Manipulative Yet Natural

I agree that it is nearly irrefutable that the filmmakers wanted the film to produce outrage in viewers. After watching the documentary, I personally did feel emotionally exhausted and was left both saddened and angry, at what I’m not even sure. This feeling was purposefully and tactically created by the filmmakers to enhance the purpose of conveying the events as emotionally near how the family members felt at the time of their occurrence. In a sense, this is a very manipulative method of approach.
One aspect of this approach is that we are not aware of many facts until the moment where they are most critical and/or shocking, important, or useful. For example, we are not aware of Zachary’s death until after the heartwarming moments of the meeting of uncle and nephew; thus, when the sudden and shocking events occur, we are left in pregnant suspense as our emotions are rapidly twisted and toyed with. Also, an element of manipulation may be that we see the dramatic mood shift of Andrew’s father when the clips show him shouting and vulgarly cursing Shirley.
However, although we are led on by a string and are aware of only as much as needed before larger events completely change our emotions and opinions, I think that this may be the most logical and honest way to create the documentary. The emotional response is constructed to mirror the family members’ own, and in this way, we really do get to know Andrew and Zachary without labels and in an unbiased (with respect to time) way. And the events that occur are unfamiliar territory, as they rightly should be when they occur, leading me to conclude that although we are left outraged due to the filmmakers’ effective approach, it is the most natural way to experience the tragic events.