March 8

Of Politics and Poetics – The Art Of Persuasion

Can something be both political and poetic?

Politics is not just the domain of politicians and governments. Politics is also about what is of importance to an individual, and “talking politically” is about persuading, informing and creating communities (Latour, 2003). Overtly political art is evident in every artistic genre. For example, Bob Dylan’s Masters Of War (1963) is a powerful protest song. Dylan seamlessly combines poetry with an overt political message that criticises governments, organisations and individuals who wage and profit from war.

One might in fact ask, “can something poetic not be political?” Author Toni Morrison explains that “all good art is political […]the ones that try hard not to be political are political by saying ‘We love the status quo.’” (Goodreads.com, 2018, np).

Documentary filmmaking is an art form that is both poetic and political. Thomas Waugh (2011, p5) explains that overtly political documentary films attempt “…to act, to intervene…” and that these are films made by politically active filmmakers targeting specific groups to achieve political aims. Nonetheless, following both Toni Morrison and the definition of politics above, all documentary has the potential to be poetic and political.

What is the role of formal experimentation in political documentary?

In political documentary, formal experimentation can be used to give a subject more impact. In the 1920s Soviet filmmakers Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov edited footage and images with the aim to create a jarring effect as a means of offering audiences new understandings of old concepts (Nichols, 2010, pp.216). Where the two filmmakers differed was how they crafted their films: Eisenstein took a narrative approach with reenactments and recreations in his films, while Vertov, with his style of ‘cinéma vérité,’ or tried to capture reality its truest form (Nichols, 2010)). Vertov felt that this was the most effective way to bring about the society his nation dreamt of before revolution.

Experimentation in form can come from an artistic choice or it can be the result of a constraint. In Louis Theroux’s My Scientology Movie (2015), Theroux is unable to interview or even speak to any active members of the secretive organisation. With this constraint, he employs actors to reenact controversial moments described to him by Mark Rathbun,

The Art of Persuasion

an excommunicated former high ranking Scientology member. On one hand Theroux produces classic documentary style reenactments in line with traditional documentary form. But on the other hand he experiments with form by showing the construction of these scenes. The effect is on both the actors and the viewer. Interestingly, Rathbun hints that Theroux is having a cult leader like effect on the actors, meaning that the approach has produced a level of affect akin to those experienced by some in Scientology. Theroux successfully incorporates Vertov’s style of capturing what is real while producing re-enactments similar to Eisenstein. In experimenting with form Theroux entertains, informs and uncovers far more content than if he adhered to convention.

 

  • Goodreads.com. (2018). A quote by Toni Morrison. [online] Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/118585-all-of-that-art-for-art-s-sake-stuff-is-bs-she-declares-what [Accessed 8 Mar. 2018].
  • Latour, B 2003, What if we Talked Politics a Little? Contemporary Political Theory, 2, pp.143-49, 151-53, 157,161, excerpts.
  • Nichols, Bill, 2010, “How Have Documentaries Addressed Social and Political Issues”, Introduction to Documentary, Second Edition, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, pp.212–252
  • Waugh, Thomas, 2011, “Why Documentary Filmmakers Keep Trying to Change the World, or Why People Changing the World Keep Making Documentaries”, The Right to Play Oneself: Looking Back on Documentary Film [Visible Evidence Series, Volume 23], University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, pp. 1–18


Posted March 8, 2018 by lindsaynewton in category initiative post, The Art of Persuasion

About the Author

2nd year Media student at RMIT who loves movies, comics, cats and loud rocking music.

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