The use of aesthetics in documentary film often comes into question since the documentary film is inherently non-fiction and by definition brings forth truth. As Renov states, “The pitting of ‘truth’ against ‘beauty’ is the product of a regrettable (western) dualism that accounts for the rift between science and art, mind and body” (Renov, 24). Some documentaries side with the aesthetic form, like The Man with a Movie Camera , while others veer toward reality with scenes like interviews. Hans Richter describes this dichotomy by saying, “It became clear that a fact did not really remain a ‘fact’ if it appeared in too beautiful a light. The accent shifted, for a ‘beautiful’ image could not normally be obtained except at the expense of closeness to reality” (Renov, 25). The apparent binaries “truth” and “beauty” are in fact not mutually exclusive, as evident in documentaries such as The Man with a Movie Camera, Man of Aran, Night Mail, Triumph of the Will, and Night and Fog . The use of artistic expression and reality in a documentary can coexist, just as Grierson himself defined the documentary- “the creative treatment of actuality” (Renov, 33). Indeed, the powerful usage of the aesthetic, such as in Renov’s Modality of Desire “To Express” and Nichols’s “Poetic Mode,” can act to further express the truth.

Nichols describes the poetic mode by saying it “emphasizes visual associations, tonal or rhythmic qualities, descriptive passages, and formal organization” (Nichols, 33). This visual aspect of a documentary, such as that used in the poetic mode, can often lead to a further understanding of the subject matter. As Nichols states, “The poetic mode is particularly adept at opening up the possibility of alternative forms of knowledge to the straightforward transfer of information, the prosecution of a particular argument or point of view, or the presentation of reasoned propositions about problems in need of solution” (Nichols, 103). For example, even though The Man of Aran uses observation to look into the daily life and struggle of the people of Aran, the film also has an aesthetic and visual beauty to it. The expansive views of the stone landscape, the endless sky, and the rhythmic waves of the sea all add visual, tonal, and rhythmic characteristics to the non-fictional observations of the film. Flaherty uses images of just the sea engulfing the screen to express the fury of the sea as well as the fear and danger felt by the inhabitants of Aran. In addition, the scenes with a majority of sky and stone landscape with only a small portion of the screen taken up by the actors expresses a sense of distance and isolation felt on the island. Many of the shots are taken from great distance, which further this feeling of distance and isolation. While Flaherty never directly speaks of this isolation, it is felt through the use of images. Such qualities help solidify a certain view of these people and carry a message to the audience without outright stating it.

The Man with the Movie Camera is also heavily laden with poetic mode and its associating aesthetic qualities. The rhythm of the city waking is one example. The images of the city are edited and composed in a way that describes something that would otherwise be difficult to express. The actors seen in this film also point this documentary to the poetic mode. As Nichols states of the poetic mode, “Social actors seldom take on full-blooded form of characters with psychological complexity and a fixed view of the world. People more typically function on a par with other objects as raw material that filmmakers select and arrange into association and patters of their choosing” (102). The actors in The Man with the Movie Camera function as groups of a category. Some are groups of the Bourgeois of Soviet Union, others are part of the working class people. None of the characters take on individual identities or narratives, instead they function together to express Vertov’s opinion. This does not fall into the category of “truth” or “reality” because these groups are exaggerated by the filmmaker, but the way it is put together suggests a higher truth about the society. In this way Vertov never explicitly expresses his opinions of the society through words or any type of direct discourse, instead he embeds his ideas and opinions into the film. Vertov does not outright state his lack of respect for the bougrois class, but it can be sensed in the way this group is depicted in the pubs drinking. The same is true of the working class group. This group is seen reading newspapers, playing chess, and practicing their aim, all qualities that will help them fight in the upcoming war and save their country.

Resnais’s Night and Fog uses the visible juxtaposition between the two views of the concentration camps to create an aesthetic appeal that furthers the film’s goal. The contemporary landscapes with beautiful blue skies contrast against the dark, gloomy, black and white footage taken by the Nazis and these two differing sources of footage visually represent the “now” and “then”. If Resnais wanted only to document the Holocaust the images shot by the concentration camp officers would have been enough. However, Renaise went a step further and incorporated a sense of beauty with the contemporary images that truly give the film its effect. Nichols states that “The poetic mode has many facets, but they all emphasize the ways in which the filmmaker’s voice gives fragments of the historical world a formal, aesthetic integrity peculiar to the film itself” (105). In Night and Fog , Resnais uses fragments of the historical world taken from the footage during the Holocaust and ties together the fragments with beautiful images of the present day site and striking commentary. It is these poetic, rolling landscapes that echo the sentiment that these atrocities cannot be forgotten.

Although film is simply a record of what happened in front of a camera, the filmmaker indeed has control over what images are shoot. Through this control, an entire universe of possibilities is opened up to the filmmaker. As evident in the documentaries mentioned, the visual of what images are shot is often as important as the content and subject matter. It is through utilizing the full potential of film that the subject is more fully understood with the senses and not only with reason and logic.

Works Cited

Man of Aran . Dir. Robert J. Flaherty . Home Vision Entertainment, 1934.

Nichols, Bill. Introduction to Documentary . Indiana : Indiana Univeristy Press, 2001.

Night and Fog. Dir. Alain Resnais . Home Vision Entertainment, 1955.

Renov, Michael. Theorizing Documentary . New York : Routledge, 1993.

The Man with the Movie Camera . Dir. Dziga Vertov . Kino on Video, 1929.

Class Written For : English 4300 (Rhetoric of Documentaries)
Word Count : 1,093