Re: dem primary

["Peter T. Chattaway" <petert@interchange.ubc.ca>]

On Thu, 5 Feb 2004, Melanie Shannon wrote:

> > > but whatever your political view on the subject, you have to admit
> > > that's rather un-documentary-like.
> >
> > Dare I ask, what exactly does one *mean* by the word "documentary"?
>
> a "documented" piece.
>
> Main Entry: 1doc·u·men·ta·ry
> Pronunciation: "dä-ky&-'men-t&-rE, -'men-trE
> Function: adjective
> 1 : being or consisting of documents : contained or certified in writing
> <documentary evidence>
> 2 : of, relating to, or employing documentation in literature or art; 
> broadly : FACTUAL, OBJECTIVE <a documentary film of the war>

Well, as always, dictionaries created for a popular readership are not the
best place to find scholarly definitions of things, necessarily.  I
wouldn't turn to Merriam-Webster for theological definitions of things --
instead, I would turn to actual theologians.  Likewise, filmmakers.

If you want to know what *filmmakers* mean by "documentary", and by terms
like "cinema verite" and so on (since there is more than one kind of
"documentary"), you'll have to go somewhere other than Merriam-Webster.

> did you get the "factual, objective" bit?

Yes, but that only applies to the second part of the second definition and
the "objective" criterion clearly has nothing to do with the personal,
subjective films made by documentarians like Ross McElwee or Steve James
or Nick Broomfield or Agnes Varda, etc.  (And let's leave aside the fact
that objectivity is a myth -- no journalist I know would claim to be
"objective", only "fair".)  Heck, even the "factual" criterion is called
into question by film scholars who analyze films like Sergei Eisenstein's
_Strike!_ and Oliver Stone's _JFK_ for their "documentary" qualities.

Like I say, Merriam-Webster is not our best guide here.

--- Peter T. Chattaway --------------------------- peter@chattaway.com ---
Nothing tells memories from ordinary moments; only afterwards do they
   claim remembrance, on account of their scars. -- Chris Marker, La Jetee


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