Blog Post 1/Global Documentary Cultures Research
For this research activity, I chose to focus on the Now! Journal, because it is the link that had the most profound effect on me. As soon as I opened the webpage, the confronting graphic featured on the homepage – “Vanilla ISIS” – immediately inspired strong emotions in me, which were compounded by the firm and impassioned denouncement of the DC fascist coup.
(Crow)
This dramatic effect inspired me to believe in the effectiveness of the organisation’s sense of urgency and need for immediate action. On the group’s facebook page, they describe their intention to catalyse ‘media and writing made in rapid yet eloquent engagement with the here and now of political and cultural life,’ (Now Journal) thus their self-proclaimed ‘urgent praxis’ is realised through the medium of creative expression; not merely discussing or voicing political concerns but actively effectuating them. I also found their description as ‘a crossroads between media journal and radical newsreel’ (ibid) very interesting, as I understand this to mean that the organisation intends to act as both a creative archive, as well as a service intended to inform and educate. This piqued my interest as I find many politically-centred media products to view education as a bi-product of creation, rather than a central aim. This notion coincides well with Juhasz, Alexandra and Alisa Lebow’s proclamation in week 1’s reading that ‘Politics and form are inextricably intertwined. One does not exist without the other,’ (Juhasz. et al) as Now! appears to exist upon a foundation of global injustice which informs its creative output. I also believe that Now! responds to the reading’s understanding that documentary ‘must be adaptive to be most useful.’ (ibid). The journal’s adamant rapidity of responding to news and history proves its adaptability – in the knowledge that the unpredictable and dynamic state of the world demands constant adaptation.
In my research I also found it interesting that Now! is included in another organisation which was linked in the week’s lesson plan – the Radical Film Network. I was intrigued by the network’s explanation of some of the differences between Now! and other film organisations. Namely, Now! makes it’s films constantly available, rather than adhering to a cycle akin to a festival or gallery. They also showcase their newer films rather than their archive, in order to achieve their mission of responding to and broadcasting news as it occurs.
Evidently, the primary focus of Now! is news-based, activism-centric media products. From what I could find, Now! exhibits evocative experimental documentary, as well as other media products such as moving graphic images, paintings, essays, and articles. I can certainly relate this focus to my own aims as a filmmaker. Although politics is not my sole focus/theme, I believe human rights, justice, and wellbeing to be central to all facets of human life, so politics and morality in general will always be imperative to my practice. I have certainly always wanted to explore aspects of the human condition, pathos, and injustice through film, and the projects and aims of Now! are indeed adaptable to this. One of the most important aspects of filmmaking for me is the ability to have an impact on an audience, and Now! certainly achieves this. While watching many of the films available on the website, I felt as if a crowd would surely riot if they were watching alongside me, due to the sheer impact of the themes present within each film, and the passion with which they are expressed. Projects such as ‘Say Their Names’ centred around the black lives lost due to police violence carried the same energy and despair as the Black Lives Matter protests I have been present for, which proves to me the effectiveness with which these films demonstrate their message.
(Halprin) – The slowly rising sound of the protestors’ chanting while the film played out was extremely powerful.
(Sears) – the use of quotes and names humanised the tragedy and made the overall message very effective.
A project that really spoke to me was the ‘Today Was a Sunny Day’ series, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Tlatelolco Student Massacre. I love the way the multi-authorial project is presented, displaying each film or ‘part’ alongside an animated GIF extracted from the film. This was a really impactful method of presentation as I was able to gather an understanding of the film’s atmosphere before watching, and get a sense of the breadth of form and style shared across the multiple parts. In particular, really enjoyed the style of chapter 7 – This Plaza Demands Justice by Pablo Ramos. I love the disjointed, allusive way the narrative is constructed, which never exposes too many details but provides a visceral sense of devastation. I also love the way the film is visually constructed, with its scrapbook-like images (with visible ageing, scribbles, burnt film effects, etc) and the video footage which looks almost corrupted. The audio construction is also very effective, as the snippets and loud sudden sound effects draw the audience further into the overall narration. This style is definitely something I would love to explore further in my own practice.
(Ramos)
To contrast, I also really enjoyed chapter 4 – How to Forget a Terror That Has Become Permanent by Gerardo M. Porras Garza. While very different from the prior film, I loved the explicit details made bold and obvious to the audience through plain text accompanying the visuals. The visual aesthetic however is somewhat similar, due to its aged appearance and choppy construction. Further, the question posed at the beginning – ‘Which memories should we kill?’ speaks heavily to the concept of documentary as a whole. As discussed by Aufderheide in the reading, ‘The genre of documentary always has two crucial elements that are in tension: representation, and reality. Their makers manipulate and distort reality like all filmmakers, but they still make a claim for making a truthful representation of reality.’ (Aufderheide). I found this concept to be extremely stimulating, as I’ve always believed unbiased filmmaking to be impossible. I loved how the film brings this idea into question while still presenting itself as a truthful documentary. The creator seems to therefore give himself the title of an unreliable storyteller, in the process of telling his story. Even though the question is posed as a political statement regarding the covering up of injustice, the asking of the question through the mode of documentary displays self-awareness surrounding the subjective nature of media-making.
(Garza)
References
Aufderheide, P 2007, Documentary Film: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford University Press, New York.
Crow, Jonathan. Vanilla Isis. http://www.now-journal.com/. Accessed 3 Mar 2021.
Halprin, Jason. July 8th, 2016. 2017, http://www.now-journal.com/say-their-names. Accessed 4 Mar 2021.
Juhasz, Alexandra and Alisa Lebow. 2018. ‘Beyond Story: an Online, Community-Based Manifesto.’ World Records 2 (3).
“NOW – A Journal Of Urgent Praxis”. Facebook.Com, https://www.facebook.com/UrgentPraxis/. Accessed 4 Mar 2021.
Porras Garza, Gerardo M. How To Forget A Terror That Has Become Permanent. 2020, https://vimeo.com/368002642. Accessed 4 Mar 2021.
“Radical Film Network | NOW! A Journal Of Urgent Praxis. Radicalfilmnetwork.Com, https://radicalfilmnetwork.com/usa/now-a-journal-of-urgent-praxis/. Accessed 4 Mar 2021.
Ramos, Pablo. This Plaza Demands Justice. 2020, https://vimeo.com/372634279. Accessed 4 Mar 2021.
Sears, Kelly. Justice For Alton Sterling. 2017, http://www.now-journal.com/say-their-names. Accessed 4 Mar 2021.