Critical Reception of Fahrenheit 911
In his video piece "The Documentary's New Politics," Eric Faden traces the rise of documentary film and the multiple events coalescing in its recent box office popularity: the trend of reality television as studios attempted to shield programming from writers' strikes (both threatened and actualized); the understanding of its generic conventions arising from 'mockumentaries' most prominently popularized by Christopher Guest; and the imbrications of digitally advanced graphics and high definition film which rivaled those of Hollywood blockbusters. Regardless of the causes, documentary film is a significant mode for the expression of information that has heretofore been confined to books, or perhaps magazine exposes.
Focusing on Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911, Faden comments upon the lack of critical engagement with the form of the film, even as many attacked Moore's bias. As this clip from Faden's piece shows the one critic who engages the form of the film, Dave Kopel, notes Moore's bias but argues that it comes from the fact that Moore's voiceover accompanies a particular choice of footage that is not related, and forms an inferred argument though Moore has technically told the truth. Faden notes, "For Kopel, the film equals a deceit because viewers are unable to read the complex visual syntax of the film" (19:34).Although Faden does not agree with Kopel's general analysis (see Kopel's "Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11), his singular response reveals "a crisis of criticism, a crisis of media literacy" (19:58).
This fact, above all, argues for using film footage as course texts in university classrooms. For if public knowledge is increasingly expressed in film, and if documentary continues to apply cinematic devices which are increasingly layered and digitally altered, its complex syntax must be a matter of widespread concern. Its literacy must be taught. Moreover a common practice of broadcast news is to use stock footage to illustrate the verbal script and these demand rhetorical analysis, particularly in the current climate of openly biased programming that does not even feign objectivity. A pedagogy of the Fifth Estate does not champion objectivity but calls it into question while applying scholarly practices of depth and rigor. In this way, we can retain the best elements of academia, while eschewing those which no longer serve. In this way, academe joins forces with media entities such as Participant Media, whose feature length films include opportunities for social action based on the themes that arise within.
Focusing on Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 911, Faden comments upon the lack of critical engagement with the form of the film, even as many attacked Moore's bias. As this clip from Faden's piece shows the one critic who engages the form of the film, Dave Kopel, notes Moore's bias but argues that it comes from the fact that Moore's voiceover accompanies a particular choice of footage that is not related, and forms an inferred argument though Moore has technically told the truth. Faden notes, "For Kopel, the film equals a deceit because viewers are unable to read the complex visual syntax of the film" (19:34).Although Faden does not agree with Kopel's general analysis (see Kopel's "Fifty-nine Deceits in Fahrenheit 9/11), his singular response reveals "a crisis of criticism, a crisis of media literacy" (19:58).
This fact, above all, argues for using film footage as course texts in university classrooms. For if public knowledge is increasingly expressed in film, and if documentary continues to apply cinematic devices which are increasingly layered and digitally altered, its complex syntax must be a matter of widespread concern. Its literacy must be taught. Moreover a common practice of broadcast news is to use stock footage to illustrate the verbal script and these demand rhetorical analysis, particularly in the current climate of openly biased programming that does not even feign objectivity. A pedagogy of the Fifth Estate does not champion objectivity but calls it into question while applying scholarly practices of depth and rigor. In this way, we can retain the best elements of academia, while eschewing those which no longer serve. In this way, academe joins forces with media entities such as Participant Media, whose feature length films include opportunities for social action based on the themes that arise within.
| Previous page on path | Filmic Texts, page 11 of 14 | Next page on path |
Discussion of "Critical Reception of Fahrenheit 911"
Add your voice to this discussion.
Checking your signed in status ...