1. POST 3- WHAT IS THE
PURPOSE OF A
DOCUMENTARY?
By Beth Tarbuck
2. Documentaries are known for their extensive amount of information and entertainment
values liked upon a wide range of demographics. All documentaries have different
purposes some documentaries are made to simply inform an audience and tell them facts
about a certain topic for example the documentary ‘blackfish’ informs the audience of the
treatment of the animals and gives them the facts behind it. Documentaries are also made
to educate audiences on things they may have little knowledge on, these documentaries
open up the audiences eyes and allows them to step out and learn more about topics they
do not know about. For example, the recent production given to audiences is ‘Queer
Britain’ which has an aim to inform their audience on existing small topics which are
dismissed and unfamiliar to the general public. It provides these types of people an
understanding of different communities and lifestyles and exposes them to multiple
beliefs. This contributes to their understanding of the issue and persuades them to think
or feel a particular thing. So for ‘Queer Britain’ the spectator is presented with a heartfelt
story which evokes immense amounts of emotions towards the LGBTQ+ community.
These documentaries are also made to raise people’s awareness of how the society is
changing but how to be okay with the fact more people are openly coming out with their
stories. Objective documentaries are unbiased unlike subjective types and aim to express
information or entertain an audience in a way that is not one sided or strongly
opinionated. The hit show ‘My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’ is a prime example of a
documentary which negatively exposes a certain community in a biased way. The
individuals of the program are highlighted in their stereotypical manner; rowdy, violent,
alcoholics, criminals etc. These documentaries are usually shown to persuade the
audiences opinion on how to view these people and they do this by including clips of the
show with them behaving in a way normal society would frown upon, this creates a group
consensus that these people are ‘bad’.
3. IDEAS OF DOCUMENTARIES WE
WANT TO MAKE
• Food restaurants in Solihull town centre (Factual),
•The advance in makeup (Entertainment),
•The use of mobile phones (Objective)
We have chosen these ideas as we feel they represent our age group
well and we will find it interesting to make and the viewer will find it
interesting to watch. We will combine codes and conventions evident
in similar documentaries as these are highly appealing to our
audience.
