Documentary or Propaganda
In the many years of film, the distinction
between film and propaganda has been a very fine line. When the film Battleship Potempkin by Sergei
Eisenstein in 1925 was filmed it was considered a work of art. It defined the Soviet Montage Theory of film
making for the time. But it was a work
of art that represented the director’s view of the incident, not an honest
review of what happened at that time.
Each person reviewing a film must make a decision whether to agree with
the ideas presented or to disagree.
Todays Documentary creators like to believe
they represent the truth and believe they can help to change the world based on
the opinion of the truth that they put before us. Take for example the work of Award-winning
producer, director and writer Micah Fink. Mr. Fink is a well-respected creator of
documentaries and has produced some outstanding work. He would like to believe that the film he
produced in Sept 2005 “H5N1 • KILLER
FLU” changed how the US government responded to the Swine Flu crises in
2009. This claim may help Mr. Fink in
acquiring benefactors but probable not how the US government made up its mind
to treat a potential epidemic.
In the paper "The Swine Flu Crisis: TheGovernment Is Preparing for the Worst While Hoping for the Best – It Needs toTell the Public to Do the Same Thing!" the author Peter Sandman
outlines issues that were detailed in Nature from May 21st, 2009
that also outline the crisis. In
researching this subject I was able to locate hundreds of papers, films and
books defining this crisis. So why might
Mr. Finks be the impactful document?
Documentary directors work hard to present a
point of view they believe needs to be seen.
You may easily watch any of Michael Moore’s films and recognize their opinion is the driving force, not the truth.
But he believes he is doing a service and trying to create change in the
world.
Great job and nice reporting, Wes!
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