Planet of the Humans 

Planet of the Humans follows director Jeff Gibbs and his journey to finding the truth behind if reliable and renewable energy is ever going to come to fruition. He is often let down as he travels throughout America and to multiple solar farms, power plants and biomass plants that promise a greener future but all hide a dark secret. Society has become blind to the fact that renewable energy may never happen, the belief that society and these large “100% renewable” companies is forever going to be a lie. 

The Beach 

The Beach follows Warwick Thornton as he takes a spiritual journey to his ancestors home land to self isolate and reestablish who he is as a person. Struggling with alcoholism Thornton has been stripped of all modern day items and is forced to fend for himself on this desolate beach with no one but his chickens to keep him company. Thornton spends 6 weeks on the beach learning how to survive and connecting with his true self. 

Standard Operating Procedure 

Standard Operating Procedure follows a series of photos and videos from a military point of view in regards to the unjust and horrifying torture of Iraqi prisoners that are accused of being in ties with terrorist organisations. 

Gas lands

Gas lands follows Josh Fox and his journey across America as he is asked by the common gas mining company if to mine on his land. He further travels around the country in search of these gas mines and contacts multiple residents that are affected greatly by this mining. 

Planet of the Humans 

- Planet of the humans has impressed and surprised me with many facts such as, Power plants claiming they are burning shed/fallen vegetation, however this is false and they simply cut down and burn full trees. Gibbs explores multiple facilities that claimed to be using wood chips as a fuel, but through investigations it is revealed that these facilities are just in fact partnered with logging companies and burning entire trees. This relates to the fact that although it appears they may be heading in the right direction, they’re not. 

- Another surprising and overlooked fact is about Electric cars, charge of electricity that is created by burning coals, how is this an improvement? During Chevrolets first look at their electric car, the woman in control of this project is asked about where the energy is coming from to charge the cars, where she claims she is unsure at first but then admitting that it’s not that bad. The cars are running of coal, although indirectly, they are still are pawn in the game of fossil fuels such as many other “greener” options explored in the film. 

- Humans are blind to the inevitability of the end of the world. During an interview segment many citizens are asked how long humans have left to survive, in which many responses are “infinite”. This relates to the film as throughout the audience is constantly reminded that many of these greener solution only last 10-20 years maximum before needed to be rebuilt.

The Beach 

- Despite being alone their are positive in life, Thornton find the positives in wildlife in cooking, cooking is obviously a passion of his which he pursues regardless of his circumstances. 

- Try new things, Thornton has put himself into this self isolation, yet instead of bringing his problems with him such as alcoholism and drugs, he resorts to trying new thing such as yoga, however sometimes this doesn’t always work out. 

Standard Operating Procedure 

- Standard Operating Procedure shows that theirs is a right way and a wrong way when it comes to interrogation. 

- Despite arriving at the facility and immediately questions the ethics of what’s going on, they quickly fall in line and join, doing what they are told. Goes to show how people will do anything for their “job”.

- The workers say this is “normal” and nothing out of the ordinary, if someone questioned it they were told this was the normal working order. 

Gas lands

- Pouring a nice glass of flammable water, these residents water has been contaminated due to fracking and causing the house water to set on fire. The fracking causes the gases and chemicals from the well to get into people water well, dooming entire towns and damaging people and animals. 

- 400-600 truck loads of material needed for the well to be built. The amount of material and water that are needed for the wells and for fracking is unbelievable. 

 

- The river water in some areas of America are also affected by fracking and have bubbling gases coming through the water edges. These bubbles can be set alight with a match. This follows up on the fact on how much these wells have spread and can damage wildlife. 

Planet of the Humans

Planet of the humans is an eco-doco following Jeff Gibbs as he interviews various members of environmental agencies, businessmen and more. This film does not work for me as it is extremely biased towards Gibbs’ view, the edit is manipulative and secretive. This forces the audience to agree with Gibbs and his message. 

The Beach 

The Beach is a fly on the wall style documentary following Thornton and his journey to rehabilitation and his spiritual connection to the land. This style appeals to me greatly as it gives you an amazing insight to life away from a modern society and allows for some spectacular viewing. 

Standard Operating Procedure 

This style is a very intense and deliberately terrifying use of cinema. This style is very effective for what the director intended, however this does not appeal to me, this makes me extremely uneasy and ashamed to be a human being as the things that have happened in this area. 

