street…Via Piranesi, Milan’, 2019

The photographs seen above were taken by Schuman and inspired me the most whilst I was shooting.

In the first photo, we can see a woman who is wearing a faux fur leopard print coat which looks interesting. She probably does not know that the photo is being taken because she looks in a different direction from the camera. The photo was taken in Paris during Paris Fashion Week so the woman is probably a popular blogger, Instagram influencer or maybe just a model who finished her job. The second photograph was taken in Milan and is a photograph of Jenny Walton – she is an in-demand, Brooklyn based fashion illustrator and creative director for The Sartorialist. In the photo, she is wearing a patterned coat paired with some eye-catching shoes and a vintage bag. Her style is a mix of vintage and new.

Dissemination of work

I think that my work should be disseminated either in a magazine or an art gallery. My choice would be for it to be published in a fashion magazine such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar. Both of those magazines are independent, devoted to all those having a passion for street photography and unique in the field of photography. I would also consider publishing my photographs in a daily magazine such as Daily Mail, in a fashion section.

When it comes to exhibiting my work, I would frame my images and display them on a white gallery wall to show people what I am capable of. I would show it as a series. The perfect locations for my exhibition would be:

Michael Hoppen Gallery – because it has been specialising in all forms of photography for over 20 years. As a gallery, they help new and interesting artists with exhibiting their work them alongside acknowledged nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first-century photographic masters

The National Portrait Gallery – because it holds the most extensive collection of portraits in the world and one of my inspiration’s – Mario Testino’s work has been exhibited here

I would also share my images on Instagram and Facebook because these are the biggest social media networks and I feel like I could find my biggest audience on there.

Artist’s Statement

My finished work is a series of fashion street style photographs which show unique individuals captured in Camden, London. I feel as if my project is a celebration of fashion and gave me an opportunity to capture people with character – their unique and mesmerising style seen daily on the streets. I decided to document fashion street style because fashion to me is a way of expressing ourselves, it is a fun way of doing it. It makes many people happy and to me a good fashion photograph is about interesting clothing, good light, a certain mood, where a story is being told. I photographed people with personality in the way they present themselves. I took a documentary approach because I wanted to do something that was more meaningful to me and that is why I documented fashion trends on the streets and took pictures of people, those who were interesting to me, caught my eyes, those who had something that stood out, whether it was their emotions or their clothing. The good thing about my project was that the photos could be taken just about anywhere with natural lighting that creates highlights without covering up facial features. It is about understanding that street style is about trends and characters who need to be photographed, they crave it, especially nowadays everybody feels flattered when asked for photos and I had no problem asking if they want to be photographed.

They all work together as a sequence because every single photograph shows fashion street style. I printed them on glossy paper. The reason why I choose it is the quality and beautiful defined felt structure of the paper reminds me of pages from a fashion magazine.

References

1. Bate, D. (2016) Photography: The Key Concepts (Second Edition). London: BLOOMSBURY ACADEMIC
2. Shinkle, E. (2017) Fashion Photography: The Story in 180 Pictures. London: the Thames and Hudson Ltd
3. Hershberger, A.E. (2014) Photographic Theory: An Historical Anthology 1st Edition. West Sussex: Wiley-Blackwell
4. Cunningham, B. (2018) Fashion Climbing: A New York Life Bill. London: Penguin Press
5. 5. Mario Testino, The Towel Series. Accessed 10/12/18 http://www.mariotestino.com/photography/personal-projects/the-towel-series
6. 6. Bill Cunningham. Accessed 01/04/19 http://www.dazeddigital.com/fashion/article/31812/1/street-fashion-photographers-pay-tribute-to-bill-cunningham https://expertphotography.com/street-style-photographers https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cunningham_(American_photographer)
7. 7. The Sartorialist. Accessed 15/04/19 https://expertphotography.com/street-style-photographers http://www.thesartorialist.com/

“A documentary is a large term to depict a non-fiction movie that in some way ‘documents’ or captures reality.” Documentary practice is the process of preparing documentary projects. It relates to what people do with media devices, content, form, and production techniques so as to deal with the efficient, ethical, and conceptual difficulties and preferences that occur as they make documentary films or other similar presentations supporting fact or reality. institutes offer classes and programs in documentary practice.

Documentary and filmmaking are often used as a sort of journalism, advocacy, or personal expression. ‘In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director.’ —Alfred Hitchcock.

It is thus a free flow of thoughts which forces the mind to run in every direction and after a lot of mind boggling and finally produces a result on paper which we call script.

