Use this space to do a little thinking/writing about your thinking so far about documentaries. Did our discussion in Tuesday's class make you rethink any that you've watched (or rethink how you think about reality TV, or related things?)? If you are at a loss about what to write, feel free to write about either or both of the two short videos we watched (the bachelorette preview or "About Employment"). They are both linked in our Canvas page for Monday's class.
Ive always been a very careful person when it comes to trusting things i hear on TV, the internet or social media. I typically will always ask questions about the source of the information and try to think of what possible motives the creator of the information could have that would sway the information or misrepresent ideas. Im very aware that a lot of "true stories" and documentaries are highly influenced by the motives of big Hollywood. It's simple to see why: real life is not like a movie, usually its less exciting, dramatic, etc than TV depicts situation. The more realistic a documentary becomes and the less cinematic, the less people will go to see it or enjoy it. Humans watch TV for entertainment, and usually a cut and dry documentary isn't as entertaining as a story that is based on true events that is elevated for the big screen.
ReplyDeleteJeff Baker
ReplyDeleteHonestly I've never been a huge fans of documentaries I think they can be boring, besides nature documentaries those are awesome. I forgot who said it was something like the directors can manipulate the footage to make something or someone be perceived in a different manner. I never took that into account while watching documentaries or reality TV. There can be so unused footage in documentaries that are leaving out that could be incredibly important. I haven't been able to stop thinking about what could've seen in the ones that I've watched. I might just be dense but I don't know why it took me so long to realize that that could be a possibility.
Documentaries can generally hit or miss when presenting subject matter. A lot of factors can affect the outcome of the documentary such as genre, presentation, fact vs. opinion, etc. I think one problem that can plague documentaries is trying to force a story in it. Not all documentaries are like this, but you can see this in a lot of historical documentaries when they do reenactments of moments in history. They try to depict historical figures in a certain way in order to make a narrative out of them. But in actuality, we don't know what they were like or what they were thinking in those moments. Historical documentaries can only rely on historical text, which also might tell its own narrative of what transpired.
ReplyDeleteI don't usually watch documentaries because I feel like while they tend to be more factual than other form of media they also play things up with the editing and music. This usually annoys me and I feel like it does a disservice to the subject matter by downplaying how serious it is. However, the "About Employment" video really struck me with it's choices, such as the black screen when she was getting directions. It made me more likely to give documentaries another try and see if I'm writing them all of because of a few
ReplyDeleteI don’t mind documentaries when the topics are interesting or it reveals new information about certain events (i.e. true crime/unsolved cases documentaries). Our class discussion didn’t change my opinions about reality TV because I’m always aware of the “entertainment” portion of reality TV. At the end of the day, producers and companies have to make money, so there are many elements to shows like “The Bachelor” or “Baddies” that can be fictitious. I do disagree with people who say that all documentaries are boring, though. They can be engaging and still retain their factual factor if producers make the right aesthetic/artistic choices.
ReplyDeleteThis is Ure Nwokoji^ I forgot to put my name.
DeleteWhen it comes to believing what I hear on TV, the internet, or social media, I've always been quite cautious. Usually, I will always inquire about the material's source and attempt to consider any potential motivations that might influence the information or cause it to be misrepresented. I am well aware that the goals of big Hollywood have a significant influence on many "true stories" and documentaries. It is easy to understand why: actual life is not like a movie; it is typically less dramatic, interesting, etc. than what is shown on television. People are less likely to attend or like a documentary that is more realistic and less artistic. People watch television for amusement.
ReplyDeleteOur talk in class prompted me to think extensively about the nature of documentaries and how they impact our perception of reality. Watching the trailers for "The Bachelorette" and "About Employment" demonstrated how documentaries, and even reality TV, can cross the lines between entertainment and serious storytelling. The Bachelorette teaser, which was intended to attract viewers, sparked concerns about the validity of the emotions depicted and how these tales are produced for dramatic effect. It made me rethink the motivations behind what we see on film and how producers build these storylines to keep us interested. In contrast, "About Employment" took a more basic documentary approach, concentrating on real-world employment market difficulties. It reminded me that documentaries may be effective weapons for social commentary, shining light on themes that are typically disregarded by conventional media. The contrast between the two videos highlights the diversity of the documentary genre and prompts us to consider how much of what we consume is intended to entertain rather than inform.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really a big fan of documentaries. I find that they can sometimes feel slow-paced and boring which makes it hard for me to stay engaged and interest. Another reason is I usually prefer watching something more entertaining rather than educational content.
