Hitting a Baseball

            Documentary is a beautiful bridge. To me it is like a mix of romanticism and inquiry.  People realize that they can’t “follow natural instincts”, escape societal institutions, and go live in the woods. But they don’t have to see their lives as a trap or cage.  I find a lot of hope in this idea. This idea that the everyday should be exalted, and that tribulation can lead to transcendence is wonderful. We don’t seek to escape life, but to see it properly and revel in its quirks and circumstances.  Watching other people live and work can bring new perspective and insight to our own lives and work.

            For instance, Lumiere did a short actuality that showed two little babies in high chairs fighting.  I found it especially amusing because of how they were dressed: in lacy frilly frocks.  Children will fight no matter how old they are, where they are, what they are wearing, or whether or not a camera is rolling.  This documentation is one of the most pure and real because their actions are not affected by the camera’s presence. Many, if not most, people act differently in front of a camera than if they were alone.  People are narcissistic and care about how they are seen and documented.

            To demonstrate this type of filming we watched “Little Fugitive.”  It is a narrative story shot like it was pure reality.  We see the characters confront problems, complain, and get lost.  It even shows a bit of the social realism side of documentaries; it’s a coming of age tale and so there is some alienation to his brother, to the police, and to the horseman.  Eventually Joey is returned to his place in society and a little wiser for the experience.  Honestly, my favorite part in the entire film is when Joey is in the batting cage. He hits one of the baseballs at the cameraman. The camera jolts a bit from the experience, and Richie, who plays Joey, looks into the camera with a bit of shock in his eyes. It is the only time that the audience is made aware of the camera, the documentary, and the acting the boy is doing.  To me it shows a deeper reality than the filmmakers are trying to show by keeping the camera invisible.  I’ve seen many fiction films, but nothing like that has ever happened. I think it is a wonderful, and very real, moment which is what makes it so special.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bc7sLx1Bdw&t=29m58s