Gas lands

Gas lands is a Michael Moore style documentary, going out and challenging companies head on as one person and investigating where other previously have shied away. This style works for me as it is a very intriguing subject and makes the audience want to research further and question their own surroundings. 

Planet of the Humans 

The story behind Planet of the Humans shows hope within the “new world”, experimenting with these new cleaner types of energy excites people and brings hope, however within almost everyone of these operation it always leads back to fossil fuels and the use of coal, whether it’s through creating items such as solar panels, electric cars etc. After learning about this, that hope that people and Jeff Gibbs has it is immediately crushed, and people begin to lose faith. Emotionally instead of being driven to stand up and help with this environmental disaster, I am more so turned off as any hope their is, seems useless, it seems impossible. 

The Beach 

The Beach emotionally affects me as viewing a single soul, on a quiet desolate beach, doing nothing but just live. Their are no political views it is just simple and beautiful. Thornton makes the viewer feel like they are a part of this journey, alone with him in this small shack on the beach. 

Standard Operating Procedure 

This is a very emotionally intense film, to see another human being treated in these way is a very explicit thing to see. Making the viewer feel responsible, or perhaps guilty that this happened and they were not aware at the time. This makes me as a viewer want to research further into this as it makes it a very interesting story/ exploitation. 

Gas lands

Gas lands has a minimal emotional response as this does not greatly affect me personally however, seeing most of these residents struggle with everyday things such as drinking water makes me feel for them. This is used greatly with the repetition of showing how many households are affected within the “red zone”. 

Planet of the Humans 

Environmentalist and sales representatives of green energy, these environmental experts all seek to find a greener way of life, however they all end up leading back to fossil fuels. People that sell solar and wind energy even accept the fact that they know they’re selling a product that comes from fossil fuels. 

The Beach 

Although throughout The Beach, theirs is very minimal to no actual speaking, however through Thornton’s actions and attitude speak louder than words. Even within the first episode, he tells a fantastic story without barely speaking. He portrays a call for help as an older man trying o find his way, and he shows the audience the kindness that he has within him in regards to his interaction with wildlife and the respect he has for this land. 

Standard Operating Procedure 

The people speaking within this film are the military personnel that worked within this facility and treated these prisoners in a very inhuman way. Many of the interviewees spend their interview time trying i justify the things they did, and justify why it wasn’t a horrible act. 

Gas lands

Besides Fox himself speaking his part in this film, the people of America/ the affected residents are the main voice writhing Gas lands. They speak about their experience with how these wells have affected their home life. Fox has done a great amount of research which widens the eyes of the audience. 

The ethics that are challenged within this article is deception, lying and more. The director (Moselle) had befriended the brothers and was a close friend until she was made aware of the deranged part in life which she took advantage and encouraged to do new things for the first time for entertainment and set up scenes. During this friendship she uses the brothers to capture their new experiences. This is ethically an odd technique as she balanced on the point of a documentary and reality television. She also has been frowned upon for not asking the questions that needed to be asked and for editing and completely changing the chronological order of their life in order to make the film better. Despite attempting to document this story of the family correctly, she tried to create the film in the way in which she would want to view. Overall Moselle has attempted to document this story however crafting it into a narrative has unfortunately turned this story into more of a fiction. 

These documentaries all challenge ethical ideals throughout the world, whether it’s torture, environmental issues, loneliness, isolation and more. These documentaries all make you feel different emotions and are fantastic for studying. 

In article 1, what are the two arguments put forward? What are the arguments about the use of empathy as a story device? 

One side of an argument is that the octopus should not be viewed as a human/ having human like traits such as feeling pain and emotions. The other argument states that this animal does have intelligence and have an emotional understanding of the world around them. Empathy can be used to cause stress or as they say a “call to action” persuading the audience to make change. Although the film does not blatantly ask people to make a change, these empathetic techniques are someone “subliminal” and make the audience feel for these animals. Viewing a film that focuses on one particular animal also influences audiences to change their view on favouring particular species over others, making other animals that are perhaps higher on the food chain frowned upon. 

Article 2 begins by asserting that "A good story has been the hot commodity of nonfiction films in recent years – but they only give viewers the power to identify with their subjects rather than understand them." Do you agree with this premise? Why? What arguments does Story make in the article that debunks this premise?