ReplyDeleteI'm not one to watch many documentaries, but one of the definitions we discussed in class did make me more curious---the one that defined documentaries as displaying information that we already know through a new perspective. I don't know if I particularly agree with it, first of all. The documentaries that I have watched many times cover information and content that I do not know a whole lot about. If anything, it's the perspective of the creator that's familiar to me: a documentary about social media will either praise or critique it, both stances I'm familiar with but am not educated about; a documentary about processed foods will promote a message I have definitely heard before, but likely with specific facts that I was unaware of. However, regardless of how much I agree with the semantics of the definition, I never thought of watching a documentary with the emphasis on the perspective of the creator versus the content itself, so I will definitely keep that in mind next time I watch a documentary.
ReplyDeleteI kinda do watch documentaries on certain specific things depending on what it is if I have interests in it and find it intriguing to me to really enjoy watching. but, usually I'm not really the one to watch a lot of documentarys all the time I kinda find it more boring and non interesting to me because its something I am just not into all the time.
ReplyDeleteI never really liked watching documentaries unless it was about something that interested me such as a celebrities' story on their childhood life. Now I understand that they are often narratively crafted to reflect the perspective of the filmmaker. This understanding caused me to reconsider a few films I've seen during all my years of school. I found myself thinking a lot about how documentaries affect how we see the world after looking at what the class discussed.
ReplyDeleteIn The Smartest Kids in the World video we watched, it seemed to suggest that the purpose of school goes beyond just "acquiring knowledge", it's also about cultivating critical thinking, problem-solving, and independence in students. When they mentioned how different countries, like Finland and South Korea, approach education in ways that prioritize these skills over memorization or standardized testing. One of the themes that stood out to me is the idea that educational success is shaped by a society’s broader cultural values. In Finland, there’s a strong belief in equality, which translates into an education system that supports every student, regardless of background. This contrasts with more competitive, pressure-filled environments, like South Korea, where students often face high stress but achieve remarkable academic outcomes. It makes you question about the balance between student well-being and academic achievement.
ReplyDeleteChristine:
ReplyDeleteI didn’t rethink too much about what I’ve watched or thought of documentaries/reality TV. I never grew up watching documentaries, reality TV, or other related types in general. For that reason, my first exposure to them (especially for reality TV) was hearing how much the line between truth and fiction is blurred, especially thanks to the power of editing. In addition, in a Spanish class I took last semester, we watched a documentary called Balseros, which followed around six Cubans in the 90s who decided to leave Cuba by rafts in hopes of a better life. My professor made a point to talk about how much truth there might be in the documentary versus what the director/documentarian wants you to see. Our discussion on Tuesday about documentaries also made me think about something I learned in a stats class last semester. With documentaries, I’m pretty sure you have to get permission and consent from the people they follow; this means that there’s likely a specific type of people that choose to participate in a documentary. For example, they might lie on more extreme sides of the spectrum of whatever is being documented, which might be why they feel emboldened to participate. Those that are more towards the middle might not feel as strongly, so they might decline. This describes the phenomenon in statistics when you choose to ask for volunteers to be in a sample. Since the volunteers are likely those who feel extremely passionate or are on extreme ends of a spectrum, they are more likely to be the majority of those who volunteer, if not all of them. This causes the sample to be skewed towards more extreme data, which makes it not representative. I think the same thing could happen with documentaries; because of the permission/consent aspect being kind of like the volunteer thing, what a documentary shows is likely skewed to the more extreme sides of whatever the documentary is showing. I feel like this is connected to or kind of hinted at in our discussion about “About Employment”, when we talked about how she and her experiences are not representative of all blind people.
