This is the information box I created, giving the reader basic details about the Short Film.
FILM DETAILS |
Certificate 15 |
Genre Documentary |
Cast Thirla Rich Beth Barwick Alice Leng Jonothan Clibbon |
Directors Rachel Howard |
Running Time 5 minutes |
Plot Outline:
Documentary film interviewing various individuals (including professionals) about how the media affects the way someone feels about their body image.
Review:
This film is in a documentary genre so intrigues an audience purely by its non-fictional format.
The Film has a good introduction. It starts by telling the aim of the documentary via a voiceover and explains why this is an important matter to discuss within today’s society. The audience visually sees a pile of magazines with the ‘ideal’ form of beauty plastered all over the front pages.
Throughout the short 5 people are interviewed about their views. The film does a fantastic job of interviewing people with a mixture of opinions and experiences. Characters also vary widely in age range from teenagers to the elderly: allowing the audience to see how perceptions of body image change throughout generations.
Despite this, the documentary could be seen as being biased as it fails to interview someone from the media industry who may have been able to justify why they use ‘perfect’ images.
The questions the interviewer asks are not prejudiced towards either side of the argument. The interviewees answer the questions depending on their own interpretation. Furthermore, it is good how the interviewees include the question in their answers; allowing time in the production to be used efficiently.
The interviewer not always being shown could be seen to be a failure of the film. There is no prominent presenter throughout and maybe having a consistent figure present would have linked the people/locations, which are ever changing.
When locations change, it uses establishing shots very well as we see wide/mid shots of the area, enabling the audience to acknowledge that the setting has changed. The film mixes stable shots with unstable shots. This represents a true documentary style as having shots that are not perfect enhances the real life element and constructed footage makes the film more professional.
Another positive is that the interviewees are not all asked questions in a standard interview format, i.e. sitting down. For instance, lady is interviewed whilst performing lazar treatment on a patient.
The documentary concludes that the media does affect how someone feels about their body image as the evidence discovered within the documentary backs this up. It balances the fact that although this may be the case, there are substantial reasons for the media to use airbrushed images.
It is good to conclude on a balanced opinion; however in some ways it can be seen as a copout as the answer in the documentary clearly shows the media does affect someone’s confidence. By ending on a more one-sided point of view makes the documentary worthwhile watching as the audience gets a definitive answer to the question posed.
Verdict:
A very current topic, with a good range of people featured, but lacking participation from the media itself.
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