film – Meredith's Blog

Through a Deliberate Lens

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.

Analysis of the BBC Article ‘South Africans on Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom’

In today’s BBC article about the new South African film about Nelson Mandela, Milon Nkosi highlights the disparities of race even in today’s society. The film, which is a life narrative of Mendela’s life, struck well with most who left the theatre after it finished, which is the method with which Nkosi collected his qualitative data. Interestingly, he highlights that despite the consensus being that the film was accurate and positive, there were clear differences in the comments of the Caucasians who watched the film and the Africans who did.

The Africans who watched the film found it to be very uplifting and symbolic of the freedom Mandela fought so hard to achieve. These young black girls who were surveyed are in fact free, because they were raised after the apartheid ended and so did not face the strife related to it directly. In contrast, those who were surveyed who were Caucasian and slightly older were less effusive, but felt that it was an accurate film for indicating that there is still a long road to travel for the liberation struggle. It can be extrapolated then that those who faced the apartheid saw it as accurate while those who did not simply felt it was a good film about freedom which they have and deserve. It does seem that the girls do not have a good understanding of the gravity of the situation, however.

Race is also brought up in our reading ‘What is the What’, by Dave Eggers. In this autobiographical novel, Eggers writes about the continual subjugation that the protagonist, Achak Valentino Deng, faces. In Africa, Deng is not marginalized due to the colour of his skin, and in fact the opposite occurs, with humanitarian aid workers providing assistance and goods due, in part, to the colour of his skin. When he reaches America, however, racism seriously affects him and there are problems with him getting basic medical care, a good education and also a well paying job. While neither South Sudan nor the United States of America went through apartheid, there is a clear message which links the two. Both show that one must go through an experience which affects your identity in order to be affected by it and have it encapsulate your day to day life. In this case this means racism, but in others this is their gender, ethnicity or age. Removing stereotypes from this is essential to living in a more peaceful life with less subjugation which here is seen to occur globally.