Mass Communication & Media Literacy 10 1
Jan 16, 2015
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Mass Communication & Media Literacy 10
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Raymond WilliamsA Lecture on Realism
The development of Realism:
A move towards social extension – including the working classes
A movement towards action about the present – the inclusion of contemporary issues
An emphasis on secular action – action including human figures
the inclusion of the ordinary
The inclusion of the profane
* The development of technology
http://www.afterall.org/journal/issue.5/lecture.realism
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Documentary
Photography as a form of social investigation.
The development of a close association between seeing, knowing and aspects of power.
This reflected a will to philanthropic reform and control.
http://www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/Collection/Photography/PhotographsCollection/CollectionItem.aspx?id=1987-5201/28
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Robert Flaherty
Nanook of the North (1922)
Capturing unseen ‘reality’. Ethnographic documentation.
‘Sometimes you have to lie. One has to distort a thing to catch its spirit.’
(In Heider, 2006)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLERFRQl5EY
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John Grierson(1898-1972)
Coined the term documentary film
Night Mail (dir. Wright and Watt, 1936)
Provided insights into the lives of under-represented groups – the world of everyday work.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-WO7JxYlhOM
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Observational Expository
Unobtrusive observation of the world
A series of found scenes
Intimacy and accessEvents unfold before
the cameraLoose naturalistic
organisation
An active attempt to interpret and explain
Narration that endorses a ‘god-like’ view
Normally a single, coherent, authorial view is offered
Representing a view of ‘others’ to ‘us’
Documentary Film Making
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John Grierson
Long, 2008
This is not about mere reproduction but about the correct kind of mediation and interpretation of the world
The ordinary was the guarantor of truthA responsibility to reality encourages a
social awareness that can lead to social reform and social cohesion
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Who is speaking, about whom, and to whom?
What is the nature of the knowledge produced by the text?
Questions
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Reality Media: The Ordinary
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Evidence of a democratic turn?
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Cheap programming?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_television_stations_in_the_United_Kingdom
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Truth, responsibility and ethics
We are all witnesses of the world and reality Although not present, we often perceive
events ‘live’ in co-presenceDoes our expanding knowledge of our times
bring with it a collective responsibility?
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYOj_6OYuJc
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Band Aid
New Media – Eye Witnesses
New Media – Eye Witnesses
New Media – Eye Witnesses