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This course examines the artistic and political principles that govern the representation of reality in contemporary documentary film.
In the last ten years, there has been an incredible resurgence of interest in documentary film. Due to the critical and commercial success of a number of recent films, documentary has moved from a modest place in film history to a privileged position within contemporary cinema. This course will examine the artistic and political principles of documentary in the light of the current renaissance in the genre. The first term is devoted to a study of a number of canonical films from the history of documentary. In the second term, we analyse the points of comparison and difference between some high-profile examples of the contemporary documentary form and their historical precedents.
Students will gain an understanding of a range of critical and conceptual issues. The theoretical focus of the course will be the vexed relationship between representation and reality that defines documentary film. Topics will include:the credibility, veracity and authenticity of the documentary imagedocumentary film as historical record, factual evidence, objective witnessthe rhetorical strategies and ideological positions adopted by documentary filmmakersauthorship and performance the use of fiction filmmaking techniques in documentary: narrative structure, dramatic form, cinematic styleproduction, exhibition and distribution practicesthe impact of digital technology and new media upon documentary
This course will provide students with an opportunity to develop the Graduate Attributes specified below:
Critically competent in a core academic discipline of their award
Students know and can critically evaluate and, where applicable, apply this knowledge to topics/issues within their majoring subject.
Globally aware
Students will comprehend the influence of global conditions on their discipline and will be competent in engaging with global and multi-cultural contexts.
Any 30 points at 200 level from CINE or CULT, orany 60 points at 200 level from the Schedule V of the BA.
CINE302
Alan Wright
Please check the course LEARN page for further details and updates.
Recommended reading:(NB. These texts will be on reserve in the library.)•New Documentary, 2nd Ed. Stella Bruzzi.•Imagining Reality, 2nd Ed. Eds. MacDonald & Cousins•Introduction to Documentary, Bill Nichols•The Subject of Documentary, Michael Renov •Documentary, Dave Saunders Films will include:• Lumière Brothers films• The Great White Silence (Ponting, 1929)• John Grierson films• Man with a Movie Camera (Vertov, 1929)• Triumph of the Will (Riefenstahl, 1935)• High School (Wiseman, 1968)• Tangata Whenua (Barclay and King, 1974)• Touching the Void (McDonald, 2003)• Fahrenheit 9/11 (Moore, 2004) • Grizzly Man (Herzog, 2005)• The Missing Picture (Panh, 2013)• The Act of Killing (Oppenheimer, 2012)• Leviathan (Castaing-Taylor and Paravel, 2012)
Domestic fee $1,641.00
International fee $7,500.00
* All fees are inclusive of NZ GST or any equivalent overseas tax, and do not include any programme level discount or additional course-related expenses.
For further information see Humanities .