Date of Completion

12-9-2024

Degree Type

Honors Thesis - Campus Access

Discipline

Film & Television Studies (FTVS)

First Advisor

Anupama Prabhala

Abstract

This paper asks the following set of questions about the documentary film: Who determines identity, ourselves or others? Despite its purported truth-telling goals, the constructed nature of the documentary does not allow for objectivity. Showing how documentaries present highly selective versions of Truth, I examine how they construct a desired identity for the individuals they depict. Furthermore, I explore how the constructed identity of entertainment figures within the documentary film influences or is influenced by their industry status. Because the genre lacks objective truth, the truths told in media are analyzed through the lens of authenticity and what exactly is being conveyed to the audience. Since documentaries contain specific truth claims, the construction of reputation and identity must be analyzed through a lens of authenticity. Although past uses of documentary primarily showcased facts and how reality “truly” is, the genre has changed in understanding, functioning more as a medium to portray a single perspective or set of beliefs (Williams). Using three contemporary American documentaries – The Last Mogul: The Life and Times of Lew Wasserman, Trumbo, and Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV – this paper argues that the subjective, yet authentic nature of documentary media affects the construction of people’s identity and therefore status of the individuals. Because documentary functions as an archive of memory, preserving pieces of history, these documentaries about individuals in entertainment transmit their identity and status into collective memory, incorporating them into history as a result.

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