Meredith's Blog

The film ‘Through a Blue Lens” provides interesting forays into the documentary genre. The message provided to the viewers is that the Downtown East Side is a dark, dirty, dangerous place and that staying on the drug-free path is the right way to go. Thus, its target audience of high school and university students is clear. What is intriguing is the deliberate devices used by the film to influence our emotions as viewers about it.

In the instances in which the image is grotesque or disturbing, the zoom feature tended to be used on the camera to make the images and clips more of a reality, almost as if we were there. For example, in the case of the addict named Shirley whose arm was so severely scratched by herself, the camera zoomed in slightly, perhaps to alarm us but more likely to immerse us in the situation. This immersion as part of a scare tactic is meant to prevent teenagers from getting into drugs and facing a similar fate. However, the film was disturbingly scant in terms of providing advice for teens as to how to stay away from drugs and peer pressure and, as the old adage goes,’just saying no’.

The multiple interviews with the same addicts also brings in a personal element to the story, because we are more likely to relate to the addicts as people as we become more familiar with their backgrounds and aspirations. The technique in terms of a documentary was viewing them in different stages (ie environments) of their rehabilitation, or not as the case may be. In providing these different contexts, it is clear that some are able to get rehabilitation and others are not. This objective approach in whose stories are included is helpful as it is realistic.

The stories selected demonstrate the views of the policeman as being valorized and the addicts are considered to be needing any help the police might provide. Considering the film’s clear original aim of enlightening people as to the implications of drug and alcohol addiction, this valorization of the police activity through the documentary genre is ultimately effective. Though interviews, scare tactics and  zooming in on grotesque images are only three of a multitude of techniques used in the film to convey the message, the informative but cautionary nature of the documentary is what establishes its success.