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URI [dataset] University of Southampton Faculty of Arts and Humanities Film Studies Performing Identity in Contemporary Biographical Documentary by Adam James Vaughan ORCID ID: 0000-0003-1780-3603 Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy May 2019 University of Southampton Abstract Faculty of Arts and Humanities Film Studies Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Performing Identity in Contemporary Biographical Documentary by Adam James Vaughan My thesis addresses the role performance plays in contemporary documentary. I focus on case studies where performance techniques (reconstruction, use of actors) are used and my discussion analyses the distinctive effects that are created. A distinction is made between performance and performative, as defined by J.L. Austin, Judith Butler, Stella Bruzzi, et al., and this is then connected to Erving Goffman’s work on social performance to argue that numerous documentaries actively engage with how identity is socially constructed. My aim is to highlight that implementing elements of performance into non-fiction film is a technique used by the filmmaker to include the spectator in negotiations of meaning in such films, centring on definitions of identity and how we all perform in everyday life. Historically, documentary film has been theorised in terms of its objectivity and that any use of fictional techniques undermines its main purpose. My research challenges this longstanding definition and acknowledges that the use of a performative visual framework can provide an audience with a wider understanding of how they define, shape and perform their various ‘selves.’ Chapter topics include 'Autobiography', 'Sports and Music Documentaries', and 'LGBTQ+ Documentaries'. Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................... i Table of Figures ........................................................................................................... iii Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship .................................................................. v Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... vii Chapter 1 Introduction: Performance and the Performative in Documentary .............. 1 1.1 Critical Definitions of Documentary ........................................................................... 4 1.2 Historical Overview .................................................................................................. 16 1.3 Performance and Performative ................................................................................ 27 1.4 Biography and Autobiography ................................................................................. 37 1.5 Methodology ............................................................................................................ 42 1.6 Chapter Outline ........................................................................................................ 43 Chapter 2 Autobiography ......................................................................................... 49 2.1 A Plurality of Selves .................................................................................................. 59 2.2 Internal/External, Private/Public Spaces .................................................................. 71 Chapter 3 Performance in Sports and Music Documentaries ..................................... 83 3.1 Different Types of Performance ............................................................................... 84 3.2 Mediated Bodies and Spectacular Display ............................................................... 86 3.3 Performance and Pain .............................................................................................. 94 3.4 Voice, the Body and Identity .................................................................................. 101 Chapter 4 LGBTQ+ Documentary .............................................................................109 4.1 I Am Divine and Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures as ‘Camp’ Documentary ..... 120 4.2 I Am Divine and Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures as Performative Documentary ................................................................................................................................ 126 4.3 Gay Sensibility and Art Installation Films ............................................................... 136 Chapter 5 Reflexive Strategies .................................................................................143 5.1 Voice in Documentary ............................................................................................ 143 5.2 The Arbor ................................................................................................................ 147 i Table of Contents 5.3 Notes on Blindness ................................................................................................. 154 5.4 Animation in Waltz with Bashir .............................................................................. 157 Chapter 6 Conclusion ..............................................................................................167 Bibliography ..............................................................................................................183 ii Table of Figures Table of Figures Figure 1 Diego Velazquez, Las Meninas, 1656, oil on canvas, 318cm x 276cm, Museo p. 55 del Prado, Madrid, Spain Figure 2 Stories We Tell. dir. by Sarah Polley. National Film Board of Canada, et al. p. 55 Canada. 2012. Figure 3 Film posters for Senna (Asif Kapadia, 2010) and Amy (Kapadia, 2015) p. 93 Figure 4 Publicity still of Divine via p. 120 https://i.pinimg.com/736x/c3/ff/99/c3ff996d01a8f7a66041fbf607e8a00a- divine-goddess-october-.jpg (accessed 06/10/2018) and film still of Divine from Pink Flamingos (John Waters, 1972) via https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/101753272802915779/ - (accessed 06/10/2018) Figure 5 p. 122 Robert Mapplethorpe, Self-Portrait, c1980, photograph, gelatine silver print on paper Figure 6 p. 126 Robert Mapplethorpe, Joe NYC, 1978, photograph, Selenium toned gelatine silver print, 19.5 × 19.5 cm Figure 7 Left - Robert Mapplethorpe, Calla Lily, 1988, platinum print, 47.9 x 48.6 cm, p. 133 Right - Robert Mapplethorpe, Ken Moody, 1983, photograph, Gelatine silver print, 38.5 × 38.7 cm, New York, USA Left, Wildflowers of Manitoba (Noam Gonick and Luis Jacobs, 2007), right, p. 139 Now (Chantal Akerman, 2015) Figure 8 iii Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship Research Thesis: Declaration of Authorship Print name: Adam Vaughan Title of thesis: Performing Identity in Contemporary Biographical Documentary I declare that this thesis and the work presented in it are my own and has been generated by me as the result of my own original research. I confirm that: 1. This work was done wholly or mainly while in candidature for a research degree at this University; 2. Where any part of this thesis has previously been submitted for a degree or any other qualification at this University or any other institution, this has been clearly stated; 3. Where I have consulted the published work of others, this is always clearly attributed; 4. Where I have quoted from the work of others, the source is always given. With the exception of such quotations, this thesis is entirely my own work; 5. I have acknowledged all main sources of help; 6. Where the thesis is based on work done by myself jointly with others, I have made clear exactly what was done by others and what I have contributed myself; 7. Parts of this work have been published as: Adam Vaughan, ‘Mute Bodies, Disembodied Voices and Blind Spectators: Performativity in Notes on Blindness’ in Question Journal, April 23 (2018), https://www.questionjournal.com/single-post/2018/04/23/Mute-Bodies-Disembodied- Voices-and-Blind-Spectators-Performativity-in-Notes-on-Blindness - accessed 21/09/18 Signature: Date: 19/06/19 v Acknowledgements Acknowledgements A PhD thesis might be an individual piece of research, but it would be incorrect to assume that others have not helped and encouraged me along this challenging yet deeply rewarding journey. Firstly, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to my supervisory team, Lucy Mazdon and Michael Williams, for their endless patience, unwavering support, and always insightful comments. It has been a pleasure and a thrill to work alongside you through this process. Thank you also to my colleagues at the University of Southampton