The Art of Persuasion – Assignment 1

Joshua Houston (s3663263)

Can something be both political and poetic?

Any subject, regardless of how mundane or audacious, can be written and presented as poetry. Politics refers process of making decisions to apply to members of a group, and though politics is often referenced in regards to elected leaders of the country, politics can also refer to the policies and rules that apply to people every day. The subject of politics is not exempt from being presented in an unorthodox way, and people who feel they are discriminated against with the rules and policies that are presented to them may feel the need to express their disdain with a poetic style. A classic example of this are the speeches delivered by rights activists.

“I have a dream that my poor little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character”

Martin Luther King

However, Terry Eagleton, a critic and Professor of English Literature at Lancaster University, argues that poetry is emotive, original, and sensuously particular, with the texture of personal experience, whereas politics is a question of abstract notions, impersonal institutions, and collective entities. (1) Politics involves well defined determinant ideas, whereas poetry thrives on ambiguity and ambivalence.

 

What is the role of formal experimentation in political documentary?

Because documentary as its own genre is so difficult to summarise, it’s important to push the limits of what can be considered a documentary in order to create an agreeable definition and recognise the constraints of the category. Formal Experimentation as shown in the Week 1 lecture, include implementing unorthodox themes and media, such as singing your situation in a documentary rather than speaking it, or showing still images with sound rather than a video.

“Increased experimentation by film-makers such as Michael Moore and Morgan Spurlock means that the walls between art and documentary are collapsing, generating innovative ideas and attracting an entirely new audience. ” (2)

Sam King

I searched Google for popular documentaries and found many documenting about what everybody would agree is considered political, like war, terrorism, conspiracy theories, and presidential affairs. A documentary that stood out to me was one directed and hosted by Michael Moore in 1989, before he was renown as a filmmaker. The documentary was titled “Roger and Me”. Despite following the somewhat depressing story about General Motors closing all of its plants and leaving 30,000 people unemployed, Moore approaches the topic in a humorous and light-hearted way. In the documentary, he tries to interview the CEO of General Motors Roger Smith, and the cameraperson documents his failed attempts with receptionists sending him away and compilates them for comedic effect. Moore also interviews ex workers and general motors associates with a more sombre tone.

Moore’s experimentation of how he structured the political documentary, made it more personable, and reached a larger audience because of that.

 

 

 

  1. Battersby Eileen, Aug 1996, The politics of poetry, Irish Times; Dublin

  2. Truth or Dare: Art and Documentary Editors: Gail Pearce and Cahal McLaughlin M2 PRESSWIRE-December 3, 2007

About joshuahouston

Just a kiwi trying to make his way in the big smoke.

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