According to Steyerl, “Unbroken belief” refers to the fact that it is self-evident for documentaries to reflect the reality. In other words, there is an objective criteria to judge whether a composition is authentic. However, Steyerl claimed that in the age of digital reproduction, increasingly abstract and out-of focus documentary images emerge, inflaming certain emotions without demonstrating anything concrete. Additionally, the pursuit of certainty, integrity gradually shifts to the desire for intensity, making it almost impossible for people to distinguish whether documentary images correspond to reality or not.
Truth and fiction have mutual impacts on each other. Fiction is based on the truth, and involves additional elements of imagination or distortion depending on the intention of the narrator. Thus, fiction usually possesses an abstract nature that cannot be perceived as authentic. On the other hand, the reality world is influenced by fiction to some extent, as it unleashes the constantly changing emotions of an individual. On a larger scale, it can be used as commercial and political instruments to make an influence on the society.
In the digital age where media platforms are flooded with ubiquitous information, we feel unprecedentedly knit as a whole due to the simple access of news around the world. We learn about political issues, military interventions, global campaign or even entertaining gossips in a split second. As evidenced by Steyerl stating that ‘The need for objective, institutionally guaranteed, even scientific integrity is successfully being replaced by the desire for intensity’, we tend to accept whatever we capture from the countless sources of information. Nevertheless, we often feel detached with the reality for the same reason, as we find it impossible to distinguish true from false. Thus being helpless when confronted with frustrating media that lacks authenticity and representation of the truth.
What I discussed above might partly explain why live broadcasts matter. It’s real-time nature serves as a bridge to connect us with the person behind the screen. They can provide us with instant feedback and emotional support, fulfill our needs for social connection. All these features attributes to the trait of ‘live’, implicating that no editing or manipulation was applied to eliminate the imperfections. Therefore, live broadcasts plays an indispensable role in our lives.