Dissertation Unit: Idea Development

Looking at "Introduction to Documentary" By Bill Nichols, I discovered a principal mode of documentary Film making which applies to my dissertation:

THE PARTICIPATORY MODE
Unlike the observational mode, the participatory mode welcomes direct engagement between
filmmaker and subject(s) - the filmmaker becomes part of the events being recorded
The filmmakers impact on the events being recorded is acknowledged, indeed, it is often
celebrated Often coupled with archival footage to examine historical issues.(p.31)

Examples include:
Shoah (1985)

I also looked into issues surrounding Goverment Sponsored film by Connie Fields, The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter (1980)

Bill Nicholas (Introduction to Documentary) describes

"This is an example of a film that uses archival film material not to confirm the truth of a situation but to demonstrate how truth claims can serve political goals"(p.27)

and he continues,

"We usually understand and acknowledge that a documentary is acreative treatment of actuality, not a faithful transcription of it...Documentaries marshal evidence and then use it to construct their own perspective or proposal to the world. We expect this process to take place. We are disappointed if it does not."(p.36)