Truth, Integrity and Ethics in Nonfiction

Jessica Noske-Turner

TRUTH, INTEGRITY & ETHICS IN NON-

FICTION

Jessica Noske-Turner: PhD Candidate, QUT; Research Assistant, RMIT University

‘Truth’ in non-fictionDocumentary modesRepresentationOwning truth: forms, right to veto, & the industryModels of collaborative practice

Not intending to preach any one ‘right way’

OVERVIEW


Documentaries seen as truth, opposite of fiction (non-fiction)

BUT documentaries are constructedDocumentary as ‘creative treatment of actuality’

(Grierson)Documentary as journalism + art (Winston)Documentary as crafted story (Aufderheide)

Collision of journalism + art : This American Life ep 460

TRUTH IN NON-FICTION: DIFFERENT FORMS, DIFFERENT TRUTHS


36.26Mike Daisey…My mistake, the mis take I t ru ly regret , i s that I had i t on your show as journal ism. And i t ' s not journal ism. I t ' s theater. I t uses the too ls of theater and memoir to achieve i ts dramat ic arc .And of that arc and that work I 'm very proud. Because I th ink i t made you care , I ra . And I th ink i t made you want to de lve . And my hope is i t has made other peop le de lve .

Ira GlassSo you' re saying the s tory isn ' t t rue in the journal i s t ic sense?

Mike DaiseyI am agree ing i t i s not up to the s tandards of journal i sm. And that 's why i t was complete ly wrong for me to have i t on your show. And that 's something I deep ly regret . And I regret that the peop le who are l i s ten ing , the aud ience of This Amer ican L i fe , who know that i t i s a journal i s t ic enterpr ise - - i f they fee l mis led or betrayed, I regret to them as wel l .

http: / /www.thisamericanl i fe .org/radio -archives/episode/460/

retract ion

COLLISION OF JOURNALISM + ART : THIS AMERICAN LIFE EP 460


Mike DaiseyI don't th ink that label covers the tota l i ty of what i t i s .

Ira GlassThe labe l , "fi ct ion?"

Mike DaiseyYeah. We have diff erent wor ldviews on some of these th ings. I agree that t ruth is real ly important .

Ira GlassI know. But I fee l l ike I have the normal wor ldview. The normal wor ldview is somebody stands on a stage and says, "This happened to me," I th ink i t happened to them, unless i t 's c lear ly labe led, "Here 's a work of fi ct ion."

Mike DaiseyI real ly regret putt ing the show on This American L i fe . And i t was wrong for me to misrepresent to you and to Br ian that i t could be on the show.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/460/

retraction

COLLISION OF JOURNALISM + ART : THIS AMERICAN LIFE EP 460

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/460/retraction





Nichols 1991 + revisions

Expository modeObservational modePoetic modeParticipatory mode

(originally interactive mode)

Reflexive modePerformative mode

MODES OF DOCUMENTARY

Image from: Delofski, M. (2009) 'Dreaming a Connection: Reflections on the Documentary Subject/Filmmaker Relationship'. Scan Journal of Media Arts Culture 6 (3).


Subsequently, I decided it was important to acknowledge these dilemmas in my narration to the fi lm. For example, when Amal is fi rst seen in a really ill state I comment that: ‘For the fi rst time I felt like I was intruding. ’

(THOMAS, 2012)


The effect of using these moments certainly acknowledges my presence in the story but it also serves to create a truthful reflection on the quality of the relationship that I developed with the participants and the role of that relationship in creating the discourse . In one of these moments, at Tony’s birthday lunch, he turned to the camera and directed me to, ‘put down that camera and come here and have something to eat with us’.

(DONOVAN 2012)


Said’s The ‘Other’Whiteness studiesPost-colonial theoryPower

REPRESENTATION


Existing laws benefit fi lmmakers Indigenous Cultural & Intellectual Property?

http://frankellawyers.com.au/media/report/culture.pdf

Release formsRight to veto

Interactions at the business end of town

WHO OWNS ‘THE TRUTH’





Interviewer: Tell me about the whole negotiation around your participation generally. When did he ask you?

Rule: I can’t remember. I can just remember his car being out the front of my place and he dragged out a form and said ‘you’ll have to sign this form’ [...] I was a bit aware of the contract and what it entitled him to and what it didn’t entitle me to and it is, it doesn’t make you feel good because you’re giving away all your rights really , you don’t have any rights. All of that is then his, oh well it was really SBS’s [the broadcaster].

