The performative mode of
documentary has become a preference of mine for a variety of reasons. One if focuses on the actions being performed
by the film subjects. The second reason
was thanks to our discussions in class that the performance is more than just
for entertainment or amusement, but it also serves to illustrate a message
about the individual subjects that are actually performing. It was through this understanding about the
performative mode that I came to realize that documentary films can serve for
more than just simply informing the audience.
They can portray a deeper meaning behind the story or subjects being
documented. In this film I made about
two styles of tumbling (featuring my friend Tim and I) will give the audience
not only a fast paced and entertaining sport, but also portray how our two
forms of tumbling reflect our personalities and perspective on life.
I can
recall a film we watched when discussing the performative mode known as A Study in Chorography for the Cinema. For some reason this film caught my attention
more than some of the others and I became intrigued as to how this film represented
the performative mode. It was brought to
my knowledge that this mode although focused on the dance performance by the
subject, what mattered more was what knowledge and understanding to we gain
from the demonstration. There is a
manner of uniqueness to the performances found in this mode of documentary. This is because the subject of the
documentary brings their own individuality, personality and style to the
performance.
My
documentary mode project I feel represents “The Documentary Idea” as discussed
in class. I also feel that it reflects my
understanding of the performative mode as well as what knowledge I have gained
through the course material presented throughout the semester. The story I am portraying in this documentary
is that of two friends (myself and Tim) who love the sport of tumbling, but
have two different styles performing. I
not only wanted to have lot of action shots portraying our two forms of
tumbling I wanted to do short interviews with each one of us, asking questions
about our two styles of tumbling and why we enjoy one version over
another. By having such an interview I
would be able to illustrate what Nichols talked about in relation to the
questions he asks about the knowledge given in a performative mode documentary;
one example would be “what besides factual information goes into our
understanding of the world?” (Nichols 199).
With the knowledge we receive from the interviews we will have a better
understanding of the subject’s personalities as well as their perspective on
life. Nichols also said that the performative
mode delivers knowledge that can be evoked or displayed however, they perform
their actions with such distinctiveness that it is not easily duplicated by
another. (Nichols 200-201). The purpose of performative documentary is
indeed to focuses on the performance of the subjects, but only to give the audience
information about their perspective on life reflected by their participation in
a given activity.
In the
case of Tim Lishemen, he explains to the audience that he enjoys tumbling in a
more organized fashion that is focused on form and technique of an individual trick. We can see this very clearly when he is on
the trampoline doing several flips, tucks, and back hand springs. One could say that his style of tumbling is a
form of art, much like the dancing man in the film we watched in class A Study in Chorography for the Cinema. Through an intense analysis we can come to certain
knowledge that Tim’s style of tumbling reflects that he is a driven, organized,
and directional individual. Tim
explained that by having organization and control in one’s acrobatic tricks he
can conserve energy to do even more. This
information tells us that Tim’s perspective on life is about accomplishing as
much as you can in the most effective manner possible. In the case of tumbling he demonstrates his perspective
by making a goal (ex: a back hand spring) focuses on the form so he can then
control his energy to perform the trick for as long as he can. It is this style of tumbling we can see Tim’s
personality and identity reflecting characteristics of a man who enjoys life,
but enjoys it because he can accomplish more due to his focus, organization,
and determination to reach his goals in life.
As far
as myself is concerned I think that my style of tumbling portrays that I am a little
careless, and focused on pushing the limits in life. In the interview I tell the audience that I enjoy
disorganized tricks because it is more for the thrill of adrenaline that I get
when jumping high in the air and falling.
We see in the film that when I jump off the trampoline into the foam
pit, I spin myself out of control knowing I’ll be ok. This illustrates that to me life is about living
it to its fullest without fear of taking risks.
I do explain however that I do also enjoy doing a few organized tricks much
like Tim. This in turn shows another
part of my perspective in that despite my habit of being a little careless, I do
know that there are some limits that I should be aware of. Basically it means that although I like to
live life to its fullest, I’m not stupid enough to risk my own life for the
sake of an adrenaline rush.
This performative documentary I believe
to portray my understanding not only of this particular mode, but also of the
documentary purpose itself. Before this
class I believed documentaries to be primarily informative, but now I can see
that there is a greater meaning to the information we receive, and that can be analyzed
in a variety of ways. It is not what you
learn that is the most important, it is what you comprehend and do with that
knowledge that helps us to see the identity and individual purposes of each
documentary that you watch; this is what I believe to be “The Documentary Idea”.
Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yMQPA_zXBII
Music of video by
Music of video by
