Paul Arthur proposes: “Galvanized by the intersection of per- sonal, subjective and social history, the essay has emerged as the leading non- fiction form for both intellectual and artistic innovation.”
According to Giannetti, for instance, “an essay is neither fiction nor fact, but a personal investigation involving both the passion and intellect of the author.”
An essay is the expression of a personal, critical reflection on a problem or set of prob- lems. Such reflection does not propose itself as anonymous or collective, but as originating from a single authorial voice.
So this weeks reading was all about the ‘essay’ and the ‘essay form’ of documentary making. I do feel like it was quite a long reading and I didn’t completely take it all in when reading it, but in saying this there were some interesting ideas presented. The above quotes/extracts from it are just some things I found interesting or useful to my understanding of what I was reading. I really like the statement by Gianneti – ‘an essay is neither fiction nor fact, but a personal investigation involving both the passion and intellect of the author.’ I think that when creating documentary it is the directors passion that drives the story, and this statement embraces my view on essay films – that the information presented is a ‘personal investigation’ on a topic or situation rather than a bunch of facts being thrown at the audience.