Week 7 Presentation: Reflexive Documentary

Workshop Presentation Brief: Reflexive Documentary

With your team, analyse how the techniques associated with ‘reflexive mode’ mode (as identified in Nichols) are being used/varied in the film Derrida (Dick & Ziering- Kofman, 2002) and how the use of this mode affects your feelings for and understanding of the subject. Present your analysis in the next workshop session in Week 7 in a presentation of no more than 15 minutes, including a clip of max 5 minutes.

SLIDES

1. WHAT IS THE REFLEXIVE MODE

2. TECHNIQUES/CONVENTIONS OF THE REFLEXIVE MODE

3. OUR REFLECTION ON DERRIDA 

4. READINGS REFERENCES

5. QUESTIONS FOR THE CLASS

Planning

Myself and Luke meet up a lot during our reading week and discussed that we would split the readings between us and find our own clips regarding the slides we we're going to talk about. We had set readings to refer to as well as a main film of reference all to incorporate into our short presentation. These are:

• Sections on the reflexive documentary in Nichols, “What types of documentary are
  there?’ and in “Representing Reality”
  
• Nichols, B. (2001) Introduction to Documentary, Ch. 1: Why are Ethical Issues
  central to Documentary Filmmakijg?
  
• Chanan M. ( 2007) The Politics of Documentary. Ch. 13 The Space of the Subject:
  the projection of personality. 
  

Script for Presentation: George

What is the "Reflexive" Documentary

The Reflexive mode is both the most difficult to define and the least common of the six documentary modes described by Bill Nichols in his honoured taxonomy first articulated in Representing Reality (1991). 

In essence, Reflexive documentaries undertake a structural critique of the documentary form itself, emphasising the constructed nature of both film and reality. The goal of a Reflexive documentary is to get audiences to think about the ways that documentaries construct their vision of reality; it exposes the various “rhetorics of authenticity” by which the documentary mode asserts its truth claim. Thus, reflexive documentaries acknowledges the constructed nature of documentary and flaunts it - conveying to people that this is not necessarily "truth" but a reconstruction of it - "a" truth, not "the" truth. 

Also, in the section on 'What types of Documentary are there?' in representing reality, Nichols elaborates that reflexive documentaries "acknowledges their presence in front of the camera and provides a narrative to the documentary "...provokes our awareness of social organisation and the assumptions that support it." In this way, the reflexive mode of documentary often functions as its own regulatory board, policing ethical and technical boundaries within documentary film itself. The viewer is made aware of the process of production, and the presence of the filmmaker in the scenarios which s/he is constructing. Also the filmmaker controls in some real way the meaning of what is said in the reflexive mode. 

Luke will now go onto discuss some of the codes and conventions in Derrida in reference to this week's readings.

Clip Comments

Clip 1 - 

Clip 2 - 

How the ‘Reflexive’ mode affects us in Derrida

Derrida incorporates and manipulates the codes and conventions of a typical reflexive documentary. At several points, Derrida shows the philosopher applying his theory of deconstruction to the film itself. Derrida often challenges the filmmaking process and argues against the capability of any film to portray him accurately. The film also includes metacinematic scenes in which Derrida analyses previously recorded footage of himself. 

We are constantly reminded as audience, we are watching an act of fiction and we are told this not only by seeing visuals of the camera crew, setting up of clip-on mic and other things during the documentary. 
Normally in the reflexive mode, the interviewee and audience may manipulated by the filmmaker. However, Derrida is a philosopher and has a clear way of thinking (deconstruction). The filmmakers do use a voice-over narration, but it is used in the film to quote Derrida directly so the filmmaker does not manipulate the audience with their own words, but Derrida's.

Script for Presentation: Luke

slide 1

'instead of seeing through documentaries to the world beyond them, reflexive documentaries ask us to see documentary for what it is; a construct or representation' Nichols 'I don’t know who’s going to be watching this' acknowledging its a film. 

Breaks down the wall. 

'I want to explain the presence and ask your permission for this film crew on my left they'll be recording some images' acknowledging that it is a film. 'the reflexive mode is the most self conscious and self questioning mode of representation' Nichols 'reflexive documentaries also tackle issues of realism' Nichols 'this is what you call cinema verite? Everything is false' 'One of the things that makes Derrida the film such a playful documentary is that Derrida the man is completely aware of these processes, which he holds up and turns around in front of the camera. At the start we find him at home planning to go out, he's lost his keys, and greets the camera with a playful negation 'Forgive me for not even saying hello. It's a bit difficult. A moment later he addresses the camera again, 'So you're going to come with me' Chanan He is acknowledging it is a film and playing with the film maker. 

Slide 2 

'Derrida does his best to undermine things, taking nothing at face value, becoming an active participant in the deconstruction of his own documentary, and on several occasions challenging his interviewer, complaining, always with good humour, that this question is too general, and that one too complicated, to be able to give reply' Chanan Derrida is playful and interacts with the film maker breaking down the wall. He challenges the filmmaking process and argues against the capability of the film to portray him accurately. 'The camera repeatedly catches him doing what he does best, deconstructing. The film makers enter into the spirit, playfully deconstructing their own process in cahoots with their subject, and Derrida's philosophical wariness about becoming a 'subject' for the camera serves them as a spirngboard to investigate the limits of the biographical film portrait' Chanan They are playing with process of film maiking and actively acknowledging they are making a film.