Focumentary scriptwriting is two stage approach

• The Pre-shoot or script – A pre-shoot or script a chart once you set out on a road trip. Which works as an obstacle and counsels you from offroading on that trip and acts as a way on the shooting journey.You may slip across many invisible barriers or surprising surprises. You may find wonderful, uncharted areas off the beaten track.
• The Post-shoot Script . The post-shoot script is the ultimate edition of the script . This is often a modified or re-written interpretation of the script and is created between the shooting and editing processes of the documentary. The post-shoot script combines conceptual components along with side audiovisual data collected at the assembly stage and should also include any new knowledge gathered along the way. It then weaves it all at once into a cinematic story, which is employed by the filmmaker to edit the documentary. The post shoot script often includes descriptions of shots and actions and is sort of comprehensive.

How to make a documentary

Key steps of making documentaries:

1. building a story
2. Research
3. make a proposal
4. create a short list
5. start shooting
6. write a script
7. begin editing
8. check legal and copyrights issues
9. distribute.

How writing of film is different from documentary developing

• Film writing
• Documentary script
• Film is visual
• Documentary deals with fact not fiction
• Film shows motion
• Documentary is flexible
• Film reveals what the eye often can not see
• Documentary inspires movement and action
• Film is subjective
• Documentary subject is paramount
• Film chooses audience
• Credibility is key in documentary
• Significance of documentary development and implication on social work

How the documentary help in global development

As humans, we desire for knowledge and a greater knowledge of the world around us. As exhausted students, exams, final papers, and that overthrowing pile of readings keeps that thirst alleviated, but can be monotonous at the best of times.

There are various documentaries which help in global development

Poverty Inc.

The question of assistance may be a nuanced, even controversial, one. Poverty Inc. takes the problem head on, indicating how Western organizations have built an industry of development that does more harm than good within the end of the day . The documentary challenges us to seem outside of the event paradigm eternalized by stereotypes in Western media. Supporting partnerships instead of paternalistic relationships,Poverty Inc. is a catalyst into the new established order of development.

Life and debt

Stephanie Black’s documentary criticizes the role of the IMF and World Bank specifically for the enactment of structural adjustment strategies in Jamaica post-independence. In the period of post-colonization, many former colonized countries, like Jamaica, organize themselves in check during a several way: forced institutional reform towards free market operations reciprocally for developmental loans. Life and Debt explores the negative future influences these loans and successive debts have had on the economy of Jamaica.

Survival

Short film designed to combat the stereotyping of someones with psychosocial stability. This film shows the life story of a common man who is suffering from schizophrenia. The demonstration of this in everyday life was an intentional technique to prove a society that people with schizophrenia don’t differ much from us – so called “normal people”.

Reference

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_practice
2. http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/CI/CI/pdf/programme_doc_documentary_
3. https://www.coursehero.com/file/17620378/Documentary-scripting
4. https://www.studymode.com/essays/Documentary-Script-573163.html

The visual artifact I chose for this rhetorical analysis is a documentary titled Gasland (2010). Gasland is an American documentary written and directed by Josh Fox. The film focuses on the communities in the United States where natural gas drilling activity was taking place, more specifically hydraulic fracturing or “fracking”. The film provides experts’ opinions, witness accounts, and statistics to show its audience how dangerous and exploitative hydraulic fracturing is. The film uses emotional and logical appeals throughout the film in an attempt to persuade the audience that the highly praised method of extracting natural gas has a negative effect on thousands of American citizens.

Hydraulic fracturing is a way of extracting gas or oil which is trapped inside rocks underground. When fracking occurs, uses a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals that are pumped down a well at very high pressure in an attempt to extract the resources from the rock. Many politicians and officials have claimed that this process is not harmful to the environment but there are ample accounts that state otherwise. Fracking releases pollutants, such as methane, into the air. During the process, it is estimated that four percent of it escapes into the atmosphere during extraction. (Horton) Along with air pollution, fracking affects the natural water supply and quality. Millions of gallons of water are used in the fracking process, which directly reduces the amount of clean water available to surrounding residents. (Horton) Also, the chemicals used in fracking leak into the local water supply and highly contaminate the water, often making whoever comes in contact with it medically ill. In addition to air and water contamination plus the general pollution it causes, hydraulic fracturing can even cause earthquakes due to the high pressure pushed underground. It has been scientifically proven that the process of fracking has long-lasting negative effects on the surrounding environment.

