Documentary film/video and social change: a rhetorical investigation of dissent
Abstract
For well over a century, non-fiction film has figured prominently in the public
sphere as a powerful means of persuasion. This dissertation will explore the intersection
of cultural texts and social change by investigating the history of contemporary activist
documentary film. Using all the available means of persuasion and coercion at their
disposal, social movements have collectively developed a diverse set of tactics and
strategies to prompt social change, documentary films being one of the most understudied
texts.
Documentary films that reflect the interests of social movements are important
but to what end and in what rhetorical situation are these strategies most effective for
social change? This study will not call into question the importance of cultural texts like
documentary film but rather how constitutive cultural strategies constrain or aid the
instrumental goals of contemporary social movements. This project will explore the
commitments of early activist media, theories of social change, the second wave of
activist media and finally, the function of contemporary activist documentary.
There is much left to be studied about the relationship of activist cultural texts and
social change. The manner in which activist documentary film is conceptualized in
theoretical literature or in film reviews, primarily qualifies the term “activist” with the
intentions of the film maker and his or her ideological commitments outside of
filmmaking. There is, however, another tendency to label documentary film as “activist”
based on content. If the film mediates as political or moral controversy, the inclination is
to label it “activist.” However, such labels are fruitless if the film does not actually
intervene in a larger public space to create active political agents that will extend and
execute the political work initiated by documentary film. For the purposes of this study, it
is not enough for documentary film to “be” activist; it must help in creating the space for
activism and invested in producing material and cultural change. This project will include
a multi-method approach that includes interviews with filmmakers and public officials,
analysis of the movie text, interviews and email surveys of members in activist
community organizations and analysis of historical materials.
Department
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