The Ethnographic Film 'Of The Inuits'

While writing allows single out a common thread to many events, a film is bound to display the unique moments captured by the camera. To miss out on certain occurrences, due to technical issues linked with the use of a camera, reduces the possibility of being objective through film, as all aspects of social reality may not be presented. In order to address this problem, certain producers have distorted reality, thus not creating a simple account of fieldwork experience. Particularly, Nanook of the North, now considered as the first staged documentary, is not a pure translation into film, of the Inuits' lifestyle. Flaherty is said to "make it all up" according to his assistant Helen Van Dongen who does not consider him as a documentarian. However,
Interviews are the best way to remove the producer's interpretation of a society, thus remaining fairly objective in the depiction of a community. Sundarana mirrors this approach as it is composed of many interviews; some are interactions with large groups of women or men, while others are conducted in a much more individual way. This process provides the spectator with different points of view on the relationship within the community, between castes, genders and families. The provided diversity allows the documentary to become fully objective, as it advocates all sides to common issues such as caste, marriage, or education. In Salt of the Earth, as the scenes are staged and played by actors, a filter is applied to the initial social reality. The neorealist film may attempt to be objective, but it remains, in part, a lie, in regards to the representation of the community. Notably, Esperanza Quintero and the Sheriff are both renown actors named Rosaura Revueltas and Will Geers. Capturing various facets first-hand experience is a vouch for objectivity, as opposed to the interpretation of a