LMH

Essay Two

Topic: To what extent should we accept documentaries as accurate representations of reality? Discuss in relation to at least one documentary film studied this term.

Context: Written at home over a one week period at the beginning of second term. A final essay of around 1000 words was required, along with a plan and a draft. Special attention was to be given to essay structure. This essay has been scanned from the student?s final typed copy and no corrections have been made; only the layout and font size have been altered.

It can be said that documentaries do not present reality but rather merely present an individual's version of reality. This statement particularly applies to the documentary The Last Man Hanged, written and directed by Lewis Fitzgerald. For this reason one must carefully consider to what extent we should accept a particular documentaries representations of reality as accurate. Fitzgerald uses many techniques, such as provocative imagery, the use of character witnesses and emotive language and scenery to persuade the viewer to see the subject of his documentary, Ronald Joseph Ryan, as an innocent man who was harshly treated. Through the use of these techniques, and many others, Fitzgerald presents his version of reality, one which greatly differs from the previously accepted version.

Documentary film makers quite often use character witnesses to present their subject in a particular fashion as they recognise that the viewer is subconsciously going to take considerably more notice of the opinions of many people, rather than just one. This is one way in which documentary makers control their viewers reading of events. Character witnesses were called upon extensively by Fitzgerald in his defence of Ronald Joseph Ryan in the documentary The Last Man Hanged. Fitzgerald used the character witnesses as a way of establishing his opinion that Ryan was unfairly treated and unmercifully executed for a crime that was in no way his fault. The first character witness utilised by Fitzgerald was Ryan's partner in the escape which led to the alleged murder of a prison guard by Ryan. Despite his status as an ex-escapee he offered a flattering image of Ryan, describing him as a hard working, kind and considerate person who simply lived a hard life. Fitzgerald then incorporated Ryan's widow into his documentary as a character witness. His widow spoke of Ryan's love of his family and his pleasant, amiable personality. She also went on to emphasise what a hard life Ryan had lived and that anything he did was out of love for his family. Fitzgerald's extensive use of such character witnesses throughout his documentary is a good example of how documentary film makers position viewers to see the facts in their way rather then perhaps the 'true' or 'accepted' way.

Another way documentary's can distort or alter the perception of reality is through the use of provocative images. In the case of The Last Man Hanged Fitzgerald embodied a multitude of religious images into the background of the various Ryan situation re-enactments. Whether it be the image of Jesus on a cross or the many re-enactments of Ryan in the church or talking to the priest, Fitzgerald incorporated these images for one reason, and that was to make the viewer ponder how someone with such strong religious connections could be guilty of such a harsh crime. The viewer does not actually know if these scenes are actually factual, or if Ryan has any religious beliefs at all, but by simply including those images Fitzgerald effectively installs these scenes as facts in the viewer?s mind.

Another use of provocative images in the documentary The Last Man Hanged was in the opening scene. Fitzgerald began his documentary with a scene of a man tying a noose, saying ?The knot is the secret of it, we have to put it on the lower left jaw?. This provocative image, coupled with the quote above draws from the viewer an immediate association with execution and provokes emotions over the harsh realities of capital punishment. Many other provocative associations and images were used throughout The Last Man Hanged and they show how documentary producers try to alter viewers emotions in order to change their ideas on the subject of the documentary.

Emotive language is quite often used in the documentary films in an attempt to involve the viewer emotionally with the topic and to arouse particular responses from them. Although not used extensively by Fitzgerald in his documentary, when used it was quite effective. The first time emotive language was employed in The Last Man Hanged was when Fitzgerald was recounting the first ever hanging. At this stage he referred to it as ?a grizzly spectacle?. This use of language gives rise to a multitude of emotional feelings, such as anger and disgust, in the viewer's mind. Emotive language is a popular way in which producer's attempt to alter their viewer's perceptions of reality because when used effectively it positions the viewer to become very emotional about the subject. This in turn effects their judgement and makes them more likely to agree with what the producer is saying.

There is no such thing as a fact, but rather there are may peoples differing versions of facts and this is why one must carefully consider everything they view before accepting it as reality. In The Last Man Hanged Fitzgerald spent about ten minutes expressing his versions of the facts from the night of the alleged prison guard murder. He discussed how witnesses said they saw smoke egress from Ryan's rifle, and saw his rifle recoil, yet the firearm he had was said to be a specially designed military weapon which egresses no smoke and had virtually no recoil. He also questioned the number of rounds in Ryan's weapon and the projectory from which the prison guard was shot. By doing this Fitzgerald hopes to convince the viewer of Ryan's innocence. In a lot of cases he probably did, but the fact is that as the viewer, unless we were there how do we know that Fitzgerald's version of the facts is any more accurate than that of others. This holds true for facts presented in any documentary and shows once more why as a viewer we must be careful about what we believe.

The above outlined points for the documentary The Last Man Hanged holds true for many documentaries. They show how a producer is able to manipulate facts and opinions to present a version of reality that differs from that of others. For these reasons we as the viewer must be extremely careful when assessing the validity of the version of facts and/or reality presented by any producer in any documentary.