- Steyerl talks about how the “unbroken belief” of the documentary form is challenged. How are Steyerl’s ideas about truth and fiction represented and expressed in Abbas Kiarostami’s film? How does truth inform the fiction in Close up? How might fiction inform the truth?
According to Steyerl, the reason why documentary images are powerful and compelling is that people are so convinced of their authenticity. In general, people trust documentaries more than other forms of information such as fiction or film. However, documentaries can also be exaggerated and falsified to suit the filmmaker’s purposes, thus triggering uncertainty. Steyerl, for example, mentions a common problem: the lost of focus. The intentional or unintentional emotional involvement of the filmmaker can affect the focus of images and compositions, thus making the record not entirely objective. As a result, the truth exists in their expression. The process of recording an uncertain truth is one that reflects the reality of life and can be seen as a truth. When it comes to the relationship between truth and fiction, they are conveying information to each other. Fictional works such as movies and films are based on truth and convey the director’s ideas by reflecting real life and emotions in reality, but sometimes coming together with subjective art processing. I would say that in Kiarostami’s film, Steyerl’s ideas about truth and fiction are strong personal desires that drive Hussein Sabzian to complete this absurd performance. The truth tells the novel because it gives the novel a strong starting point on which to base the story. As the novel tells people the truth, I think it is to help the audience understand the context and to stimulate their interest.
- 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?
In my daily life, I mainly get information through social media and official media. When I’m looking for authentic and reliable official information, I tend to go to official accounts that are recognized and monitored by the public. We must admit that the Internet is full of false information and overly processed and distorted information. Moreover, the easy dissemination of information makes it easy for all this to spread widely and have an impact. For example, under the impact of the recent new crown epidemic, a myriad of information appeared on social media that mixed truth and falsehood, leaving people confused about the uncertainty of the current situation. So, for myself, I rarely take the unsubstantiated information I see on social media seriously. For me, text is the least credible, followed by photos, videos and live streams. Both photos and videos can easily be edited so that they can be used to convey information that is different from or even contrary to the facts. Live streaming can at least ensure that what is in the picture is indeed what is happening in a particular place at a particular moment (Of course, whether the live content reflects the real situation behind the camera, whether it is choreographed and deliberately selected for framing is also something we need to pay attention to).