I agree with the statement that current nonfictional films are very bland in terms of character development therefore leading the audience to disregard understanding these characters and simply viewing them as characters in a film. The theory is debunked through the explanation that documentary still requires the emotional understanding of the characters as it is part of documentary form, that without understand the characters surrounding these stories that there wouldn’t be a story at all. 

Do you think there is a ‘hollywood’ narrative at work in this documentary?

There is most definitely a major ‘Hollywood’ aspect throughout this documentary primarily due to the presence of a basic three act structure throughout the film, first act being “Who is Lucy, where is she etc”, second being “Lucy moving to Africa and failing with rehabilitation”, and finally the third act focuses on “Lucy learning and being rehabilitated and Lucys death”. 

What are your thoughts on how the story is presented in Lucy the human chimp? 

This film is a documentary/ reenactment of the entire events in Lucy’s life. The use of the amount of reenactment make me as an audience member view this as not much of a documentary but more of a recreation of events “Based on a true story”.

Who is speaking in Lucy the human chimp? 

Lucy is speaking in “Lucy the human chimp”, she is often spoken about throughout the film as if in third person, “Lucy feels this, Lucy does that”, however although Lucy is heard throughout the documentary this can be clouded at times as it comes through Janice and her assumptions and readings of what Lucy may or may not be feeling. 

What are your thoughts on the ethical issues in Lucy the human chimp?

Lucy being stripped from her mother, raised by humans and treated like humans  then tossed back into the outside world represent ethical issues such as treating Lucy as a human although she never will be. Lucy is raised as a human, fed as a human, treated like a human and as much as Janice and others would like to believe she was a human, she will always be a primate. Although using this makes for a very emotional connection for the viewers and the people involved, this thought of Lucy being a human is unfortunately what leads to her death. 

What are some of the stylistic and cinematic ways of the director allows “real life to intrude on and puncture the dramatic shape” of Lucy the human chimp? 

The director directly allows real life to intrude which shapes the entire story from who Lucy is and who she will become. Initially a lot of it being archive footage very soon becomes recreated footage, how much is true we don’t actually know. The recreations are beautiful and show true emotion and with the implementation of voice over backs up the visuals making for a very effective documentary. 

Voiceover is used in a very clever way. To preserve the effect that he is alone in this desolate place he is often seen sitting and “chatting” with his chickens or another animal. He discusses his thoughts and his life through the use of these conversations. 

How does he ‘treat’ theme each ep? 

Each episodes theme reflects his personal feelings, for eg. The first episode was slow and dark however the final episode is more bright and exploration is a big part now. Theme changes all throughout this series mainly dependant on what occurs throughout the episode. 

How does Thornton use pace? 

Thornton has chosen a very slow pacing throughout he entire series, it makes for a very calm and relaxing viewing, he goes fishing, catches the fish, drives home, cooks it up. His episodes have a somewhat repetitive nature however changing slightly in his daily activities. 

What is Thornton’s authorial and creative style? 

His creative style is that of a fly on the wall type documentary using techniques such as his “conversations”, and scenes so simple as to just watching him hunt or cook. This allows for the viewer to feel as if they are just sitting in the same room as him and watching him live his life in this small hut. 

What do you think this series reveals about Thornton? Why? 

I believe this reveals that he is a man who is trying to get back to his roots and back to nature by isolating himself. Although he has a small crew he portrays it as he is alone however I believe he does have a large creative input in regards to the project. The series overall is a documentary of self reflection and a break from reality which is what he seeks out throughout the series. 

How do you think Thornton’s voice becomes obvious? What is he saying? 

Thornton is a very down to earth person, he takes things as they are and he is quite showing of that, although he may not be visibly speaking much the audience is made aware through his actions. Thornton is the main character of this story however another character is life, and how he take on these challenges that life throws at him is very exciting to watch. He is telling us that he is a strong person regardless of what has happened to him in the past. 

Untold Stories from Australian World War 1 Memorials - 

In a small town the viewers are shown of the dozens of men that died in WW1 however many of them are over looked and immediately dismissed to focus primarily on these two brothers. The film makers steer away from the more detailed areas of the war and focus on the family and how the family was involved and how the family dealt with the loss of these two men. Using this is blinding the audience to feel bad for these men although we are not given much more explanation to the rest of the war and what occurred. 

