THE LITERATE VOICE OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL DOCUMENTARY: TOWARD A LOGOLOGY OF THE MOVING IMAGE By KEVIN R. SHERMAN A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2016 1 © 2016 Kevin R. Sherman 2 To my family 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I thank my dissertation supervisor Greg Ulmer for his encouragement and guidance over the years. I could not have asked for a better mentor. I also am grateful to the rest of my dissertation committee: Robert Ray, Terry Harpold, and Jack Stenner. Todd Jurgess and Georg Koszulinski have influenced how I approach filmmaking and are both respected friends and valuable creative collaborators. Finally, I wish to thank both Bill Nichols and Randy Rutsky for their friendship and support over the last decade. I dedicate this dissertation to my family: Robert, Judy, and Brian. 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................................7 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................10 CHAPTER 1 TEXTUAL VOICES ..............................................................................................................12 Literate Voice .........................................................................................................................12 Literary Voice-Over: The Literate Voice of James M. Cain ..................................................19 Literary Voice .........................................................................................................................26 The Voice in Cinema ..............................................................................................................30 Documentary Voices ..............................................................................................................36 Autobiography ........................................................................................................................43 Toward a Logology of the Moving Image ..............................................................................48 2 LOGOLOGY ..........................................................................................................................52 Symbolic Action and Nonsymbolic Motion ...........................................................................52 From Dramatism to Logology ................................................................................................56 Fundamental Elements of Logology .......................................................................................60 Words About The Word .........................................................................................................67 Studies in Logology: Augustine’s Confessions ......................................................................74 The First Three Chapters of Genesis & Epilogue: Prologue in Heaven .................................82 Heuretics: CATTt ...................................................................................................................85 Contrast ............................................................................................................................86 Analogy ...........................................................................................................................87 Theory ..............................................................................................................................88 Target ...............................................................................................................................88 Tale ..................................................................................................................................89 3 TIME INDEFINITE ...............................................................................................................90 Film as Writing .......................................................................................................................90 The Emergence of Autobiographical Documentary Form .....................................................94 The Literate Voice of Ross McElwee ...................................................................................101 Time Indefinite: Dialectic .....................................................................................................106 Time Indefinite: Negative .....................................................................................................118 Time Indefinite: Hierarchy ....................................................................................................135 Time Indefinite: Entelechy ....................................................................................................141 Time Indefinite: Attitude .......................................................................................................148 5 4 PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORY ............................................................................................156 Six O’Clock News and Bright Leaves ...................................................................................156 Photographic Memory: Reimagining Entelechy ..................................................................163 Photographic Memory: Memory ..........................................................................................168 Photographic Memory: Time ...............................................................................................177 Photographic Memory: Digital Technology .........................................................................185 5 THE TURN FROM LITERACY TO ELECTRACY: VOICE IN THE DIGITAL AGE ....197 LIST OF REFERENCES .............................................................................................................205 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH .......................................................................................................218 6 LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page 1-1 The Postman Always Rings Twice – Opening Credits .......................................................22 1-2 The Postman Always Rings Twice – Father McConnell ....................................................25 3-1 David Holzman’s Diary/Sherman’s March/Bright Leaves – Direct Address ....................96 3-2 The Plaint of Steve Kreines as Recorded by His Younger Brother Jeff .............................97 3-3 Diaries (1971-76)...............................................................................................................98 3-4 Window Water Baby Moving/Fuses/Walden .....................................................................99 3-5 N!ai, the Story of a !Kung Woman ...................................................................................101 3-6 Time Indefinite – Opening Shot .......................................................................................107 3-7 Time Indefinite – The Image of the Child ........................................................................109 3-8 Time Indefinite – Images of Birth and Life ......................................................................109 3-9 Time Indefinite – Cribs.....................................................................................................110 3-10 Time Indefinite – The Image of the Ineffable ..................................................................111 3-11 Time Indefinite – The Dialectic of Life and Death ..........................................................112 3-12 Time Indefinite/Electrocuting an Elephant – Pure Event? ..............................................114 3-13 Time Indefinite – Images of Death ...................................................................................115 3-14 Backyard/Time Indefinite – Death Beds ..........................................................................117 3-15 Time Indefinite – The Breast Cancer ...............................................................................117 3-16 Time Indefinite/Backyard – Ross’s Grandmother ............................................................120 3-17 Time Indefinite – Ross and Marilyn in Italy ....................................................................121 3-18 Time Indefinite – Video vs. Film .....................................................................................123 3-19 Time Indefinite – Lucille ..................................................................................................124 3-20 Sherman’s March/Time Indefinite – Dee Dee .................................................................125 3-21 Time Indefinite – Ross’s Baptism ....................................................................................127 7 3-22 Time Indefinite – 8mm Footage .......................................................................................129 3-23 Time Indefinite – Substitutes ............................................................................................130 3-24 Time Indefinite – Resurrection .........................................................................................132 3-25 Time Indefinite/Sherman’s March – Charleen .................................................................133 3-26 Diary of a Country Priest