Documentary and the Dimensions of Reference

Speaker details
Professor John Corner University of Leeds
Event contact
Anoushka Kulikowski (a.kulikowski@leeds.ac.uk) University of Leeds

Event resources

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Abstract

Documentary, however uncertain in terms of generic identity, is understood internationally to be a strongly referential area of cinematic practice. However, just what the primary plane of reference is in any given documentary, and what other planes are involved, is often a matter of dispute. Unquestionably, documentary works with portrayals of the physical world but it also develops a variety of indicative and propositional accounts ‘about the world’ - its events, circumstances and people -  from this base. Clearly, the development of observational film-making tried to ground work more firmly in a matrix of physical-spatial-temporal specificity but ambitions towards generality (rightly) continue. It has been suggested recently that a lot of current work is more about the interactions of the film making process itself than anything ‘beyond’, however this seems to be an undue restriction of ambition, including social and political ambition. Looking at recent examples, this talk will consider the nature of documentary ‘reference’ in the context of generic developments brought about by the documentary economy, new technology and changing cultural co-ordinates for engaging with mediations of reality.