Documentary Modes

English 232: Film and Visual Literacy

Documentary Modes The concept of documentary modes was developed by

Bill Nichols in his classic 2001 book, Introduction to Documentary.

Rather than analyzing categories of documentaries in terms of genre, Nichols proposes “modes” as a way of describing how docs engage with the actual world, usually in an effort to express a sense of “authenticity.”

Modes become dominant during certain historical periods in response to technological, social, and political change.

Modes are not mutually exclusive. One mode is usually dominant, but a given documentary may have characteristics of several modes.

Poetic mode (origins: 1920s) Associated with Soviet montage theory and

French Impressionist cinema Usually lack a clear narrative Characters and events are undeveloped in

favor of establishing a mood or tone Poetic documentaries avoid continuity editing

in favor of rhythmic editing techniques. Examples:

Joris Ivens’ Regen (1929): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPD2C0K38jY

Godfrey Reggis’s Koyannisqatsi (1982): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uAiHSlUUIc

Expository documentary (1930s) Often serve a rhetorical purpose to disseminate

information to or persuade audiences Frequently used voice-over narration (often described

as voice-of-God narration because narrator is omniscient and onmipresent—think Morgan Freeman!). Emerged in part due to rise of sound cinema.

Uses what Nichols calls “evidentiary editing” where images serve as evidence of narrative/observation.

Examples: Pare Lorentz’ The River (1937):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uAiHSlUUIc Watt and Wright’s Night Mail (1936):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uAiHSlUUIc Features poem by British poet W.H. Auden!

Observational Mode (late 1950s) Developed in response to perceived artificiality of

expository documentaries and made use of modern, mobile camera equipment and sound recorders.

Fly-on-the-wall style. Very few cuts, no voice-over narration, no non-diegetic music, no scene arrangement.

Viewers were invited to watch and reach their own conclusions.

Examples: D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back (1967):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH55dLua9E0 Frederick Wiseman’s Titicut Follies (1967):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT3NLw2IPPw

Participatory Mode (1970s-80s) Acknowledge the role of the the filmmaker in

creating meaning The filmmaker/director often appears on-

screen and frames documentary as his or her subjective experience, becoming a social actor like those who appear on screen

Examples: Ross McElwee’s Sherman’s March (1986):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnohMWYXeZ4 Alan Berliner’s Sweetest Sound (2001):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rayfzuObAiA

Reflexive Mode (1970s) Engage with the very techniques of

documentary storytelling (i.e., documentaries about documentary filmmaking)

Meant to encourage a more critical viewership by exposing how truth is constructed

Highly skeptical of “realism,” even in documentary film

Examples: Trinh Minh-ha’s Reassemblage (1983):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSZaRHg0xVs Jim McBride’s David Holzman’s Diary (1968): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDsRhMVpADw

Performative Documentaries (1980s) Stress subjective experience and an emotional

response to the world Might include hypothetical enactments of

events designed to entice the viewer to experience what it’s like to share a specific perspective on the world

Examples: Marlon Riggs’ Tongues Untied (1989):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWuPLxMBjM8 Jonathan Caouette’s Tarnation (2003):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7YjtX5fcW0