With that fact in mind, the director Josh Fox could have used a scientific approach to support his argument. Instead, he uses the technique of vivid imagery to enhance his argument. For example, there are many shots of bountiful nature being plowed down to create fracking sites, faucet water catching flame, deformed animals, and discolored drinking water; just to name a few. Several aspects of this film have convinced me that hydraulic fracturing is dangerous and should be regulated. It is filled with testimonials from the victims of fracking and evidence given by experts in this field of environmental protection, chemistry, and so forth. It is clear that Fox had no commercial interest in making this film. His reasons were purely ethical reasons forced him to make this film to bring awareness to a broader audience.

From the very beginning of the documentary, any viewer can get the feeling that the oil and gas industries are hiding something. The film starts with a short glimpse at the beauty of local nature to attract its audience, then those images are abruptly interrupted by a look inside a court hearing where representatives of gas companies defend fracking. This type of imagery creates an attitude within the audience. It gives them a positive view of nature and wildlife and gives them a negative view of the oil companies. Establishing these attitudes early in the documentary is extremely effective and works very well in Fox’s favor. In the next scene, Fox decided to open his film with this question; “What would it mean if the United States and the rest of the world adopted natural gas as the fuel of the future?” (Fox, 2010) The answer to this question is what the filmmakers are trying to find.

It all started in 2009 when Fox received an offer to sell his house for $100,000. He stated that he was quite surprised to receive such a letter and decided to do some research of his own. Fox traveled to an area close to home where such wells were already drilled. In Dimock, Pennsylvania, there are no highways or tall buildings. This town is very quaint and secluded. Fox described it as a “place where you could easily forget the world, forget yourself, and disappear completely.” He traveled to this area because the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection had claimed the operation is going fine. When he got there, he quickly found out that was not the case. He found that water in this area was now unsafe to drink. In fact, the water was so contaminated that the local people living on the land were suffering from chronic illnesses, house pets were losing hair, and in one case an entire well exploded. This is where the emotional appeal comes into work. Fox wants the audience to feel sympathy for these people and to know that their distress was caused by hydraulic fracturing and ultimately, corporate greed.

One can easily notice the atmosphere of this film. It is very gloomy and sort of retrospective. The beginning seems more like a home movie rather than a documentary. By doing this, the director was able to make his audience feel more comfortable with the narrator by adding a personal touch. This set an important tone throughout the film and also added a subtle “appeal to trust” technique. Also, Fox may have done this on purpose to emphasize the fact that this is an independent film with the purpose to inform. Opposed to a documentary made by a corporate competitor spreading propaganda. Fox is able to use a lot of emotional appeals throughout the film by sharing facts and testimonials, but by sharing his feelings as well. In the opening line, he says “I am not a pessimist. I’ve always had a great deal of faith in people. That we would not succumb to frenzy or rage or greed. That we will figure out the solution without destroying the things that we love.” (Fox, 2010) Closer to the end of the film, Fox is seen crying near a contaminated spring, overwhelmed with sorrow. This showed the audience how much he really cared about the cause, as fracking has affected his home as well.

Another persuasive tactic used during this documentary was the appeal to reason. When using the appeal-to-reason approach, one would use logic in order to lead the audience to a specific conclusion. In this specific case, Fox uses this technique by capitalizing on people’s refusals to be interviewed. He presents several montages in which he is seen making repeated phone calls to corporate offices. In the closing credits, he inserts a long list of “declined interviewees”, which includes many high-level executives. By doing this, Fox challenges the audience to do some internal reasoning. In other words, his goal is for people to realize that if the process of fracking is environmentally safe, then there should be no reason why so many officials declined to be questioned. In fact, these officials should be eager for the opportunity to shed a positive light on their work. Instead, they immediately declined the invitation. This segment compels the audience to believe that the gas and oil industries have many secrets that they are trying very hard to keep hidden.

In conclusion, Gasland is a documentary with the purpose to inform others of the dangers of hydraulic fracturing. Director Josh Fox used authenticity, emotion, and reason to persuade his audience. As I watched the film, his methods certainly convinced me. I wholeheartedly believe that hydraulic fracturing will have a long-lasting negative effect on our country and environment. It also furthered my belief that corporate greed is the doing of many evils. I commend the filmmakers for producing a persuasive piece with no hidden agenda. It is clear that Fox had only the intention of spreading awareness of this issue in the hope of saving his home, along with other communities, and ultimately, the planet we inhabit.

The modernization of our lives has a huge impact on one us, especially in the field of technology ushering in the computer age. It would be nice for everyone to work together, but this is not possible because conflicts of interest between people impede joint action.

