Documentary Film Project

AP Lang

Documentary Film Analysis

Objectives:

·         Analyze a full-length documentary film and its argumentation

·         Apply all of the concepts of this course to evaluate and present the argument of a film

·         Work cooperatively in a group to present an analysis to the class

How it Will Work:

1. I’ll model the analysis process using Food, Inc. in class.  I’ll show you the kinds of things to look for, the way these elements may look different in the medium of film, and give some examples of how you might present your film.
2. You will choose your group and your film from the list provided, figure out Netflix/physical copy arrangements, and get the permission slip returned to me by Wednesday.
3. Then you’ll have time with your group.  My recommendation for timeline follows:
• Thurs-Fri:  watch the film 
• Fri-Mon:  discuss the film and pick out clips to present 
• Tues-Wed:  split up responsibilities, create a Google Doc shared with everyone in your group, and use lab time to work on your presentation.
4. Presentations will be May 9-16.

Elements to Analyze:

• Purpose, Audience, Thesis, and Mode (see modes at end of this handout)
• Appeals to logos, ethos, and pathos
• Kairos—new term that means timeliness.  Kairos (KY-ross) is knowing the right time or the most importune moment to make an argument or present aspects of an argument.
• Counterargument—this is a specific part of ethos I want you to analyze in your documentary.  Counterargument is how the argument acknowledges, works around, or attacks those who would argue the opposite.
• Types of Evidence—facts, statistics, personal experience, expert testimony, humor, etc.
• Visual Style/Tools
• Strengths, Weaknesses, and Fallacies (there will be all three)

Presentation should use Google Docs Presentation format.  You’ll create one presentation document to be shared and worked on by everyone in your group.  You will also need to share that document with me once it is complete.  Remember, it’s ms.kim.grissom@gmail.com.

Organization of presentation:

1. Background, central issue, VERY BRIEF summary
2.  Analysis of rhetoric with 3 short clips from the film as evidence
3. Conclusion—your group’s determination of the success of the argument based on your analysis

Documentary Film Choices
(All choices are available for streaming from Netflix EXCEPT the one starred--see note)

Film Name	Rating	Summary
Walmart:  The High Cost of Low Price	NR	This documentary takes the viewer on a deeply personal journey into the everyday lives of families struggling to fight Goliath. From a family business owner in the Midwest to a preacher in California, from workers in Florida to a poet in Mexico, dozens of film crews on three continents bring the intensely personal stories of an assault on families and American values.
*Super Size Me *This film is available from the Indianola Public Library, Netflix by mail, or I have a VHS copy	PG13 (language)	On the heels of recent lawsuits against McDonald's, director Morgan Spurlock takes a hilarious and often terrifying look at the effects of fast food on the human body. For one month, Spurlock eats nothing but McDonald's food, ordering everything on the menu at least once and "super-sizing" his order if asked. With obesity on the rise, Spurlock's film begs the question: Where does personal responsibility end and corporate responsibility begin?
The End of Poverty	NR	The End of Poverty is a daring, thought-provoking and very timely documentary by award-winning filmmaker, Philippe Diaz, revealing that poverty is not an accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land and other natural resources as well as in forced labor. The End of Poverty? asks why today 20% of the planet s population uses 80% of its resources.  Can we really end poverty under our current economic system? Filmed in the slums of Africa and the barrios of Latin America, The End of Poverty? features expert insights from: Nobel prize winners in Economics, to government ministers such as Bolivia's Vice President Alvaro Garcia.
Bowling for Columbine	R  (some violent images and language)	The United States of America is notorious for its astronomical number of people killed by firearms for a developed nation without a civil war. With his signature sense of angry humor, activist filmmaker Michael Moore sets out to explore the roots of this bloodshed. In doing so, he learns that the conventional answers of easy availability of guns, violent national history, violent entertainment and even poverty are inadequate to explain this violence when other cultures share those same factors without the equivalent carnage.
An Inconvenient Truth	PG (mild thematic elements)	Al Gore’s controversial documentary presents a view of the future of our planet and civilization.  Billed as a “wake-up call” that cuts through myths and conceptions, the film delivers its message that global warming is a real and present danger.
Waiting for Superman	PG	In a documentary sure to get parents and teachers talking--and arguing--An Inconvenient Truth director Davis Guggenheim offers an eye-opening overview of America's ailing educational system. As a kid in the Bronx, Canada learned that Superman didn't exist, which broke his heart, but also inspired him to help other underprivileged children Guggenheim also questions teachers' unions, which sometimes act against the best interests of students. He's particularly concerned about underperforming instructors who suffer no disciplinary measures due to tenure, but he credits the dedicated professionals who help at-risk kids beat the odds. Guggenheim provides a persuasive argument that involved parents will always have an advantage over those who accept whatever comes their way--no matter how ineffective.
Surviving Progress	NR	Humanity's ascent is often measured by the speed of progress. But what if progress is actually spiraling us downwards, towards collapse? Past civilizations were destroyed by "progress traps" - alluring technologies and belief systems that serve immediate needs, but ransom the future. As pressure on the world's resources accelerates and financial elites bankrupt nations, can our globally-entwined civilization escape a final, catastrophic progress trap? With potent images and illuminating insights from thinkers who have probed our genes, our brains, and our social behaviour, this requiem to progress-as-usual also poses a challenge: to prove that making apes smarter isn't an evolutionary dead-end.
Tapped	NR	This timely documentary is a behind the scenes look into the innocent enough looking water bottle and the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water.  It’s a true revelation and you may never sip the same again.

Documentary Modes

Mode	Characterized by:
The expository mode	'Voice of God' narration directly addressing the viewer Direct relationship between images and voice-over Interviews used only in support of the film's argument A conventional narrative structure A narrator who also may appear as a 'character' in the film (such as David Attenborough)
The observational mode	A non-interventionist or fly-on-the-wall style of presentation Unobtrusive camera work, appearing to offer a 'window on the world' Relatively long takes connoting that nothing has been 'cut out' Zoom lenses and hand-held camera following the action Editing which gives the impression of 'lived' or 'real' time Speech which is overheard and not directed to camera or audience Synchronous sound Only diegetic music (originating in the documentary's world)
The interactive mode	The acknowledged presence of the camera and crew The film-maker speaking directly to her/his subjects An emphasis on monologues and dialogues Representation of multiple viewpoints, contributing different information Editing which maintains logical continuity No definitive argument, leaving the audience to decide
The reflexive mode	Acknowledgement of the medium to problematise it Discussion of the problems of making the documentary Making explicit the process of representation Making explicit institutional issues (such as who is funding it)
The performative mode	Where the documentary maker 'stars' in his/her own film.

Keep in mind, many documentaries, like many of the written arguments we’ve looked at this year, don't fit rigidly into a single category. However, thinking about these modes may give you interesting ideas for your analysis and purpose of some details or style characteristics.