This documentary analyzes gender portrayals in pop culture through interviews and archival footage. It examines topics like the sexualization of women in gaming and films, and icons like Angelina Jolie and Madonna. The documentary uses a closed, single-stranded narrative format to focus entirely on gender identity within pop culture. It employs techniques like canted camera angles during interviews, low key lighting, and incorporating green text and game footage to engage the audience visually and tie into its themes.

1. A2 Documentary Analysis

2. ‘That Thing’ is a
mixed type of
documentary.
It contains archive
footage
It also contains
interviews
And narratives

3. • Obsession
• Female image and
portrayal of females
• Pop culture
• Gaming and films
• Hollywood
• Icons
• Gender divide in terms of
gaming and portrayal
• Popularity
• Gender identity

4. Narrative
Closed
narrative –
answers the
main questions
of the
documentary
Single stranded
- focuses all on
one topic in the
documentary

5. • Conventional camera
angles used during
interviews – rule of thirds
• Some canted angles, for
example when Angelina
Jolie is being interviewed
to possibly show her
importance
• Medium long shots
• Close ups/medium close
ups in interviews

6. • The mise en scene is linked to
the exposition of the
documentary
• Tomb Raider game footage is
played in the background of the
interviews and some
interviewees wear white clothing
so that the footage can be
projected onto them
• Low key lighting in interviews
mostly
• Green writing in the
documentary gives connotations
of gaming, therefore being
relative to the documentary’s
themes
• The documentary is visually
enchanting as it uses footage in
nearly every scene to captivate
the audience along with unusual

7. • Gun sound effects
• Futuristic music playing in the background relating to
technology and computers
• Sound from the game footage
• Madonna’s songs are played – she is an icon for some
women as being strong and involved heavily in pop
culture and therefore ties in with the themes of gender
identity and pop culture within the documentary

8. • Questions are cut from the
interview so only replies
are heard – creates a
personal ‘one to one’
atmosphere with the
audience
• The pace of editing is very
fast, fits in with the
energetic style of the
documentary
• Cut away of footage
between scenes and in
interviews

9. Graphics Names of people as they are being
interviewed
Title screen ‘That Thing’ is in a
cartoon style of writing
The speech bubble portrays that it is
a popular talked about thing in
culture

10. • Clips of game footage
• Clips of the Tomb Raider
films
• Clips of games during
interviews
• Clips of websites that were
relevant to the
documentary
• Adverts for Nike
• Magazine covers