There are lots of name persons interviewed in the documentary but, I will cite a few people that have been interviewed in the film. First, we have Tristan Harris, He is a former design ethicist at Google. Tim Kendal, a former executive at Facebook and Pinterest. Jaron Lanier is a Founding father of Virtual reality computer science. Roger McNamee the early investor in Facebook. Aza Raskin, A former employee in Firefox and Mozilla Labs also an inventor of infinite scroll. Justin Rosenstein, Former engineer at Facebook and Google. Shoshana Zuboff. Ph.D., a professor Emeritus. Jeff Seibert, a former Executive at Twitter. Sandy Parakilas, the former operator and product manager at Facebook and Uber. There are a lot of people who were interviewed in the film.

The documentary contains scripts that explain important points. The social dilemma, a diverse ex-engineer at Facebook, Google, and Apple, details how the tech giant manipulates users through a variety of services (Facebook’s like button and notification system, and Google Inbox architecture continue to show), but there are many topics and ideas. is sometimes difficult to fully understand.

Understand how social media companies use their users, especially teenagers. Although all age groups are discussed in social dilemmas, one of the most impressive sections of the documentary is the section dealing with the vulnerability of youth who use platforms like Facebook, Snapchat, Instagram, etc. every day and are shaped by social media. This section of the film highlights statistics on depression, anxiety, and even suicide among adolescents that have been correlated with the rise of social media.

Next is Tristan Harris, the conscience of Silicon Valley. He is a former design ethicist at Google who later helped found the Humane Technology Center. Harris follows most of the film while the documentary production team prepares a presentation on how to avoid the practice of tech and social media companies selling user data at the highest prices and making the project less interesting.

Be prepared for the need to deactivate your social media accounts, I wanted to get rid of all my social media accounts, turn off my phone, and throw it out the window. And while I admit it’s a bit dramatic, the movie will have the same effect on you. When you have a tech engineer who admits you didn’t fully understand the artificial intelligence your previous company built to power platforms like Facebook and Google, you start to feel like you are entering the Terminator or something.

The social dilemma is called ‘opening your eyes’, but critics say that it does not offer a solution. This is One of the most important and meaningful documentaries released recently. The Chicago Tribune praised the documentary exposing the damage that companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter are doing to society because they need to retain users while also attracting new ones.

The social dilemma that our attention is a product tells us that many social media companies grab our attention as much as possible and sell that attention to the highest bidder. As the saying goes, if you don’t pay for a product, it becomes a product. In the long run, this, along with other factors, led to an epidemic of ‘distraction disease’. Here you cannot concentrate and constantly waste your attention and time. According to Wu, an epidemic is ‘when you waste hours of your day clicking on meaningless things.’

Addiction is built into the social media site design. The ‘social dilemma’ indicates that many social networks exploit human weaknesses by creating what is called positive iterative reinforcement. Tristan Harris, a former Google design ethicist and one of the experts interviewed for the film, likens it to a Vegas slot machine. Checking your phone for notifications is like pulling the lever of a slot machine to win the jackpot.

Social media platforms are not tools. We view social media platforms as tools to stay in touch with friends and family. However, according to Tristan Harris, this is not the case. He asserts that a tool is something that patiently waits for to be used. Not as much as social media wants us to believe it’s a tool. Tired of us constantly sending notifications and emails. He seduces and manipulates us. Harris says in his social dilemma:

Do you play video games instead of studying? Does he avoid social situations and is his behavior worsened by constant play? There is despair and anxiety in the voices of many parents who seem to be spending their time playing video games with their children, possessed by some mysterious external force.

Stopping video games for any reason has a long-term negative effect on children’s emotions. When he can’t play, he can become depressed, angry, angry, aggressive, or violent. So, what can you do to limit the number of video games you play and create healthy boundaries around them?

No one can understand why this problem is so easy and relatively difficult to solve. It is important to do research to find out why computer games are addictive, how common computer game addiction is in children, and what the consequences are so that you can avoid or deal with this problem.

Some theories in my mind as to why teens are addicted to social media or technology. It is Addictive because it allows players to immerse themselves in a fully realized virtual world. You can create your own character with the properties you want in real life. Next – the best PC game players or teams for real rewards.