In addition to all of this, our discussion on documentaries made me think about a documentary series that I watched a tiny bit of. It was about a civics competition that high school students participate in all over the country, and it follows several classes that were competing in said competition during the 2023-2024 school year. I was actually in a class that participated in this competition two years ago when I was a senior, which made this documentary interesting to me on a personal note. However, although my teacher was approached to have his classes recorded, he actually refused. The documentary still features two schools in the same area that we’ve competed against. For that reason, it was fascinating to see how the competition and its preparations were portrayed in those two schools. For one, my school, even though we’ve regularly done very well in this competition, is not mentioned at all by either school, probably to maintain a consistent narrative (even if things are technically left out). Another thing is I can feel the staging in the documentary, as well as the selection of pieces to weave into a main narrative, while capturing the competition process and students’ and teachers’ thoughts; I suppose you can feel that with any documentary, but I think I felt it especially strongly because I’m so familiar with this process and the schools in this area. I suppose for anyone who is not familiar with the competition, this will be very informational, and it does speak to the realities of the preparations and effort involved. It’s still not the same as experiencing it or knowing it firsthand though—after all, things can be withheld, overemphasized, or downplayed—which I suppose is what we should all keep in mind when watching documentaries.
I tend to like watching documentaries and seeing the other perspectives of people and their lives. I watch a lot of docs about artists and their lives behind the stage and what mainstream media sees. Our discussion in class made me rethink what exactly was true or what was reenacted in the video. There have been many “reality TV” shows and now after our talks, I’m wondering if I would be able to recognize what was true and what was scripted. The Bachelorette seems very planned and like the producers were telling them what to do. I would not consider that show as a documentary because of how much outside involvement there is in this production.
ReplyDeleteI am not a huge fan of documentaries. I tend to like being entertained and having an escape from reality. I also think documentaries can never really be 100% fact. There is always going to be some level of unreality because there is a camera or because someone is choosing that topic for a reason. There’s a bias to everything, like we talked about in class.
ReplyDeleteI think the main notion in the Smartest Kids in the world documentary is that education serves a broader purpose beyond the acquisition of knowledge. It’s about fostering critical thinking, problem-solving, and autonomy. The contrast between the US, Finland, and South Korea highlights how cultural values shape educational systems in different ways.
ReplyDeleteI thought the class had an interesting discussion about how documentaries can never truly be 100% factual/realistic. Documentaries will always have people filming a certain way and editors who will display the information in their own way. I think the video "About Employment" was very close to the fact side of documentaries. The video just showed the woman's daily life and some of the struggles she experiences. It even showed her having issues with how she was displayed, so she could she shown in the correct way.
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting in class that the first thing we watched was a clip of the bachelorette, although I have never watched an episode of it or the bachelor I would not consider "reality" tv shows like that a documentary. However, when I think about the definition of a documentary the guidelines of the show kind of fit. So last class make me think about how true even pieces of media considered nonfiction are, since you are missing context of the situation. I started watching the documentary about the Menendez brothers recently, but have not finished it, and it is interesting watching it since I already do know the backstory. When I watch other documentaries without much prior knowledge of the situation I sometimes forget the documentary is not a complete record of what happened since it is nonfiction. But when it is a documentary about something I do know a good amount about, I am very aware of the missing pieces in the documentary.
ReplyDeleteOur discussion in class really opened my eyes to the complexities of documentaries and how they shape our understanding of reality. I’ve often viewed documentaries as straightforward representations of truth, but now I see how they can be influenced by the filmmaker's perspective and the narrative choices made during editing. I usually am a fan of documentaries and find myself watching one every here and now.
ReplyDeleteDay 1’s theme made me realize that documentaries, while documentaries try to be as factual as can be they are influenced by who make them.It changed how I think about them, as I now see documentaries not just as neutral truth-telling tools but as stories shaped by subjective decisions on what to include, emphasize, or leave out.
ReplyDeleteI don't really like documentaries, they seem pretty boring and slow paced to me, unless they're nature documentaries, then I'd find some interest. However, our discussion about how documentaries can shape reality, or dramatize the documentary opened my eyes up more on documentaries. I never really put thought into it or looked at it from a different perspective.
ReplyDeleteMichelle Barrientos ^^ (I forgot to put my name)
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