Nichols, Bill. “Documentary Modes of Representation” [extract: Modes & The Expository Mode] Representing Reality: Issues and Concepts in Documentary. Bloomington & Indianapolis, Indiana University Press, 1991, p.32-38.
In this weeks reading Nichols introduces what he calls documentary ‘modes’.
I thought about the four modes in terms of documentaries I have seen, and what mode I thought they would fit in
Expository Mode
- The Living Planet (David Attenborough, 1984)
- Night Mail (1936)
- Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935)
- The Union (Brett Harvey, 2007)
Observational Mode
- Reality Television (Big Brother etc.)
- The Oasis (Ian Darling, 2008)
- Don’t Look Back (Richard Pennebacker, 1967)
Interactive Mode
- The Most Hated Family in America (Louis Theroux, 2007)
- Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2004)
- Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988)
- Supersize Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004)
Reflexive Mode
- Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929)
- Supersize Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004)
Another point I considered, especially when compiling this list was all the cross-overs that occur. I think most documentaries use techniques from a few different modes.
I wonder what can make you define a documentary as one mode rather then the other?
Which mode could be seen as the most ‘ethical’?
Are different modes more effective to different people?
Which mode is the most ‘constructed’?
Which mode is the most ‘real’?