The Vietnam War Episode 1 - 

The film makers position the audience in many different ways throughout the film however I believe they position you into supporting the Viet-Minh as they take priority in regards to how much of their story is shared. Showing the brutality of the French and the carelessness of the Americans the Vietnamese people become the main emotional focal point in the story however this is reverse through the documentary and the Viet-Minh are shown to be just as brutal, burying people alive, killing their own etc. Overall this film makes me as an audience member be put into a position to where I support the Viet-Minh however with further episodes this may change. 

Untold Stories from Australian World War 1 Memorials - 

The use of archive footage, old images of the brothers and old letters play a major role in telling the side of the Elliot family. Old letters are read out to the audience to put them in the families shoes which creates for an emotional impactful viewing. Using archive footage during the war also shows the reality of how many men went into this war. The story is told by one person, being the great-Niece to the Elliot Brothers and she explains through her own research and memories from past relatives, not other voice is heard throughout this short documentary. The use of all these personal scenes, imagery and more all force the audience into agree that these two men are true hero’s and a true tragedy although dismisses the many other lives lost of soldiers all around the world. 

The Vietnam War Episode 1 - 

Throughout this documentary their are many techniques which are used to persuade emotion and to encourage the position of the film. Archival footage is used almost 90% of the time, showing the brutality of the war, and showing the passing in time through American leaders. Speeches also play a large roll, having two influential speakers plead their cases to their people is impactful as it makes you question as an audience member who is “the good guy”. Utilising red highlights on the map to show who is in control is also very subtle but throughout the way they were portraying the French initially as “red” on the map and later in the film the Viet-Minh were later highlighted as the “red” on the map of Indo-China. These techniques are way of convincing an audience of a particular point of view through emphasising emotion throughout the film. 

I am not your negro and Lousy Little Sixpence both share a lot of styles such as interview segments, narration, use of archival footage and more. However I am not your negro is a much more engaging film due to the pacing and the structure of the film whereas Lousy Little Sixpence is much slower and consists of a very basic structure of interviews intercut with archival footage. Both Styles are effective in informing the audience of these stories, however I am not your negro is a much more engaging and informative film. 

How does the narration (flow of story material) differ? 

The narration has a major impact on the flow of the story, within I am not your negro narration plays a major role, the narration comes from an unfinished manuscript called “Remember this house”. The narration is telling a story and has archival footage to back up the story. Narration within Lousy Little Sixpence is quite different with one main narrator speaking to explain missing parts of the story. He would often introduce the characters and be speaking of their lives. 

Identify How is archival footage used and do you think it effective? 

Archival footage is very effective in I am not your negro, they use a clever comparison of using older archive footage showing the abuse of black people and then following up with newer archival footage which shows that not much has changes. This makes the viewer have a realisation of how these strong men fought for freedom, but did they ever get it? I don’t think they did.  Archival footage within Lousy Little Sixpence is used extensively, it is effective in giving proof to the stories of these characters. A lot of still images are used due to video not being very common in this area in the early 1900s. 

Who is 'speaking' in each documentary and in what way is the author's voice obvious? 

The speaker in I am not your negro is Baldwin. He is the writer of the manuscript and has many interview segments throughout the documentary, however he speaks for multiple people but primarily the entire ‘Negro’ community. The voice in Lousy Little Sixpence is the Aboriginal children that were taken from their home and put into the ‘white’ community and put into work, they show this by having many interviews with these people.  

Identify salient stylistic qualities in each film. 

How do the films differ stylistically? Do you think the style is effective? Why? 

I am not your negro uses the use of photos in a slideshow style to tell the story of who certain characters are and what happens to them ie. News papers, Family photos, articles etc. This is very effective in telling a story without footage and only using small dialogue over the top however dialogue is not needed to explain the story during these segments. Lousy Little Sixpence shares very similar styles in regards to the slideshow style and the use of archival footage. However Lousy Little Sixpence utilises a lot more one on one interview segments, which takes up majority of the viewing time. This is still affect in informing the audience on the history of these characters and the history of what happened. 

The ABC include additional resource material. Explore this material and consider how it extends the story and information not available in the documentary. Would you include any of the information in this resource in the broadcast documentary? Why? 

The articles are very useful in terms of they can be used for study, interviews, extra information and more. They are quite in depth but I do not believe much of this information would help the documentary although they are good sources.