What happened to making real documentaries? You know, films that actually documented an event or someone’s life. Oh sure there are occasional films that use interviews and archival footage to tell a person’s story, like the upcoming Anita O’Day: The Life of a Jazz Singer, but more and more since Michael Moore came on the scene, documentaries have morphed into personal diatribes to make points on their stance without any attempt to show both sides of the argument.
Two diverse films that have come out this year are perfect examples of the Michael Moore technique. Ben Stein’s Expelled examines the persecution of teachers who want teach intelligent design in school, while making the point that if you don’t believe in God you are stupid. Bill Maher’s Religulous is a film that examines religion and concludes that if you believe in God you are stupid. Both use clever editing to make fun of their targets and show how superior Stein and Maher are to them, and to a certain extent us as well.
Thanks Mike! I don’t know how I would ever get through my life without all of the people you’ve inspired informing me of how ignorant I am. Considering that these films are about as much a real documentary as Borat, I think I’ll break out my Star Wars Original Trilogy box set and watch Empire of Dreams instead. Not much useful information in the film, unless you’re playing Trivial Pursuit:Star Wars Edition, but a least it’s entertainment that doesn’t come at someone else’s expense.
Neal said
October 15 2008 @ 9:02 am
I remember watching “Roger and Me” and being put off by two sequences in particular: Bob Eubanks telling racist jokes and the woman skinning the rabbit. It wasn’t the sequences themselves that bothered me but the fact that they were completely unrelated to the message of the film. Just as disturbing images in a heavy metal video heighten the creepiness of the song, these images were inserted to somehow strengthen his argument rather than using well-crafted interviews and compelling statistics. Given the critical acclaim the movie received, I was concerned that this would become a trend in documentaries. It certainly has been proven the case.