Silicon Valley tech experts are warning of the harmful effects of social media, which big tech uses to manipulate and influence social media. The social dilemma focuses on how large social media companies are manipulating their users using algorithms that increase platform dependence. It also shows very precisely how the platform collects personal data to target users through advertising. But what should we do about it? The Netflix feature informs viewers of the concerns social media raises both about our privacy and the institution, but does not provide a real solution. It’s great because of how they edit the film by using the interview and then a scene that explains a lot more through technology

What made this movie captivating was not because there was something unusually new in it, but because it successfully emphasized the written threat to many. While there are common suspects such as surveillance, data gathering, fake news, and post-truth world creation, the documentary extends the use of human psychology with algorithms and artificial intelligence. The film suggests that AI is already taking control of our lives and is so subtle that they are avoiding our attention. The documentary warns that humans are lab rats and are shaped, manipulated, and bred every day in ways we didn’t even know existed. A persuasive and tense social dilemma, at least, ensures that viewers no longer see notifications and constantly updated news feeds the same way.

As Albert Einstein said, it has become terribly obvious that our technology has surpassed humanity.

Thanks in large part to Netflix’s new documentary, people are beginning to recognize the dangers of modern social networking sites. The film includes interviews with sort of particular employees, executives, and other professionals from the sort basically top tech companies and sort of kind of social media platforms like Facebook, Google, Twitter, and Mozilla in a particularly big way. A Netflix Documentary titled ‘The Social Dilemma’, directed by Jeff Orlowski and set to premiere in 2020, showcases different technology professionals from various social media platforms warning the public about the risks of social media. The dangers of social networking are explored in this documentary-drama hybrid, with tech experts sounding the alarm about their own inventions. According to ‘The Social Dilemma’, social media will help corporations rather than people as long as corporations have no limit on how much wealth they can earn from mining your attention. The documentary’s docudrama section covers important topics such as social media addiction and depression, fake news, and the effects of algorithms on the growth and interactions of this app. The documentary ‘Social Dilemma’ looks at how big social media companies use algorithms to manipulate users and get them addicted to their services. It also accurately illustrates how platforms obtain personal data in order to target users with advertisements and how they have mostly remained uncontrolled to this point. Silicon Valley tech experts are warning about the dangers of social networking, which Big Tech is using to manipulate and influence people.

The Social Dilemma goes above and beyond by interspersing the interviews with P.S.A.-style fictional scenes of suburban families dealing with the effects of social media addiction. There are somber dinners, a teenage son(Skyler Gisondo) radicalized by YouTube suggestions espousing a vague philosophy, and a pubescent daughter (Sophia Hammons) with self-esteem difficulties. This dramatized story draws attention to the documentary’s flaws, which include an overemphasis on the medium at the expense of the content. In the film, for example, interlocutors blame an increase in mental illness on social media use while ignoring other factors like rising economic uncertainty. Polarization, violence, and protest are depicted as symptomatic of the social media era without historical context.

Our lives have been turned upside down by the internet. The internet has seen major changes. It was a static network meant to ferry a tiny freight of bytes or a short message between two terminals in its early days, which were still relatively recent from a historical perspective; it was a repository of information where the material was only produced and maintained by experienced coders. Today, despite the massive amounts of data that are posted and downloaded via this electronic behemoth, we are all commentators, publishers, and creators, and the content is very much our own. Today’s internet evolution is largely shaped by instantaneous, mobile communications. The mobile internet is a revolution in the flesh. Access to the internet via smartphones and tablets is resulting in a more mobile reality in which we are no longer confined to a single device and everything is stored in the cloud.

Upon watching the movie, I noticed one of the characters Justin Rosenstein, the inventor of Facebook’s most ubiquitous feature, the ‘like’ button, speaks about what’s his purpose or the important intention of inventing the ‘like’ button. I started to compare and contrast his thoughts about the purpose of what he invented with my personal thought. As a first-time user of Facebook way back when I was in my second year in high school. I do also see it as positive feedback. I press the like button as a way of letting my friends know that I like what they’ve posted on their Facebook wall. But as time passes, as technology and social media continue to improve and develop new features many users adapt, yet unfortunately, some features have negative impacts not only on the social media users but on society as a whole.

If we are going to look back to the time when people aren’t much exposed to social media when talking to a friend face to face is more fun and we can see the genuine happiness in their faces is much more beautiful than bringing it to whatever changes we have in our generation today. However, social media is a great tool we can use in communicating with others who are far from us. Social media is very significant in our society but it sometimes could be a reason to destroy a society.

Conclusion

The Social Dilemma can only lead to one conclusion: if we continue to enable these platforms to harvest data in the order in order to sell ads and control our lives with algorithms while ignoring ethical concerns, they will be our downfall. The film highlights numerous issues but fails to provide a practical solution, such as how former social media professionals are now addressing everything on their own. In fact, the credits are the sole time we get to appear removed from our devices. Many social networks, consistent with The Social Dilemma, benefit people’s weaknesses by developing with positive intermittent reinforcement in mind.