University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School January 2012 The Rhetoric of Evidence in Recent Documentary Film and Video Steven W. Schoen University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Mass Communication Commons, and the Rhetoric Commons Scholar Commons Citation Schoen, Steven W., "The Rhetoric of Evidence in Recent Documentary Film and Video" (2012). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. http://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/4399 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Rhetoric of Evidence in Recent Documentary Film and Video by Steven W. Schoen A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Communication College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Co-Major Professor: David Payne, Ph.D. Co-Major Professor: Jane Jorgenson, Ph.D. Garnet Butchart, Ph.D. Kimberly Golombisky, Ph.D. Date of Approval: October 23, 2012 Keywords: Dramatism, Kenneth Burke, Scene, Filmmaking Copyright © 2012, Steven W. Schoen Acknowledgments I am keenly aware of the broad range of people whose ideas, values, and attitudes have influenced and inspired what I have written here, stretching back years, and including people who planned documentaries with me, sat in front of my camera, asked questions in the classroom, and so forth. There are many teachers, friends, co-workers, family members, and students who have made this work possible and I thank them all for their support, ideas, challenges, and patience. Even the list of just those who have most directly inspired and enhanced this dissertation is long. In particular, each of my committee members has been generous with time and ideas, and a source of productive challenge. First, I must thank David Payne, whose artful mix of support, encouragement and challenge were delivered with kindness, patience, amazing generosity, and a true enthusiasm for my project. David, I am just beginning to realize the many things I have learned from you beyond your rich insights into communication, rhetoric and media. Jane Jorgenson and Garnet Butchart have been inspiring teachers and committee members who have had important influence on this work. And I am grateful to Kim Golombisky as an example of a scholar who keeps learning and growing. I am also indebted to the many scholars who have been good friends and a source of support and encouragement along the way. Tony Adams has shared everything from hospitality, to compelling ideas, and insights about academic life. The hours I spent sitting in coffee houses writing together with colleagues sparked countless ideas and did much to help me to persevere in the hard work of writing, so thank you my friends: Liz Edgecomb, Emily Ryalls, Rachel Silverman, and Jillian Tullis. Elizabeth Bell, Rachel Dubrofsky, Michael Levan, and Jon Torn, have all been outstanding teachers and offered sage advice. And Carolyn Ellis and Stacy Holman Jones in particular have been crucial sources of encouragement, wisdom and guidance. Ken Cissna, Tim Kennedy, Lori Roscoe, Art Silverblatt and David Spangler have provided invaluable support along the way. Harvey Landress read through this manuscript with suggestions for clarifications. And my colleagues at Florida International University, especially Joann Brown and my good friend Daniel Blauer have offered encouragement and support in countless ways. Finally I must acknowledge the support of dear friends in both Tampa Bay and South Florida, and the unwavering love, patience and support of my family: my parents, Walter and Sharon; my sisters and brother, Vicki, Nancy, Lynda and Joe; an amazing collection of remarkable nieces and nephews; and most especially my partner Larry. Thank you. Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................. iii Introduction ........................................................................................ 1 Telling Documentary Truth ........................................................... 1 Objectivity and Evidence .............................................................. 4 Documentary as Rhetoric ............................................................. 7 Rhetoric and Representation ....................................................... 10 Chapter One: Documentary Theory and a Rhetoric of Evidence ................. 13 Contemporary Documentary Theory ............................................. 13 Rhetorical Criticism of Documentary ............................................. 18 Documentary Images as Evidence ................................................ 29 The Rhetoric of Evidence ............................................................. 33 A Burkean Approach to Documentary ........................................... 40 Dramatism ....................................................................... 41 Identification .................................................................... 42 Motivated Action ............................................................... 44 Chapter Overview ...................................................................... 49 Chapter Two: Documentary Scene and the Evidence of Acts ..................... 54 Documentary Scene Structuring Action as Evidence ........................ 56 Scene Structuring Action in Bully ................................................. 59 Representing Bullying ................................................................. 73 Conclusion ................................................................................ 75 Chapter Three: Documentary Scene Building Character ............................ 78 Documenting Character .............................................................. 79 Character as Scene .................................................................... 83 Naked on the Inside: The Surface of the Self ................................. 86 Conclusion .............................................................................. 100 Chapter Four: Documentary Agency .................................................... 103 The How of Documentaries ....................................................... 104 Depictions of Agency ................................................................ 105 Documentaries as Agency ......................................................... 110 Scene Shaping Agency in Jesus Camp ........................................ 112 Two Dramas, Two Audiences ..................................................... 115 The Agency of Jesus Camp ........................................................ 119 The Dynamic of Oppositional Rhetoric ......................................... 121 Conclusion .............................................................................. 126 i Chapter Five: Documenting Purpose .................................................... 129 Purpose and Mysticism ............................................................. 129 Purpose as Evidence ................................................................ 132 Scene Structuring Purpose ........................................................ 134 Scene, Purpose and Mystification ............................................... 138 Pure Scene, Ultimate Purpose .................................................... 141 Physical Presence as Scene ....................................................... 144 Evoking an Experience of Purpose .............................................. 147 Conclusion .............................................................................. 149 Chapter Six: Conclusion ..................................................................... 152 The Rhetoric of Evidence ........................................................... 156 Documentary Ethics ................................................................. 163 Contemporary Documentary Ethics ............................................ 164 Locating the Truth of Documentary ............................................ 167 A Rhetorical Ethics of Documentary ............................................ 169 References ....................................................................................... 176 ii Abstract Documentary is a genre of film that portrays “real” events using depictions that connote the objectivity and facticity implied by the processes of photorealism. Many contemporary documentary theorists and critics observe a constitutive problem in this ethos: despite the apparent constructions and agendas of documentary filmmaking, the framing and assumption of documentary as a window on the world tend to naturalize its own constructions as “real.” Critics who engage documentary trace the multitude of ways this problem plays out in particular films. These projects yield many important insights, but they most often approach documentary as a form of inherently deficient representation fraught with ethical questions— questions created by the frame and ethos of objectivity it fails to achieve. Are events portrayed truthfully? Are people depicted fairly? Are filmmakers misrepresenting? In this study I seek to show that a rhetorical approach to documentary shifts the critical focus to instead examine