Tyree Webster
Social Action Documentary Task 2
Analysing the Content and Purposes of Other Documentaries
Analysing the Content and Purposes of Other Documentaries
'Tootgarook'
The first of three social action documentaries that I watched, this 8 minute documentary follows a group of Australian activists who want to save a Victorian Wetland that is a home to 129 species of bird. The documentary is an 'Observational' documentary, this is because the documentary film- maker (who is neither seen or heard) is watching over the events take place and what the activists are doing, but isn't necessarily taking part in the narrative, which switches from the activists cleaning up at the swamp and staging meetings to discuss the overall problem. The film uses a few cinematic shots of birds and wildlife, as if it was from a David Attenborough documentary, so it has a bit of a poetic technique to it. The documentary film- makers/activists intentions are to raise awareness the trouble that is being brought upon to the Tootgarook swamp and its inhabitants, and it is sort of 'advertising' to save it from complete destruction. It is clearly an eco- friendly film, which helps with the observational aspect of the film. This documentary shows the hardships of life and tells us how we can help them, even if we don't live in Australia. Towards the end of the short, there is a link to a website that lets you donate money to help out with the cause, so it takes full advantage of social media and it really shows how social media like this can help people/activists with their fights, regardless of what it happens to be. The target audience for this film is for environmentalists/those who deeply care for the area of the title, and the many birds who inhabit it.
The first of three social action documentaries that I watched, this 8 minute documentary follows a group of Australian activists who want to save a Victorian Wetland that is a home to 129 species of bird. The documentary is an 'Observational' documentary, this is because the documentary film- maker (who is neither seen or heard) is watching over the events take place and what the activists are doing, but isn't necessarily taking part in the narrative, which switches from the activists cleaning up at the swamp and staging meetings to discuss the overall problem. The film uses a few cinematic shots of birds and wildlife, as if it was from a David Attenborough documentary, so it has a bit of a poetic technique to it. The documentary film- makers/activists intentions are to raise awareness the trouble that is being brought upon to the Tootgarook swamp and its inhabitants, and it is sort of 'advertising' to save it from complete destruction. It is clearly an eco- friendly film, which helps with the observational aspect of the film. This documentary shows the hardships of life and tells us how we can help them, even if we don't live in Australia. Towards the end of the short, there is a link to a website that lets you donate money to help out with the cause, so it takes full advantage of social media and it really shows how social media like this can help people/activists with their fights, regardless of what it happens to be. The target audience for this film is for environmentalists/those who deeply care for the area of the title, and the many birds who inhabit it.
'Geneva: When Poverty is No Longer Hidden'
This film overlooks the increasing problem of poverty in Geneva, and follows the people of Geneva attempting to regain their dignity and get more respect from the Government and their employers. The film is an 'Expository' documentary, and is showing the crisis to people from a specific point of view, in this case, from the poorer people's point of view. As I stated in the first bullet point, the documentary film- makers' intentions is to show the poverty that has stricken certain parts of Geneva, and is attempting to change this and bring better jobs and living conditions to the people. This film and 'Tootgarook' are very similar in tone and style, as both are dealing with a global problem and are both, in their own way, 'eco- friendly (in this case, it is more about the economy). The narrative shows the poverty stricken parts of Geneva and the people who live there as they try to get better jobs and living conditions for themselves through protests and community meetings with the Government. Similar again to 'Tootgarook', the film switches between shots of the current lives of the Geneva people, to their meetings and protests, and also manages to fit in some very informative interviews with the locals. The film has a link to a website called 'Unheard Voices' who have many other documentaries surrounding poverty and issues in poorer Countries, so it is a part of a much larger campaign. The target audience for this film is, again, like 'Tootgarook' is about quite a large area, so this appeals to a ton of people. Many people in Geneva would want to get involved with the film to try and help out with what the film makers are trying to accomplish.
This film overlooks the increasing problem of poverty in Geneva, and follows the people of Geneva attempting to regain their dignity and get more respect from the Government and their employers. The film is an 'Expository' documentary, and is showing the crisis to people from a specific point of view, in this case, from the poorer people's point of view. As I stated in the first bullet point, the documentary film- makers' intentions is to show the poverty that has stricken certain parts of Geneva, and is attempting to change this and bring better jobs and living conditions to the people. This film and 'Tootgarook' are very similar in tone and style, as both are dealing with a global problem and are both, in their own way, 'eco- friendly (in this case, it is more about the economy). The narrative shows the poverty stricken parts of Geneva and the people who live there as they try to get better jobs and living conditions for themselves through protests and community meetings with the Government. Similar again to 'Tootgarook', the film switches between shots of the current lives of the Geneva people, to their meetings and protests, and also manages to fit in some very informative interviews with the locals. The film has a link to a website called 'Unheard Voices' who have many other documentaries surrounding poverty and issues in poorer Countries, so it is a part of a much larger campaign. The target audience for this film is, again, like 'Tootgarook' is about quite a large area, so this appeals to a ton of people. Many people in Geneva would want to get involved with the film to try and help out with what the film makers are trying to accomplish.
'What Most Schools Don't Teach'
This 'documentary' acts as more of a short film and an advertisement. The film gathers together several different computer programmers and people who have become successful with the use of computer 'coding' (Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc.) and gets them talking about why Schools should encourage students to study coding and software, regardless of what they want to do as a career. This is an 'Expository' film, like the Geneva film. As it shows us different people's opinions on a specific subject from their point of view, and it attempts to persuade you with this technique. The film- makers intentions is to encourage Schools to teach computer programming and coding so that the students can live out their full potential and build up their own companies. This film is very different to the previous two that I watched because there are primarily interviews with many different successful people who give the viewer an insight of why it is important to use coding in schools. When the first two films are more about global problems and economical issues, this film centres around education and why computing is important. It has a very uplifting tone, too and is very encouraging, especially to young adults who are looking forward to their future of plan on going to University (although, this seems to speak primarily to American students, but could speak to students in other places. The film features a series of short interviews mixed with shots of University Campuses, and there doesn't seem to be one documentary film- maker at the helm, but it looks like all of the successful people who are in the film took part in it to create it, so it can be seen as performative, even if the people in it didn't make it. The target audience for this film is a lot different compared to the previous two films. It doesn't represent a huge and important issue, it's just a bunch of very influential people encouraging young people to encourage Schoold to teach 'coding' which can earn you quite a career.
This 'documentary' acts as more of a short film and an advertisement. The film gathers together several different computer programmers and people who have become successful with the use of computer 'coding' (Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc.) and gets them talking about why Schools should encourage students to study coding and software, regardless of what they want to do as a career. This is an 'Expository' film, like the Geneva film. As it shows us different people's opinions on a specific subject from their point of view, and it attempts to persuade you with this technique. The film- makers intentions is to encourage Schools to teach computer programming and coding so that the students can live out their full potential and build up their own companies. This film is very different to the previous two that I watched because there are primarily interviews with many different successful people who give the viewer an insight of why it is important to use coding in schools. When the first two films are more about global problems and economical issues, this film centres around education and why computing is important. It has a very uplifting tone, too and is very encouraging, especially to young adults who are looking forward to their future of plan on going to University (although, this seems to speak primarily to American students, but could speak to students in other places. The film features a series of short interviews mixed with shots of University Campuses, and there doesn't seem to be one documentary film- maker at the helm, but it looks like all of the successful people who are in the film took part in it to create it, so it can be seen as performative, even if the people in it didn't make it. The target audience for this film is a lot different compared to the previous two films. It doesn't represent a huge and important issue, it's just a bunch of very influential people encouraging young people to encourage Schoold to teach 'coding' which can earn you quite a career.
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