Factual Codes and Conventions
Michael Moore - Sicko
Sicko is a documentary about comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories.
The Mode of this documentary is Performative, as below it shows the codes and conventions which makes it Performative:
• There is a voiceover of Moore introducing some American people that cannot pay for health insurance. By this More is being interacted and telling the audience what happens and giving the progress through the documentary.
• Sicko emphasizes the subject nature which acknowledging the subjective to the audience but its objective because Moore is biased and has his own agenda as he doesn’t show the bad points of NHS in England. And it doesn’t show the other opinions on health care in American saying it’s good and they like it. In the documentary the audience might change their minds about the health care in USA and might believe it, especially for the American audience their minds might have been changed.
• For emotional and social impact is where we see this two mid-age married couple which have well paid jobs but having three heart attacks and cancer they had to pay a lot of money for health care, which made them bank erupt. The audience will feel for them as you see the wife crying losing her house and money.
• Another story of emotional and social impact is where a man lost his two fingers, but he could only fought to pay for one finger so he chose the wedding finger, which the audience will feel emotional to this.
• Michael Moore interacts in the documentary by interviews, voiceover and being on camera. As the audience we believe that Moore is the hero and telling us the truth about health care in America. We expect humor and entertainment in his documentaries. Moore is described as a whistler bowler, as we the audience enjoys watching him being aggressive to the America Government and to the villain in the documentary.
• Addresses the audience in an emotional and direct way is when a wife lost her husband from cancer and cries about it in front of the camera. The health care could have given a treatment, which might have save his life, but they didn’t to do it because the costs of the treatment which the hospital couldn’t fought it or saving money. By thing the audience is emotional and angry at the doctors.
• The voiceover tells the progress when Moore reveals new edvanince to back up his opinion about USA health care is archive footage of a trial of a doctor confessing about the truth about the health care. Then it goes back to 1971 of President Richard Nixon who started it off of the health care, as the audience we are spouse to hate him and we understand this because his unlikeable e.g. the Vietnam War and Watergate. Moore makes Nixon a villain.
• Moore interacts when he is on a boat with 9/11 rescuers who have been ill from the smoke by its ground zero and they can’t pay for health care. They go towards a Navel Base in Cuba of a prison camp, which they have, free health care which is the only America soil that has free health care. Moore tries to get them answer if the 9/11 rescuers could have their free health care but they don’t say anything. Being the audience this is to shock us and agree with Moore’s opinion and can’t believe helping them.
• The conclusion is when the 9/11 rescuers are taking care off in a Cuba hospital for free health care. As Moore is telling us as an audience that America should have health care, giving a point of this subject as Cuba is hated by America as it was commintson. This shows that Cuba is a friendly country and they care more about 9/11 rescuers than America health care. In some ways left without a satisfying ending as Moore is left to us ‘will they ever have free health care?’
Sky News:
Report Structure: The News readers give the audience the headlines of what has happened in the world for example for headlines ‘Syria Violence, Snow Disruption and Diamond Sublime (Queen Elisabeth 60 years on the throne). Then the next newsreader gives you the headlines of sport. This tells the big important news first then the little news. They do this because it makes the audience intrigue to know about the news of the headlines as they have to continuing watching it. There is a break where the newsreader gives me headlines for breaking news and telling the audience to stay with them to know more.
Actuality Footage: They use there own filming, which they have filmed in Syria filming the protesters and the government of Syria. This is to show the audience that this is really happening as this is proved and saying the people of Syria of its trouble. Sky News also uses amateur footage, where the camera is shaky which a Syria protester films it. This is to give the audience a closer look at the violence of Syria. Sky News uses it because they have caught it by the right time and can’t be where the violence is taken place, as it is risky for field reporters.
Interview of an expert: There is an interview of a Foreign Secretary William Hague MP, giving us information of what is happening and how they might help and what the Syria Government will do about the violence. To the audience they will believe him because of his career and his expertise.
Studio News Readers: They wear smart suits to look serious and to look like they are telling the truth but also to look like they are going to say something serious so as the audience they can take newsreaders seriously and trusting them.
Mode of Address to Viewer: The Studio News Readers they talk seriously and they voice is posh and clear so the audience know what they are saying also they can understand their account being posh as they look like ministers.
Field Reporters: There is a field reporter at Westminster as the field reporter is a Sky Correspondent ‘Peter Spencer’ informing the audience about health reforms and how the government dealing with it. The audience needs this because the field reporter is on the scene of the headline and got recent information by also to show the background where they are to show where the news is taking place.
Links to Studio: The links to studio is down the bottom of the screen where there is text and links, which gives the audience information about the main news and calling it ‘breaking news’ meaning it’s something you need to know and it’s important. Gives short reports of the headlines so the audience knows what they are going to be told also later on the news reader will give more information about it.
Senna
A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
The mode of this documentary is mostly expository but with the voiceover it doesn’t addresses the audience directly and it doesn’t used images to illustrate the voiceover.
• However the codes and conventions that makes expository is that they used archive footage to document on Ayrton Senna as it is like a biography. The whole documentary is archive footage. We see his life of racing from the start of go-karting to formula one, his personal life with his family and girlfriend.
• There are voiceovers but not the documentary makers, as they are interviews of Senna’s family and people that knew him and professional car racers as they talk about Senna.
• There are no interviews, only voiceover interviews of archive footage, while running.
The Thin Blue Line
A documentary that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.
The mode of this documentary is reflexive as the codes and conventions are:
• The documentary borrows techniques from fiction film for an emotional, subjective response for an example we see re-enactments of the killing of the police officer at the car and we see different points of views of what happened as we see close-up shot of the policewomen’s hand throwing her milkshake onto the floor. There are dark lighting to make it look mysterious and to make it look like something bad is about to happen and shadows of the driver/the killer not knowing who it is.
• The documentary emphasizes the expressive nature of film, anti realist techniques, which are re-enactments of the killing of the police officer; lighting is use in interviews and re-enactment as it gives that style of a crime dark drama. Dramatic music is use to make it gripping and sinister.
• There is a voiceover but have the interviewer as he talks over an image, picture or telling their stories of the killing from the re-enactments. Giving their views which is like we as the audience are the jury deciding if they are telling the truth or not. For example a witness from the trail tells their story which talks over the re-enactment of what they said.
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