Wolfpack and the ethics of documentary filmmaking (2015) is an academic article written by Steve Thomas, a film and television lecturer from the University of Melbourne. It discusses the ethical concerns and considerations of documentary filmmakers, particularly through the context of the film, The Wolfpack (Moselle, 2015).
Thomas questioned whether the choice to tell the narrative in chronological order, rather than in in order of filming. Moselle only met the Angulo brothers after they were all leaving the apartment, and she didn’t know the true story of their upbringing for a few months into their friendship; where the film is structured and edited as if the confinement was still ongoing at the time, particularly when home video footage is combined with re-enactments and interviews. Moselle admitted “I wanted to see a transformation in my characters” (Film at Lincoln Center, 2015), though the idea of adding a storyline to a documentary is a questionable ethical decision.
Other editing decisions were also scrutinised, particularly how the soundtrack and lighting affected the overall tone and mood of the film. Showing otherwise happy home movies in slow motion with a dark soundtrack was a way to make the film more sinister than it would’ve been if the footage was played normally.
In contrast to critics like Paul Byrnes (2015), Thomas believes that the ethical impact of scenes that were potentially staged – such as the scene where the brothers go to a private cinema screening – were benign, because “Filmmaking is a catalyst and we all indulge in a degree of engineering, even in the strictest of fly-on-the-wall approaches” (Thomas 2015).
I agree with most of Thomas’ arguments, though I believe that he needed to better scrutinise the position that Moselle had taken. I found the many things were glossed over, such as Oscar’s alcoholism and violence. Thomas’ dismissal of this, his reason being that other films had also done this, is inadequate.
Thomas’ take on the editing was particularly` clear to me, as to me, Moselle’s editing wouldn’t be out of place of an episode of Today Tonight and A Current Affair, to make a subject more sinister than it is.
For audiences, however, using a chronological timeline for the film would more likely be easier to understand than the order of her relationship with the Angulo brothers.
References:
Byrnes, P 2015, ‘The Wolfpack review: a confronting and confounding true story’, The Sydney Morning Herald, 28 August, viewed 14 November 2019, <https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/the-wolfpack-review-a-confronting-and-confounding-true-story-20150826-gj7tys.html#ixzz3lEfFYG7k>
Thomas, S 2015, ‘Wolfpack and the ethics of documentary filmmaking’, The Conversation, 14 September, viewed 14 November 2019, <https://theconversation.com/wolfpack-and-the-ethics-of-documentary-filmmaking-47086>
Film at Lincoln Center 2015, ‘The Wolfpack Q&A | Crystal Moselle & The Angulo Brothers’, YouTube, 22 June, viewed 14 November 2019, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhLzem1RT4U>