My initiative post begins with my first ever appearance in the afi research collection facility, I began by searching for a text that explored documentary in a way similar to how we explored it in class. Trying to find the prevalent idea that documentary is not definitively and exclusively non-fiction and that in fact, to put it bluntly- it really is fiction. The book I chose was Representing Reality by Bill Nichols, I explored the chapter ‘Telling stories with evidence and arguments”.

The author writes of a director ‘Jill Godmilow’ who ‘inverts the expository mode of a documentary’ doubting the truth behind documentary topes such as talking heads, archival and witness footage. About a documentary film ‘Far From Poland’ Godmilow states that Poland is not depicted as a reality ‘where people live and die’ but as a place reduced to ‘textual figures’ within the context of the film. This seemed to me like a very negative light to frame documentary in and in turn got me thinking about  significance and truth behind fiction films.

There has never been a documentary in the world that has conveyed complete truth or done justice to the place or the people it is documenting, most will argue- like Godmilow that many documentaries are merely  watered down fabrications of a much more potent reality. Whereas a Drama film romanticises places and people-building on the dreams and imaginations of a culture. This to me seems much more honest. Woody Allen, in his film Midnight In Paris does this; he actualises global cultures idea of Paris, that it is indeed a romantic, mystical place, forever rooted in the past. I consider it a very purposeful, fulfilling film, because I share societies vision of what Paris should be. Allen begins the film with plain shots of Paris that seemed more foreign, more distant from me, than the romanticised filtered version of Paris the rest of the film plays on. This is perhaps because the my idea of real Paris is a mediated, watered down version of the truth fed to me by mass media and so called ‘documentaries’. Nonetheless Allen’s juxtaposition at the start of the film was purposeful and truthful, highlighting the reality of our dreams and the filtered truth we are exposed to. Pairing the reality against the dream is something I would like to explore and think more about throughout Film 3.

Later on in the chapter Nichols sites a Paul Rotha quote who states ‘Hollywood did little to further humanitarian uses of the cinema’. This is a quote I strongly disagree with, as I hinted at above, Hollywood builds on dreams and ideologies. What could be more humanitarian than actualising them? Articulating them? To me this is a trade, its a necessary ability that defines an important, not to mention beautiful aspect of our culture.

This idea links into the clips from the Peter Watkins films we saw in class, like Jil Godmilow, who ‘inverts expository modes of documentaries by fabricating her own versions of historical figures’ Watkins does the same with Drama. He hides fiction behind a standard self-conscious documentary. This is important because he poses questions about both forms, contending that there is an abundance of truth and humanity in Drama, along with ‘drama’,’fictionalised plots, characters, situations and events’ within documentaries. I think this couldn’t be any more evident in todays current television climate-these reality shows aren’t reality, it is everyday people portraying fictionalised, stylised versions of themselves-which mass audience buys and accepts, no questions asked.

Another example of the blending of truth and fiction is Nick Caves film 20 000 days on earth, Cave uses his stylised prose and intimate, self conscious film making to describe himself as an artist-not because he is being pretentious but because it is the best medium for him to convey the truth-as an artist he is stylised yet intimate, it makes only sense that his autobiographical film blends and interestingly combines the two genres, its as if he is using fiction to tell the truth that a documentary couldn’t. This ties into the Bill Nichols quote ‘The notion that any reality exists out there is beyond us’ ‘the sooner we realise this the better’. Cave knows that the moment him and his environment is put on film, the reality, his reality changes to something filtered, and what is left is only a historical representation of him, not the truth, not the reality.

Another point that stood out to me in Nichols reading is the idea that ‘the world we inhabit is a social construct’ and that the ‘reality’ we find depicted behind our screens in documentaries are also social products is interesting. The fact that society manipulates culture, and society manipulates media means that the two are innately tied. Even though a documentary may not depict the actual truth, it demonstrates mans attempt and to a degree mans inability to depict the greatness of his surroundings-which is an innate truth.

In this article Nichols states that the intent of the filmmaker does separate from drama and documentary. The effect the filmmaker has on a text, the result of that consequence e.g The text and the viewers expectations going into both formats effect not only the readings of these two broad genres, but also how future practioners go about creating them-the future of the genre.