The objectifying documentary: realism, aesthetics and temporality
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- dc.contributor.author Capdevila, Pol
- dc.date.accessioned 2020-05-21T11:32:15Z
- dc.date.available 2020-05-21T11:32:15Z
- dc.date.issued 2015
- dc.description.abstract This article deals with the representation of reality in documentary and describes a new category of documentary, namely, the objectifying documentary. The objectifying documentary originated in the 2000s, with examples such as Bosnia. Lost Images (2003), and questions a certain type of war propaganda. It pursues two goals: to deconstruct the conventions of the realist style and reveal the artifice behind its supposed immediacy and claim to provide “evidence” of what happened; and to tell a story from a rational, “objectified” point of view. It therefore takes on the appearance of an epistemological tool informed by scientific rationality. In this paper I first describe the characteristics of the realist style in documentary, which was hegemonic until the end of the twentieth century. I then develop the concept of the objectifying documentary and describe its visual and narrative strategies. My methodology is that of aesthetic analysis, as proposed by Corner (2003). I illustrate the concept of the objectifying documentary through the case study of a realist-style news report on the killing of Muhammad Al-Durrah in 2000, which has since been objectified by the documentary Das Kind, der Tod und die Wahrheit (2009). In the last section I analyse one of the most powerful visual strategies for constructing documentary objectivity, namely, the manipulation of temporality. In the conclusions I reflect on the presumed rationality and scientific nature of objectifying documentaries and their epistemic ideology.
- dc.description.sponsorship This article has been prepared within the framework of the research project titled “Aesthetic experience and artistic research: cognitive aspects of contemporary art” (FFI2012-32614, 2013-2015). I would like to thank Sasa Markus for her valuable contributions to this article.
- dc.format.mimetype application/pdf
- dc.identifier.citation Capdevila P. The objectifying documentary: realism, aesthetics and temporality. Communication & Society. 2015;28(4):67-85. DOI: 10.15581/003.28.4.67-85
- dc.identifier.doi http://dx.doi.org/10.15581/003.28.4.67-85
- dc.identifier.issn 0214-0039
- dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/10230/44638
- dc.language.iso eng
- dc.publisher Universidad de Navarra
- dc.relation.ispartof Communication & Society. 2015;28(4):67-85
- dc.relation.projectID info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/3PN/FFI2012-32614
- dc.rights Communication & Society is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0.
- dc.rights.accessRights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
- dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
- dc.subject.keyword Objectifying documentary
- dc.subject.keyword Objectivity
- dc.subject.keyword Documentary realism
- dc.subject.keyword Temporality of the image
- dc.subject.keyword Image manipulation
- dc.subject.keyword Al-Durrah affair
- dc.title The objectifying documentary: realism, aesthetics and temporality
- dc.type info:eu-repo/semantics/article
- dc.type.version info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion