THE DOCUMENTARY ERA: TREND OR TACTIC?
I don’t know about you, but when I was a teenager and looking for something entertaining to do with my friends, seeing a documentary didn’t exactly come to mind. I admit, “March of the Penguins” did intrigue me for a while in 2005 but I also guarantee that I wouldn’t be able to tell you how it ended or more than two facts about the Emperor penguin.
In 2009, millions flocked to cinemas everywhere to appreciate the late and legendary Michael Jackson’s documentary “This Is It.” As he prepared for a succession of sold-out shows in London, a series of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage was collected and exposed as cinema following his death. Ever since, contemporary artists like Katy Perry, Beyoncé, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Macklemore have been following suit.
In the past, documentaries have been presented as nonfictional motion pictures or television programs intended to convey truths through a series of dialogues and film clips. Recently, Justin Bieber’s “Believe” and Katy Perry’s “Part of Me” became hits at the box office because fans took these films as revelations of what is in the hearts of their idols. The clips take young fans through a day in the life of their favorite artist, no doubt giving them an interesting perspective and allowing them to assess each artist as an individual.
Needless to say, a trend was created and I don’t predict a cease to it in the near future. But the artist-documentary trend also poses the question as to whether there is an underlying method behind the madness. While fans everywhere crave background information on the lives of these artists, who is to judge the authenticity of each clip?
There will always be something stimulating about seeing an artist or group conveyed in an alternative art form, but we should also realize that a documentary is still a movie. In other words, the production team has complete creative management of the artist’s actuality. Can we trust the authenticity of these artists while they blatantly have cameras in their faces and a full awareness of what is likely to be a broad audience?
The truth is always more interesting than fiction or the inaccurate rumors we create and broadcast through social media. Live footage is also intriguing and tends to shed light on some of the negativity that is out there, like Miley’s “out-there” performances further explained in “Miley: The Movement, or Macklemore’s humble background clarified in his MTV Documentary Series. But we also have to wonder whether this is exactly their purpose: a method of controlling audience reception.
In an era when an artist’s lifespan in the industry is often fleeting, it is in the hands of the production team to milk the artist for all they’re worth. Through documentary film, the production team can control how the audience perceives the client while advertising the name and making millions all in one shot. As these films continue to be released, it’s important to consider them as creative outlooks on the lives of our generation’s performers as well as a successful advertising and moneymaking tactic.
In 2009, millions flocked to cinemas everywhere to appreciate the late and legendary Michael Jackson’s documentary “This Is It.” As he prepared for a succession of sold-out shows in London, a series of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage was collected and exposed as cinema following his death. Ever since, contemporary artists like Katy Perry, Beyoncé, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus and Macklemore have been following suit.
In the past, documentaries have been presented as nonfictional motion pictures or television programs intended to convey truths through a series of dialogues and film clips. Recently, Justin Bieber’s “Believe” and Katy Perry’s “Part of Me” became hits at the box office because fans took these films as revelations of what is in the hearts of their idols. The clips take young fans through a day in the life of their favorite artist, no doubt giving them an interesting perspective and allowing them to assess each artist as an individual.
Needless to say, a trend was created and I don’t predict a cease to it in the near future. But the artist-documentary trend also poses the question as to whether there is an underlying method behind the madness. While fans everywhere crave background information on the lives of these artists, who is to judge the authenticity of each clip?
There will always be something stimulating about seeing an artist or group conveyed in an alternative art form, but we should also realize that a documentary is still a movie. In other words, the production team has complete creative management of the artist’s actuality. Can we trust the authenticity of these artists while they blatantly have cameras in their faces and a full awareness of what is likely to be a broad audience?
The truth is always more interesting than fiction or the inaccurate rumors we create and broadcast through social media. Live footage is also intriguing and tends to shed light on some of the negativity that is out there, like Miley’s “out-there” performances further explained in “Miley: The Movement, or Macklemore’s humble background clarified in his MTV Documentary Series. But we also have to wonder whether this is exactly their purpose: a method of controlling audience reception.
In an era when an artist’s lifespan in the industry is often fleeting, it is in the hands of the production team to milk the artist for all they’re worth. Through documentary film, the production team can control how the audience perceives the client while advertising the name and making millions all in one shot. As these films continue to be released, it’s important to consider them as creative outlooks on the lives of our generation’s performers as well as a successful advertising and moneymaking tactic.