Quoting Lyn Rule, part icipant in Molly and Mobarak

NASH 2012


We say to our subjects, ‘We are not journalists; we are going to spend years with you. Our code of ethics is very diff erent . A journalist wouldn’t show you the footage. We will show the fi lm before it is finished. I want you to sign the release, but we will really listen to you. But ultimately it has to be our decision. ’ In some cases I will say, ‘If there is something that you can’t live with then we’ll discuss it, we will have the argument and real dialogue . In the end, if I can’t convince you then we’ll take it out. ’

Quoting Gordon Quinn

AUFDERHEIDE 2012


One Blood: the Story of Wil l iam Cooper

NEGOTIATIONS


As a practising, independent documentary fi lmmaker, I have found over the last few years that the increasingly controlling interference of television commissioning editors and executive producers has not only undermined my artistic integrity but also prevented me from behaving in what I consider to be an ethical manner towards the participants in my fi lms. To quote one small but signifi cant example, pressures of t ime and money were used as justifi cation by the commissioners of a television documentary I made to prevent me from showing the fi lm to its participants for comment until after it was completed . Offi cially, of course, this was defendable because the participants had no legal say in the fi nal cut , but in terms of behaving decently in return for their participation I felt it was wrong.

THOMAS 2012


Narrative Therapy (Thomas 2012)Participatory Development (Noske-Turner 2012)Participant as collaborator, expert, agent, ownerDialogue, consultation(See also Donovan 2012)

MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE


AGENCY IN INTERVIEWS


Narrative Therapy (Thomas 2012)Participatory Development (Noske-Turner 2012)Participant as collaborator, expert, agent, ownerDialogue, consultation

Challenges/ limitations Interest in participating Not for stories with high levels of conflict Truth?

MODELS OF COLLABORATIVE PRACTICE


Sp ec ia l I s sues o f : N ew Rev iew o f Fi lm and Te lev i s i on S tu d ies , 201 2 Vo l 1 0 I s s 3E s pec ia l l y wo r th wh i l e a re :

Aufderheide, P. (2012) 'Perceived ethical confl icts in US documentary fi lmmaking: a fi eld report' . New Review of Film and Television Studies 10 (3):362-386

(See also) http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/making-your-media-matter/documents/best-practices/honest-truths-documentary-filmmakers-ethical-chall

Nash, K. (2012) 'Tell ing stories: the narrative study of documentary ethics'. New Review of Fi lm and Television Studies 10 (3):318-331. (accessed 2013/10/02). 10.1080/17400309.2012.693765.

N ash , K . ( 2 01 1 ) 'Docu menta r y - f o r- t he - O th e r : Re la t i ons h ips , E th i c s an d (O b se r v a t i ona l ) Docu men ta r y ' . J ou rna l o f Mass Med ia E th i c s 26 (3 ) : 22 4 - 23 9 .

Win s ton , B r i an ( 2 00 0 ) L i es Damn L i es and Documen ta r i es . B r i t i s h Fi lm I n s t i t u te , Lon don

N ich o l s , B i l l ( 19 91 ) Rep resen t i ng Rea l i t y: i s su es an d C oncep t s i n Documen ta r y. I nd i ana Un iv e r s i t y P res s

C o l l ab o r a t i v e p r ac t i ce C ase - S tu d ies :

Thomas , S . ( 20 12 ) ' C o l l abo r a t i on an d e th i c s i n documenta r y fi lmmak in g – a case s tu dy ' . N ew Rev iew o f Fi lm and Te lev i s i on S tud ies 1 0 (3 ) : 3 32 - 34 3

N oske -Tu rn e r , J . ( 20 12 ) 'Mak ing O n e B lood : A j ou rney th rou gh pa r t i c i pa to r y r ad io docu men ta r y p rod uc t i on ' . J ou rn a l o f Med ia P r ac t i ce 1 3 (2 ) : 1 77 - 1 87 .

Donov an , K . ( 2 01 2 ) ' The e th i ca l s t an ce an d i t s rep resen ta t i on i n t h e ex p res s i v e t echn iqu es o f docu men ta r y fi lm ing : a case s tud y o f Tagg ed ' . N ew Rev iew o f Fi lm an d Te lev i s i on S tud ies 10 (3 ) : 344 -36 1 .

Rad io docu men ta r y: Re t r ac ing th e Tr aged y Tr ack by Su san A n ge l h t tp : / / www.ab c .ne t . au / r ad ion a t i on a l / p rog r ams / h in ds ig h t / re - t r ac ing - th e - t r aged y- t r ack / 3 673 12 2

L ink t o t he f u l l Th i s A mer i can L i f e : Re t r ac t i on : h t tp : / / www. th i s amer i can l i f e .o rg / r ad io - a rch i v es / ep i s od e / 46 0 / re t r ac t i on

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Truth, Integrity and Ethics in Nonfiction

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