This week’s reading “Reimagining Documentary” got me thinking about the concept of truth not only in documentaries but in our every day lives. With humankind, there is a tendency to divide every piece of information we receive into “truth” and “lie”, which in our minds reads “good” and “bad” respectively. But how exactly do we know what is the truth? Our beliefs, values, behaviours, and attitudes are formed mostly by our childhood experiences and impressions and the older a person grows, the fewer his chances to change his mindset are (Lillienfled 2014). Therefore, personal perception of each individual of what the truth is, mostly depends on this individual’s experiences and social environment, and not at all on logical reasoning and solid facts. We, humans, are irrational creatures and we base our judgments on what we see and feel, not bothering to check the facts and involve logic in the decision making process. For example, look at the optical illusion below:

The shadow on the left wall is a square, and it’s true. The shadow on the right is a circle, and it’s true as well. The truth, however, is that 3D object in the middle is, in fact, a cylinder. So, if we say, pointing at the wall, that this figure is square we will be right and wrong at the same time. Now, if this statement is even partially wrong can it be considered true? A paradox at its finest. The fact is that everyone has their own version of the truth. It will always be different from others, but it doesn’t make it any less true for the person who believes in it. A person’s perception of what is true is based solemnly on what they see, and where they stand. And if we are being honest with ourselves, not many people would spend time and energy to widen their perspective, to try to understand another point of view and to find the big picture they are not seeing. It’s way more comforting to just say “I know the truth and I am right, its the others who are wrong!”. And more than that, even if we admit not to know the truth and search for it, the finding will be interpreted differently by different people, once again shattering the big ruth into million little lies. Therefore, we must come to a conclusion that:

“….the concept of truth is also a myth”

F. Broderick (2010)

It’s especially important to remember that when working on a documentary. If even our brains are not capable of seeing the whole picture, a mere camera can only fit that much in its frame. In the picture below, we see how dramatically a camera positioning can change the meaning of the image and our perception of it. Just a few centimetres to the right or to the left change our feelings and attitudes towards the image completely, forming a certain “truth” in our minds. And even worse, the picture in the middle which appears to be the true representation of the situation is a tiny piece of a huge jigsaw puzzle taken completely out of context.

Sometimes, even when faced with undeniable evidence human minds reject the unquestionable facts in favour of their firmly formed believes and perceptions. In “Reimagining Documentary”, Broderick (2010) talks about an outrageous incident of 1991 when George Holliday filmed brutal assault on a black man by the white policeman. This 12-minute video is difficult to argue with, but three out of four attackers were fully acquitted by the jury. Are people blind or stupid? Sadly, just ignorant. Our minds automatically defend our core believes when subjected to contradiction, even despite all the evidence and facts. Apparently, it was easier for the jury to come up with ridiculous excuses and protects abusers than to admit that their belief in white supremacy was wrong.

The real questions are: how do we make a documentary that is at least close to being true? Is it ethical to make a documentary with a certain agenda? Is it possible not to have an agenda at all? I am hoping to find the answer that throughout this semester. From where I stand now, I would say that it’s up for the filmmakers to stay as unbiased as possible, and for the viewers to question every piece of information and engage into critical thinking without accepting anything as the unconditional truth. What I can take from this reading for my own future projects is try to always remember that we don’t really know anything about anything, and leave our all prejudices or personal agendas we might have.

References:

S. Lillienfled; S.J. Lynn; L.L. Namy; N.J. Woolf.; G. Jamieson; A. Marks; V.Slaughter (2014). Psychology: from inquiry to understanding. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W. : Pearson Australia

F. Broderick (2010). Documentary Media : History, Theory, Practice. Taylor and Francis.