Sept. 7, 2023
One of the numerous ways Coles describes documentary in his book “Doing Documentary Work” is:
“What is, what can be noted, recorded, pictured; and that of presentation– how to elicit the interest of others, and how to provide a context…” (Coles 20).
This selection struck me as it breaks down documentary into three essential qualities: (1) the physical or concrete evidence that provides objectivity, (2) the idea that a piece of documentary work requires audience, and therefore needs to be presented in an engaging, captivating way, and (3) the ability to situate interviews, facts, and/or evidence within the greater event.
1. What is
The concept of collecting and recording objective works such as spoken word or tangible evidence has continued to puzzle me, most specifically regarding how documentarians may differ from historians or journalists. To me, it seems that they’re all working toward the same goal, and often are doing the same work to reach that goal– interviewing, gathering data, photography, film, etc. They’re all focusing on reporting or publishing pieces of media that reflect upon the human experience.
2. Presentation
In order for any story to gain traction, there needs to be a level of interest from the public, or the group targeted as the audience. Much of this comes from how it’s presented.
One main form of presentation that is often engaging is images. Specifically portraits, such as those done by Walker Evans in Coles’ example, bring feeling to the work. There’s a sense of relatability, of empathy, of humility. These photographs have a mutualistic relationship with the corresponding text. We’re told that a picture is worth a thousand words, and in tandem, the thousand words presented by the writer help to form a picture.
This image, for example, shows four children. Knowing nothing about them, as Evans did, the audience is quick to make inferences about their situation– how do their clothes represent status, what’s the relationship between the children, where is this picture taken and how does it relate, etc.
New York, New York. 61st Street between 1st and 3rd Avenues. Children playing in the street by Walker Evans
No known restrictions. For information, see U.S. Farm Security Administration/Office of War Information Black & White Photographs (http://www.loc.gov/rr/print/res/071_fsab.html)
3. Context
Location, location, location. Everything in documentary work is related to its location– “how a particular writer or researcher decides to commit himself or herself with respect to those others being studied, watched, heard, made the subject of a writing initiative” (Coles 32). The concept of bias is on display here, as one’s prior knowledge or judgements regarding a subject may cause a documentary to lose or gain focus. Additionally, being transparent about that location allows the reader to better understand the context of a documentary.
In all, Coles introduces many key concepts of documentary work that are notable and need to be considered throughout the remainder of this close study. Many of these ideas spark new conversations on ethics, subjectivity, and editing that I’m excited to continue exploring.
