The genre of documentary film making is based on a fundamental premise: that the camera can not lie. It must mechanically record whatever is in its field of vision. However, not all truths are created equal, and we have seen several examples of different ideologies of truth and of truth-telling in this unit, expressed through very different ways of interpreting the camera's ability to record visual evidence. From the investigative photojournalism of Restrepo to the harrowing realities captured in Collateral Murder or Lessons of Darkness, from the eternal equivocations of Donald Rumsfeld in the Unknown Known to the post-modern simulated warfare-as-therapy of Immersion, we have seen documentary filmmakers working with very different modes of "the truth of the camera" in the context of war and conflict in the 21st century. The assignment today is to interpret how documentary filmmakers work with the camera's ability to reveal the truth, but also to create falsehoods, to distort, alter, or suppress the truth of what happened.
1. Pick a film, or a scene from a film, from those listed above, which to you expresses a certain mode, style, or attitude towards documentary film-making.
2. What is the film's operative idea of truth, reality, or honesty? How does it understand "truth," and how does it communicate truth to the spectator? Conversely, how does the film deal with themes of lying, deception, or dishonesty? Are there any films that themselves are deceptive, that show us a distorted or false picture of reality?
3. Step back and theorize this understanding. What does this film demonstrate about the camera's ability to capture truth? What does it demonstrate about modern conflict and our understanding of contemporary war? You may wish to use Susan Sontag, Paolo Virilio, or Judith Butler's ideas to support your own.
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