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?

Instead of presenting the one hundred percent reality, these documentary use some special images to convey some feeling. The images can be uncertain, vague and low-resolution, but they finally create a kind of atmosphere for the audience to feel like immersed. The author used the example of documentarism of CNN to demonstrate the argument. In the broadcast in 2003, the picture was composed by green and brown blotches. It did express the atmosphere, though it’s hard to distinguish what was presenting in it.

On one hand, truth provides fictions with materials. For those movies and films based on true stories, truth just like a pathway telling them where to go next. Some creators imagine the people, but use the real story, some imagine the story, but the main idea is still based on real society. In most of the cases, there always are some factors absorbed from the reality.

On the other hand, fiction can also reveal truth and make it more impressive. Fiction comes out of truth, which means it can reveal the truth to different extent. Moreover, fiction can use some technique such as exaggeration to strengthen the power of truth.

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 opinion, the authenticity and representation of the truth in the media gives people real information. They help people to make decision. From the social dimension, it help maintain social stability in most situations. Take news for example, real news can tell people what is happening. Based on the information convey in the news, people can think and make decision. News also have the function to stop the spread of rumor, which can prevent people to get in panic and finally maintain a stable society.

A live broadcast tells what is happening right now. It has immediacy and relatively high authenticity. It enable the audience to know what is happening in the first time. And since it is difficult to be manipulated, a live broadcast seems to be more convinced than those that are broadcast a while after being recorded.