Reading

 The Uncertainty of Documentarism

• 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?

Steyerl means the documentaries used to record the reality, but now it changed into a tool of politics. People no longer try to verify the things that the documentaries have recorded but only believe in it, no matter if it may use some filters or clips to change the truth. 

Take an example of a documentary named Are Our Kids Tough Enough? Chinese School made by BBC. This documentary record the story that 5 Chinese teachers came to Britain and taught one class, aiming at competing with another class taught by British teachers. There are three episodes, and two and a half are using stories to show how strict these Chinese teachers were, and how students couldn’t fit with their teaching ways. But in the last ten minutes, when all students finished the tests, results showed that the students’ scores who studied with Chinese teachers were much higher than the students who studied with British teachers. The results show that the Chinese teaching model should have some benefits and advantages. But unfortunately, the most time of the documentary shows that the Chinese teaching model may destroy students’ mental health and such things. From this, we can see that the truth can be cut into fiction, that is the filmmakers can only choose the video materials they want, and use the real materials to cut into a fiction. 

• 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?

Actually, nowadays I can hardly believe there are authenticity and representation. First is that we need to use VPN to learn about how foreign countries report on the news, which means that usually, we can only see our country’s views and news. The single way of getting information will definitely influence our judgment of what is true. I think people should have more ways to learn news from different aspects, and then get into their own judgment, but not blindly believe in one reporting organization.

The live broadcast can minimize the function of editing and filters, which may become the most useful way for people to learn the truth. Live broadcast’s function is letting your eyes can see more, and also won’t cheat on you.