Nanook of the North

Name: Jason Von Berg
jB Productions
www.jvonblog.blogspot.com

Analysis on Nanook of the North

This documentary is one the first in which filmmaker come explorer Robert Flaherty documents the life and love of the Arctic. It was made in 1922. The Eskimos are a society that seemingly does not exist anymore, and many will argue that they were the last truly happy society in this world. Ethnographic studies will form the basis of this discussion as Flaherty uses it significantly in his exploration of the Eskimo nation. In order to go on with this discussion I will first clarify what is meant by the concept of ethnography, “It involves the study of people performing activities and interacting in complex social settings in order to obtain a qualitative understanding of these interactions,” (McCleverty: 1997, 1). (more…)

Rashomon… The Review

Name: Jason Von Berg
jB Productions
www.jvonblog.blogspot.com

Documentary response to Rashomon

Rashomon is a film that was made in 1950. On the DVD sleeve it states that the film examines the nature of truth, or as others have states it investigates the philosophy of justice. In the English language the term Rashomon is said to be a by-word for any situation in which the truth of an event is difficult to conclude because of the varying perceptions and views of the witnesses. It is in this film that the by-word is indicative of this in that there are four views accounted for all centering on a rape and a murder. This discussion will aim to explain which in my opinion is the most truthful and valid view.
Firstly it must be stated that it is quite ironic that this film is in black and white. I am aware that it was made in the 1950s, but I do believe that if one is to explore the philosophy of justice and truth this is valid in terms of what and whom to believe. There is no grey area, someone murdered someone or they didn’t, he wasn’t sort of killed. In addition to this there are several themes that need to be explored, in particular that of gender. At the beginning the woman is portrayed as somewhat innocent, virginal and pure. However as the plot is developed her Geisha-looking representation is shattered by the supposed rape, or her willingness to be with the bandit. A generalized view in society is that women are somewhat reliant on men, therefore making them vulnerable. However in the progression of this film there are signs that suggest the roles are reversed. Her husband is in need of her help when he is taken captive by the bandit, and she has the power to help him and depending on whose story the viewer believes the viewer will contribute to his or her decision. (more…)

City of God

Jason Von Berg
jB Productions
www.jvonblog.blogspot.com

Documentary response to The City of God

The caption on the DVD box states, “15 Miles from paradise… one man will do anything to tell the world everything.” In an environment where most children are almost expected to become involved with gangs and drugs, Rocket decides to tell the story of his peers, their choices and what exactly he did differently. Who is Rocket? He is the narrator of the story He had two options, to join the rest of his generation or to do something a lot differently, a lot more positively. He chose to partake in a different type of shooting. This will be discussed later on in this discussion. I would like to point out at this stage that this is based on a true story and that as a journalist, and film producer the issue that we are interested in with regards to this film/ documentary, and the greater world, is what the truth is, and how we choose to represent it.
The first scene is a chase sequence of young children running through the streets after a chicken. It brings about the idea of a cat and mouse scenario, I would suggest, in that the boys are looking to eat. It becomes apparent that there is more to this cat and mouse idea then what is presented at first glance i.e. it is an extended metaphor for an even greater battle. (more…)

Documentary review

Name: Jason Von Berg
jB Productions
www.jvonblog.blogspot.com

Capturing the Friedmans is a compelling documentary about how the lives of a respected high school teacher Arnold Friedman and his family who live in Great Neck, Long Island, are completely turned over after he is arrested on charges of child molestation. As the Friedman family starts to deal with the present situation they dealt another blow with one further arrest one of the sons, 18 year-old Jessie. This discussion will address a few major points including the production process, the way in which the narrative is told as well as how ethics play a role in the process.
Firstly the viewer is presented with the oldest son David’s account of the situation. He had bought himself a video camera prior to the unfolding family dilemma. So when the issue came to light David decided that he would videotape all the emotions, the actions and their responses to the news. One of the fist scenes is that of the family at a beach holiday, where everyone is seemingly happy and unperturbed by anything or anyone. There is a sudden change in the mood where the actual footage of where Arnold stored his child pornography was found. He was subsequently arrested and taken into custody. This is where the viewers are introduced to his estranges wife, Elaine. In terms of the cinematography director Andrew Jarecki in my opinion situates the characters in places that are symbolic of their personalities. I would therefore suggest that David is located in a busy, untidy and completely unstructured life. His mother, who tends to be rather bland and mundane is located in very much the same setting that one would expect to her to be in. In a literal sense she seems to be very isolated and excluded from her family, who is the only one who tends to think logically and has the ability to rationalise her thoughts. She therefore believes that Arnold is guilty and is as a result ignored by her sons, who believe in their father and brother’s innocence. (more…)

In this World

‘In this World’ was another very interesting documentary where somehow I was compelled to watch it to the end. The story of the boys journey was what captured me. The way in which the director used the various dialogue and visuals was I think by international standards a little shaky. Apparently the director won some numerous awards for his work and yet the documentary did not strike me as ‘award’ material.Something that struck me from the beginning was how the director managed to get me to think about the differences between cultures, especially Western vs Eastern. He did this without even using any visuals. It was just in the way he told the story. The director took the viewers on a journey, a road trip if you will, through the hardships that this boy had to face in order to make as his father put it “a better life for himself”. This again without visuals shows the hardships that eastern cultures have to face in order for their families to succeed in life.
(more…)

Rwanda Genocide

A heart- wrenching documentary, which grabbed me from the beginning to the end. If I could sum up the documentary with one sentence that’s how I would do it. ‘When good men do nothing’ touches on the genocide, which plagued Rwanda in 1994. The Rwandan Genocide of 1994 is one of many shameful events in history where human apathy and lack of action resulted in the death of over a million innocent civilians. One million ‘Tootsies’ were slaughtered in one hundred days. That’s more than five times faster than Hitler and the Germans killing off the Jews during World War II. There was a distinct relationship between the Nazis and what happened in Rwanda. This documentary is an example of the ability of journalists to expose atrocities of this nature and magnitude, to surface the guilt and hold accountable those who put politics and paper work in front of human life.
(more…)