FILM/TV2 – A&R2 – QUESTION 2

Select from one of the readings and briefly describe two points that you have taken from it. Points that excite you, something that was completely new to you. 

The Reading I am choosing to speak about is “Imagining reality” by Pawel Pawlikowski.
Something that was completely new to me was the idea of how “documentary involves a degree of schizophrenia: (Pawel) tries (to) enter the subject, see the world through it’s eyes, accept its logic, while at the same time maintaining an aesthetic and often ironic distance from it” (page 389). Being generally interested in fictional films, I’d never really thought in depth about documentary. However when I had thought about it, I’d only ever really looked at it is observing the world – presenting the world as the filmmaker sees it – replaying and showing the audience what they witnessed. However, as Pawlikowski offers, there is the element of drawing from the subjects point of view – a perspective that captures the audience, presenting them something different from something they may have seen otherwise.

A point that excited me through this reading was an idea that extended on from the point that was new to me. Pawlikowski states that for him, “the point of making films is not to convey objective information about the world, but to show it as (he) sees it and to find a form which is relevant” (389). This idea excites me as it leads me to think of ways in which I can create my own documentary with my own spin on it – perhaps it doesn’t have to be so straight forwards and plain as i have once believed. Through this reading and the introductory classes to this semester, I have began to see documentary as more of an abstract creation – this really excites me, because it allows for creativity – for me to play with ideas, footage, and technical aspects.