Research Paper On Film Essay Questions

1. The essay film is a particularly post-modern kind of documentary, as it focuses on a theme and concept, instead of following a strict plot or depicting a series of events. Unlike a Ken Burns documentary on the Civil War, for example, Bowling for Columbine employs a vast number of techniques to depict the state of the gun culture in America in the wake of the Columbine shootings. Bowling does not follow a strict progression, or a particular person or event, but spans the entirety of the debate in America - it moves from Columbine itself to the Michigan bank that gives guns for bank accounts, and even interviews Charlton Heston. All of these ideas further the debate about gun culture in America as a whole, making it a fine example of an essay film. 3. The Rock and Roll documentary, in following popular trends in music in the 1970s through the 1990s in particular, demonstrates a unique snapshot of culture and society at the time of its creation. For example, Decline of Western Civilization focuses on the punk rock scene in the 1970s, using interviews with band members as well as their audience members to look at punk subculture as a whole. Gimme Shelter shows both the Rolling Stones' 1969 US tour, particularly the Altamont Free Concert, juxtaposing the rock and roll music with the chaos of the Hells Angels during that event. The Kids Are Alright follows the Who's rise to stardom, as well as the social and cultural importance of the British Invasion during the 1970s. The Who's interactions with talk show hosts and their fans also shows the relationship that artists had with their audience at that time. 4. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control is a wildly experimental film from Errol Morris that nonetheless displays his time-honored and well-honed documentary style. One of the most innovative aspects of the film is the way in which he films interviews, where (unlike in normal documentaries where the subject is looking off screen at the interviewer) the subject stares straight into the camera. The film score is frenzied and percussion-based, wild and intense, to shake up the audience's expectations of solemnity in a documentary. The editing of the interview clips with footage that matches subjects with narration also makes it very narrative-focused, as the interviews are keyed in with plots and themes shared between the four subjects. Despite this experimental style, it is still indicative of Morris' focus on theme over subject, and his attempts to narrativize material by combining it with source images and the like.5. In 1885, the Lumiere Brothers showed a train entering a station to show the novelty of moving pictures, leading to the first documentary; calling it an "actuality" film, it meant to create the illusion of depicting real life. In the 1900s, "travelogue films" or "scenics" showed exotic sights and climates to show people places they'd never been before. In the 1920s, newsreels and the like depicted current events and what was going on right at that time. Propaganda documentaries like Triumph of the Will started to take hold in the 1930s, to shape people's opinions toward the perspective of the filmmaker. In the 60s and 70s, cinema verite documentaries started to capture what was going on in a rough and raw way. Modern documentaries from the 1980s on have used slick production to raise awareness of political issues and spotlight interesting people or events, using more editing and special effects techniques to create effective documentaries.