Textual analysis

'13' - Netflix documentary.
  • An American documentary exploring the injustice, racially, of the 13th Amendment of the American Constitution, which freed the African slaves, however allowed for slavery as a punishment of crime.
  • The Film begins with a visually blank, audio clip of President Barack Obama - this is an interesting technique I will consider using to highlight specific facts. An audio clip paired with the appearance of facts on-screen is an interesting idea that I might use to explore the depth of a problem and place emphasis on it.
  • The film includes voices and opinions from both sides of the racial arguement, some notable activists and politicians, including Angela Davis, Bryan Stevenson, Van Jones, Newt Gingrich, Cory Booker, Henry Louis Gates Jr, and others. By including different voices the director has allowed for a complete discussion on the topic but also she can break down the opposing arguement through later production of the narrative.
  •  Furthermore, when interviewing these people the director takes on quite a simple but I think aesthetically pleasing approach. The interviewee is simply sat down and filmed with shallow focus to highlight their speech and their importance. This places a quiet but meaningful  spotlight on the speaker and allows for the audience to concentrate on them completely.
'Black girls don't cry' - BBC podcast
  • I am interested in this podcast due to it's subject topic. I am considering exploration into black feminity as a key part of my coursework.
  • In this podcast, the interviewer discusses stereotypes but then brings in real black women to question these stereotypes and offer their own experiences - the change in narrative.
'Extraordinary rituals' - BBC 1 
  • This documentary is one i've found to be not very interview based, and due to my possible subject (feminity in the world of minorities) I am sure mine will be mainly interview based. However, I appreciate this documentary for its narrative and exploration of the self.
  • When this documentary does lend itself to interviews, I've noticed the camerawork is used to emphasis the positive nature of the interviewee. For example, when interviewing a man who has had thousands of cuts cut into his body, the shallow focus and close position of the camera emphasises his strength. 

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