The Expository Mode

This mode seems to be well suited for politically charged/ agenda driven documentary films. As Nichols explains, they are framed by rhetoric, which is typical of any persuasive argument. It became apparent as we viewed this week's film selection how the 'voice-of-God' narration impacts the viewer. At least for myself, I found it very easy to trust such an omniscient presence in the film. Obviously this facet of commentary was interrogated by Land Without Bread, but seemed to hold true throughout the other films we explored. The filmmakers were conscious of the power behind the omniscient voice and exploited the trust/faith that develops with the audience. The result was a somewhat humorous and slightly disturbing experience.

In the case of The Vampire and The Love Life Of an Octopus, I found it particularly entertaining to consciously trust the narrator as he made seemingly candid and dry remarks about the films' animal subjects. The two films didn't appear to have much of a politically charged nature, but they do seem to drive a view on the animals. For instance in The Love Life Of An Octopus we are encouraged to observe and appreciate the subject in a particular way: as though the creature were a chimera. This perhaps reflected the knowledge the filmmaker had about the impact of his narrations and other sound design elements on an audience.

Interestingly,  I found that Manufacturing Consent, though it lacked an omniscient narrator, employed the subject himself as a sort of 'voice-of-Authority' type narration, in spite of Chomsky never explicitly addressing the film's audience. Chomsky' speech, gathered from many contexts and places, was melded into a very strong driving narration in support of the subject's views.. This was a point of separation between this film and The Interrupters(another familiar example of expository film), which employed voices-of-authority that directly addressed the film's intended audience.

Another fine example of expository media that crossed my path this past week was Ken Burns' Jazz (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pimw60xGmuA). It hardly needs much of an introduction as to why it would be considered expository, due to its heavily investigative/historical tone ushered along by a confident 'voice-of-God'.