It is also good that you’re keen to explore one of the key questions related to documentary, which is about its relationships with the real world. This is one of the key aims of the module as a whole, so I hope the material we’re covering is useful to you.
I think there are some things you need to think through, though. It is very hard to distinguish between when documentaries tell the truth and when they don’t as lots of people disagree over what is the truth and what isn’t. You may have noticed that we haven’t discussed the ‘truth’ in class at all, and we won’t for the majority of the module. This is because these problems are impossible to solve. Instead, it is good to explore how programmes suggest they might be telling the truth, ignoring whether they actually do or not.
What is good is that you’ve listed the key book that I would suggest you look at, which is Brian Winston’s Claiming the Real. You say you are also interested in fake documentary – what is also known as ‘mock documentary’. We are looking at these in detail towards the end of the module. But this means it would be good if you looked at Craig Hight’s (2010) book Television Mockumentary, and Jane Roscoe and Craig Hight’s (2001) book Faking It.
I hope that helps, and I look forward to discussing this idea with you more throughout the module.
Thanks,
Brett
Michelle_Michy
Feedback.docx
0
