Before Documentaries:
The first documentary: Robert J. Flaherty
Some issues with this first documentary involved ethics. Movie-makers today would find some of the elements of this documentary to be "unethical" because the film makers "tampered" with how Nanook and his family lived their lives. So, in one scene Nanook and other members of his tribe wanted to hunt a walrus with a shot gun, the director didn't think this would be very interesting to the audience so he made them use a harpoon.
Other issues had to do with technology. Cameras at the time were only capable of capturing film in the light. Therefore any interior shots of igloos meant that special igloos had to be built without roofs (these weren't actually where Nanook and his family lived).
Other issues had to do with technology. Cameras at the time were only capable of capturing film in the light. Therefore any interior shots of igloos meant that special igloos had to be built without roofs (these weren't actually where Nanook and his family lived).
People Try to Use Documentaries for their Own Gain
Narrative vs. Non Narrative vs. Text Narrative
What are the pros and cons of each?
Story and Theme: What is the Director trying to say?
Interviews, Clips, and Stock Footage
(& Reinactments)
Technical Aspects: Lighting, Sound, Locations
The roles:
Producer
Director
Technical Crew: Lighting, Sound, Locations/Set/Props
Editing
Subjects
Freedom Writers Reflection Questions
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1. When Marcus’s friend Clive accidentally shot himself, Marcus was sent to juvenile hall. Was this fair? How do you think Marcus felt about this?
2. In the movie, Marcus says, “First night was the scariest. Inmates banging on the walls, throwing up gang signs, yelling out who they were and where they from. I cried my first night. I never let anybody know that. I spent the next few years in and out of cells. Every day I worry, when will I be free?” What do you think” freedom” means for Marcus?
3. Marcus tells Miep Gies that he never had a hero before, but, now, she is his hero. Why do you think he chose her?
4. How do you think Marcus felt when Miep Gies tells the class that he and his classmates are heroes?
5. Marcus writes in his diary that he misses his mom and he asks her to let him come back home. Do you think this is hard for him to do?
2. In the movie, Marcus says, “First night was the scariest. Inmates banging on the walls, throwing up gang signs, yelling out who they were and where they from. I cried my first night. I never let anybody know that. I spent the next few years in and out of cells. Every day I worry, when will I be free?” What do you think” freedom” means for Marcus?
3. Marcus tells Miep Gies that he never had a hero before, but, now, she is his hero. Why do you think he chose her?
4. How do you think Marcus felt when Miep Gies tells the class that he and his classmates are heroes?
5. Marcus writes in his diary that he misses his mom and he asks her to let him come back home. Do you think this is hard for him to do?
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1. Eva says, “When I got my initiation into the gang life, I became third generation. They beat you so you won’t break. They are my family.” Do you think this is the kind of family Eva needs?
2. Why do you think Eva hates white people in the beginning of the movie?
3. Eva gets very upset when she finds out that Anne dies at the end of “Diary of Anne Frank”. Why do you think that is?
4. Toward the end of the movie, Eva tells the truth in court about the convenience store shooting. Do you think this was hard for her to do? Why or why not?
2. Why do you think Eva hates white people in the beginning of the movie?
3. Eva gets very upset when she finds out that Anne dies at the end of “Diary of Anne Frank”. Why do you think that is?
4. Toward the end of the movie, Eva tells the truth in court about the convenience store shooting. Do you think this was hard for her to do? Why or why not?
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1. How do you think Ms. Gruwell felt on her first day of teaching?
2. Ms. Gruwell gets upset that her students are not allowed to use the new textbooks. Why do you think that is?
3. When Andre gives himself an “F”, Ms. Gruwell tells him, “I am not letting you fail... I see who you are. Do you understand me? I can see you. And you are not failing.” Do you think this is a message he heard often in his life?
4. In the movie Miep Gies says, “But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room.” How did Ms. Gruwell “turn on a small light”?
2. Ms. Gruwell gets upset that her students are not allowed to use the new textbooks. Why do you think that is?
3. When Andre gives himself an “F”, Ms. Gruwell tells him, “I am not letting you fail... I see who you are. Do you understand me? I can see you. And you are not failing.” Do you think this is a message he heard often in his life?
4. In the movie Miep Gies says, “But even an ordinary secretary or a housewife or a teenager can, within their own small ways, turn on a small light in a dark room.” How did Ms. Gruwell “turn on a small light”?