Muhlenberg College Fall 2019

Week 9

Voice in Documentary Work

"I would be grateful if audiences saw themselves in my documentary rather than viewing the movie and the people in it as though their experiences and words don’t either represent or reflect who we are as Americans. And if audiences don’t immediately see themselves on the screen, or someone that they know (even if the circumstances are different), then it is my hope that audiences will be shocked, angered, surprised and ultimately inspired to be part of effecting change."
Marco Williams
Filmmaker

Before class Tuesday, finish viewing (on your own) Marco Williams’ film, “Banished.” It’s available from Trexler Library online here: https://muhlenberg.on.worldcat.org/oclc/21237796

 

Also for Tuesday, please read two short pieces that will provide more context and insight on the film and the filmmaker’s location:

Interview with Williams:
https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/banished/makingof.html 

Filmmakers’ statement: 
 https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/banished/statement.html

In-class, we will work with these items. Here is a blog post with details for Tuesday’s class: https://docresearch.lorataub.com/fall19/uncategorized/working-with-banished/

Thursday we will not meet together in class, as I am off campus at a conference.  Use this time to write a blog post that considers Marco Williams’ location as a documentarian.  How is his location “both a vehicle and an obstacle” on this journey to document banishment and paths to reconciliation and reparations?  This is pre-writing for Essay 2 and is due Friday, October 25, by 11:59 p.m.

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