- Steyerl talks about how the “unbroken belief” of the documentary form is challenged. What does Steyerl mean by this? Certain movies and films are based on a true story. How does truth inform the fiction? How might fiction inform the truth?
First of all, Steterl’s meaning by saying that the “unbroken belief” of the documentary form is challenged, in my opinion, is to show how the new form of documentary filming strategy breaks the tradition of people’s idea of how the documentary film has to represent the objective circumstance and how people should all hold this true and only belief expressed by the objective depiction of reality in the documentary. To be clear, the new form of documentary filming strategy is a way of shooting and filming that focuses not on objective, clear, representative images and symbols, but on using abstract expressions to evoke emotions and feelings for people to experience that moment when the picture or video is took. I think truth provides foundation and inspiration for the fiction. People can interpret the truth in different ways and come up with different ideas of fiction. In other words, truth inform fiction by opening possibilities for audience to speculate the fiction by themselves, based on their past and background. As for fiction, I think it is also important, for it can inform the truth to the audience by allowing readers to concrete the abstract and subjective feelings they have got while seeing the fiction part. Thhis would allow the audience to bear stronger impression of the truth since they come up to the truth by themselves, to some extent.
- What is the significance of the authenticity and representation of the truth in the media that you consume on a daily basis? What is the role of a live broadcast?
I think as for media that I consume on a daily basis, I would prefer to learn the lastest, objective information around the world rather than trying to search my emotions and feelings from the middle of those abstract depiction of reality. I think the authenticity is essential for the information in this type of media since it allows me to focus myself while seeing the truth in the media. Because if it is not authenticate, then it is actually a waste of time for me to see it on a daily basis, what’s more, it might derail me from the reality and fail me while I try to catch up with the events happening around. Thus, this type of information is even worse than the documentary that are depicted in blurry way, for the person who spread it in the media is arrogant enough to objectify his or her own subjective speculation and lure the public to fall to it. I think the role of a live broadcast is to simply express what is happening in that very place, and to give the audience a sense of immersion as if they are in the scene themselves at that very moment. I agree with what Steyerl said, the resolution does not matter that much in the live broadcast, for if it is too clear and delicate, this might drive people away from their excitement and curiocity generated by the uncertainty aspect of the live broadcast and make them detached from that world on the other side of the camera.