Midterm (updated)

Question 1

Nichols’s 3 C’s (Credible, Compelling, Convincing)

Answer 1

Key traits of a strong documentary (truthful, engaging, & persuasive); Black Panthers is credible through footage, compelling through rhetoric, & convincing in its political stance

Question 2

Expository Mode

Answer 2

Uses voiceover narration to convey info directly to viewer; Island of Flowers uses a dry, sarcastic narrator expose the absurdity of global inequality

Question 3

Poetic Mode

Answer 3

emphasizes mood, tone, & visual aesthetics over clear argument; Meshes of the Afternoon is poetic in style, using dream imagery & symbolic editing

Question 4

Observational Mode

Answer 4

captures events as they happen, without intervention or narration; Three Songs for Benazir includes observational moments of Benazir’s life in the refugee camp

Question 5

Participatory Mode

Answer 5

filmmaker actively engages with subjects or events; Black Panthers includes interactions between filmmaker & Black Panther members

Question 6

Reflexive Mode

Answer 6

draws attention to filmmaking process or challenge documentary form; Island of Flowers is reflexive in its self-aware narration & structural play

Question 7

Performative Mode

Answer 7

emphasizes filmmaker’s personal perspective or emotional involvement; Three Songs for Benazir uses subjective lens to evoke empathy for Benazir’s struggles

Question 8

Film as Microcosm

Answer 8

a film reflects broader social, political, or cultural structures in mini form; Rear Window is a microcosm of 1950’s American values & gender roles through its apartment courtyard

Question 9

Realism vs Formalism

Answer 9

realism tries to depict life as it is, formalism uses stylization & structure to convey meaning; Roma leans realist with long takes & natural sound, Meshes of the Afternoon is highly formalist

Question 10

Fetishizing vs Modeling Desire

Answer 10

fetishizing reduces people to objects, modeling desire shows them as subjects of affection or aspiration; Black Girl critiques colonial fetishization of African women through Diouana’s treatment of

Question 11

Hegemony

Answer 11

subtle control of society through cultural norms rather than force; Black Panthers exposes how US media & institutions shape public perception of Black activism

Question 12

Neocolonialism

Answer 12

continued control through economics/culture; Black Girl critiques neocolonialism because Diouana is free, but still exploited by French employers

Question 13

Macro vs Micro Relations in Shot Types

Answer 13

macro = overall structure of scenes/shots, micro = details within a shot like lighting, blocking, & framing; Cleo’s subtle facial expressions within crowded frames

Question 14

Third Cinema vs First & Second

Answer 14

a politically radical film movement from the Global South, first = Hollywood, second = European art film; Black Girl is considered third cinema, resisting colonialism & dominant ideologies

Question 15

Formal & Social Analysis

Answer 15

formal = film techniques, social = cultural/political context; a formal reading of Meshes of the Afternoon looks at surreal editing, while a social reading sees it as feminist