Performative and Participatory Modes, and People Different Than Us
by Jared HowardPerformative and Participatory Modes, and People Different Than Us
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Truth can be found in many different places, in many different ways. Documentary aims for this truth, and all of its modes are different ways of portraying that truth. Throughout all history and cultures, stories and myths have been shared. This tradition continues.
It is said that Western philosophy began with Socrates in Greece. Two advantages that Greece had to starting philosophy was their word and idea of “panta” or “all things” and their central location in the Mediterranean, a hub of all different cultures, customs, and communities. It is because of this the Greeks could understand their place in the cosmos and bring down “understanding from heaven” and contextualize their world, their place, their existence.
It is this idea that makes documentaries and stories and voices of all different backgrounds much more important. Humans have this need for socialization, for we are social beings, it is how we survive. With this, we crave stories and experiences and connectedness. We seek for purpose and enlightenment. Nowadays, it’s not hard to see the polarization of politics or identity and the negative consequences of these things. However, I’ve seen many instances - whether it be on social media, movies, or in my own life - that when people of two completely different interests or cultures or beliefs talk to each other, get to know each other, an understanding and empathy is forged, and a bond is created. When it comes to documentaries, the inaccessible is made accessible, mysteries develop into knowledge, and tangible experiences are created and had. Documentaries that focus on other cultures and backgrounds allow us to escape the echo chamber of our lives and experience things we otherwise would not. We become smarter, more loving, more good. It also allows us to live life to the fullest because we gain experiences other than our own.
With performative mode, it means that more often than not, the filmmaker is showing themselves as a character within the work of art itself, recording their experiences with the subject. Faces Places is a great example of this. We see Agnes Varda and JR interact with their subjects to demonstrate this knowledge of human connectedness and the things that they - Varda and JR - learn and experience. The reveal the truths they gain and that they profess as universal. It is powerful because we have a main character to guide us through the emotion and action that is happening, very much like a fiction film would do. Having a naive main subject helps orient us too. Despite this, some may argue that it can be tone deaf or exploitative that the filmmaker is using unaware subjects, or having an ignorant filmmaker of important things.
With participatory mode, it means that the filmmaker is making the subject the center of the work and recording the subject’s interactions and responses. Unlike performative, participatory has a more observational yet investigative approach, watching subjects in their natural habitat. It is an opportunity for the people to speak and the filmmaker, and audience, learn from the subject about the problem or subject at hand. It gives them a voice, one that is more focused on them, rather than the filmmaker is experiencing with or through the subject. A great example is Minding the Gap. Bing records and observes his friends. However, because they went through the same struggles of domestic abuse, Bing knows how to ask questions and deal with this very sensitive topic. And it’s very interesting because, in a way, he has skin in the game, something that performative mode lacks at times. Where Bing knows how to ask questions and deal with sensitive topics, it allows us to sympathize and gain discover for ourselves the complex feelings that or portrayed. On the other hand, participatory also faces similar problems as performative, like exploitation or voyeurism.
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