I find it interesting that the talk with Richard Waters was a part of "the Bridge", because it feels like a comment on the film as a whole. The parallel of the man behind his camera and the directors behind their camera’s is striking. It’s as if the director is trying to tell us something about his own film through Richard...
Reality is a creation of the mind. I see the camera lens as a barrier; it is like a dampening field. When you are observing through a lens life is caged in your viewfinder. The camera makes you feel almost incapable of reaching into the situation as you are simply a detached observer. This tendency fools the mind into believing a temporary reality. In this reality you cease to be yourself and you take on the role of the camera. I think that this has been a common ethical issue when filming sensitive topics such as “the Bridge”. “At what point do you step back into reality to intervene?” is the contentious question. I don’t have a definitive answer. However, I believe most filmmakers and photographers are aware of the question and form their own opinion.
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A very important observation, Gavin: one thing I like about the potential of documentaries, like this one, is their ability to offer self-reflection, if not self-criticism. We might consider whether the director himself had many of the same concerns that we have had in watching the film -- perhaps he wrestled with the very idea of making or publishing the film; potentially, he could regret his decision to do so later. I don't know that I have tangible evidence for saying this, but I had the sense that he was approaching the issue in a manner sensitive to these questions (whether or not the film in the end should have been made being a separate question).
ReplyDeleteYou make an interesting point about when should we intervene. Often you see picture from war zones of horrible things happening and while maybe the photographer could have made a difference in the initial outcome, perhaps it is the long term effect the images have that makes the real difference. Had graphic images of Vietnam never been seen perhaps their wouldn't have been so many protests against the war. (though the protests seem to have done very little. The image is a very powerful force, so maybe their are times we need to sacrifice to get that image.
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