The first film, Titicut Follies, I found a little dry. I found it hard to watch because it was hard to understand some of the people talking, the camera moved around a bit and the story line was a little dry. It was hard to see what Wiseman was trying to get at, especially because at parts it was hard to tell who was an inmate and who was a guard. Also the part where they shove the tube in the one man’s nose made my stomach turn and I had to look away.
By the end of the film I could sort of tell what Wiseman was trying to go for. As stated in Barry Grant's article, "the idea of the movie came out of the absolute sense of shock about what Bridgewater was about...and the film works to evoke a similar response in most viewers" (Grant 239). I was appalled by the fact that the doctors kept saying that the cure for the inmates was more medicine, especially when the doctor said "we should increase his tranquilizer dose". I was appalled by the fact that the patients kept trying to tell the doctor they were fine and all that the doctor could say was that they must be crazy to think they are sane and so their medicine dose should be increased.
The movie did a good job of portraying truth in the institution, and showing what we, as outsiders, do not see on a daily basis but what is going on behind the walls of the institution.
However one is to pose the question of ethics here and whether or not Wiseman had the right to film these patients who could not give consent themselves. "...Titicut Follies typically shows us disillusioned and shattered people treated impersonally and disdainfully...the image of Jim being forcibly shaved metaphorically suggests the conforming pressures of institutional processing" (Grant 251). I feel that the patients were exploited in this film because they were shown at there most vulgar point, many stripped of their clothing and taunted by the guards. "The force-feeding of Malinowsky and the insistent filming of the naked Jim are particularly vivid instances of this 'tactlessness', so pronounced in Titicut Follies" (Grant 249). Although yes this is a good film because it brings awareness to the issue, I feel that consent should have been given by family members etc. (I may be wrong and Wiseman MAY have gotten consent not sure). Also, the article we read said that there were several suicides later that year so it makes me wonder if the film did anything to bring awareness because nothing seemed to have changed.
We also talked about how the film undermines the expert (doctors etc). I feel that it did a little because at times I couldn’t even tell who was a doctor or guard and who was a patient because they patients seemed so knowledgeable (talking about the war, politics etc). “Wiseman has a unique style of filmmaking. His films seldom utilize any predictable or overt narrative structure. He does not interview his subjects, nor does he narrate or comment on what happens. This style of filmmaking is often referred to as the observational mode” (http://www.wikipedia.ca/). His style is just that, an observation of what is happening in the institution that people are unaware of. Direct footage that is shown as it happens displaying real life without any interuptions. I think that Wiseman has an interesting film style, and his lack of interviewing and commenting on the events allows the truth to unravel in real time without any interuptions, and allows you to draw your own conclusions because he does not himself comment on the footage. Because Wiseman just went into the institution and started filming with no set agenda, he was able to capture real life events as they happened, thus portraying truth in its entirety. Although Wiseman edited it out of order and probably
manipulate the footage to his advantage (edited in a way that makes the doctors seem worse then maybe they are?), the film overall did display the truth of the institution to the world. Wiseman has been quoted in an interview saying “I think I have an obligation, to the people who have consented to be in the film ... to cut it so that it fairly represents what I felt was going on at the time in the original event” (http://www.wikipedia.ca/). In this sense we see how the film was a representation of what he saw when he was in the institution and how this documentary is a portrayal of realism. He didn’t force an idea on you but rather allowed you to draw your own conclusion (although yes he may have given us limited footage to work with). Although I think that interviews could have been beneficial to give the viewer some back story and, as some people in class said, humanize the inmates, I feel that his approach was a good technique to use in a documentary that is meant to show truth as it happens.
By the end of the film I could sort of tell what Wiseman was trying to go for. As stated in Barry Grant's article, "the idea of the movie came out of the absolute sense of shock about what Bridgewater was about...and the film works to evoke a similar response in most viewers" (Grant 239). I was appalled by the fact that the doctors kept saying that the cure for the inmates was more medicine, especially when the doctor said "we should increase his tranquilizer dose". I was appalled by the fact that the patients kept trying to tell the doctor they were fine and all that the doctor could say was that they must be crazy to think they are sane and so their medicine dose should be increased.
The movie did a good job of portraying truth in the institution, and showing what we, as outsiders, do not see on a daily basis but what is going on behind the walls of the institution.
However one is to pose the question of ethics here and whether or not Wiseman had the right to film these patients who could not give consent themselves. "...Titicut Follies typically shows us disillusioned and shattered people treated impersonally and disdainfully...the image of Jim being forcibly shaved metaphorically suggests the conforming pressures of institutional processing" (Grant 251). I feel that the patients were exploited in this film because they were shown at there most vulgar point, many stripped of their clothing and taunted by the guards. "The force-feeding of Malinowsky and the insistent filming of the naked Jim are particularly vivid instances of this 'tactlessness', so pronounced in Titicut Follies" (Grant 249). Although yes this is a good film because it brings awareness to the issue, I feel that consent should have been given by family members etc. (I may be wrong and Wiseman MAY have gotten consent not sure). Also, the article we read said that there were several suicides later that year so it makes me wonder if the film did anything to bring awareness because nothing seemed to have changed.We also talked about how the film undermines the expert (doctors etc). I feel that it did a little because at times I couldn’t even tell who was a doctor or guard and who was a patient because they patients seemed so knowledgeable (talking about the war, politics etc). “Wiseman has a unique style of filmmaking. His films seldom utilize any predictable or overt narrative structure. He does not interview his subjects, nor does he narrate or comment on what happens. This style of filmmaking is often referred to as the observational mode” (http://www.wikipedia.ca/). His style is just that, an observation of what is happening in the institution that people are unaware of. Direct footage that is shown as it happens displaying real life without any interuptions. I think that Wiseman has an interesting film style, and his lack of interviewing and commenting on the events allows the truth to unravel in real time without any interuptions, and allows you to draw your own conclusions because he does not himself comment on the footage. Because Wiseman just went into the institution and started filming with no set agenda, he was able to capture real life events as they happened, thus portraying truth in its entirety. Although Wiseman edited it out of order and probably
manipulate the footage to his advantage (edited in a way that makes the doctors seem worse then maybe they are?), the film overall did display the truth of the institution to the world. Wiseman has been quoted in an interview saying “I think I have an obligation, to the people who have consented to be in the film ... to cut it so that it fairly represents what I felt was going on at the time in the original event” (http://www.wikipedia.ca/). In this sense we see how the film was a representation of what he saw when he was in the institution and how this documentary is a portrayal of realism. He didn’t force an idea on you but rather allowed you to draw your own conclusion (although yes he may have given us limited footage to work with). Although I think that interviews could have been beneficial to give the viewer some back story and, as some people in class said, humanize the inmates, I feel that his approach was a good technique to use in a documentary that is meant to show truth as it happens.
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