W&M ScholarWorks Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects 2004 Re-shaping documentary expectations: New Journalism and Direct Cinema Sharon Lynne Zuber College of William & Mary - Arts & Sciences Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, Film and Media Studies Commons, and the Journalism Studies Commons Recommended Citation Zuber, Sharon Lynne, "Re-shaping documentary expectations: New Journalism and Direct Cinema" (2004). Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects. Paper 1539623442. https://dx.doi.org/doi:10.21220/s2-kj3p-jb60 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses, Dissertations, & Master Projects at W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations, Theses, and Masters Projects by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. RE-SHAPING DOCUMENTARY EXPECTATIONS New Journalism and Direct Cinema A Dissertation Presented to The Faculty of the American Studies Program The College of William and Mary in Virginia In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Sharon Lynne Zuber 2004 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. APPROVAL SHEET This dissertation is submitted in partial felfiilment of the requiretiaeirts for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Sharon Lynoe ZJwr Approved by 004 Knight, Chair Colleen S. Kennedy ... V''"' c Richard S. Low ]^ GeotlxeyB. Pingree Oberlin College ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To my sons Russell Gordon Zuber Yates and Phillip Wallace Zuber Yates and In Memory of Jonathan Mednick 111 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ 'V List of Tables ..................................................................... .......................................................... List of Illustrations ...................................................................................................................... Abstract........................................................................................................................................... ix Introduction ........................................................................................ 2 Chapter I. The Nexus; Realism...................................................... 9 Chapter I I The Status of Non'ficlion .............................. 46 Chapter III, Truman Capote: More than a Flirtation with Film ........................................... 89 Chapter IV. Shaping Reality: Maysles Films....................................................................... 135 Chapter V. Documentary Expectations .................................................................................. 187 Appendices .................................................................................................................................204 Appendix A. Robert Drew, Telephone Interview .....................................................204 Drew Letter, July 7, 2003 ...................................................................................207 Appendix B. Albert Maysles, Interview .................................................................... 208 Mission Statement ................... 233 Appendix C. Charlotte Zwerin, Interview .................................................................235 Bibliography ..............................................................................................................................245 Vita............................................................................................................................................... 255 IV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS They say movies are a collaborativeand art writingsolitary, is but this book could not have been written without the assistance of so many people they amount almost to a cast and crew. ~Sklar, Movie-Made America Montaigne defined es>sav as “an attempt,” and dissertation once meant “discussion/debate” (OED 1611). These definitions emphasize process over product, dialogue over static product. Re-shaping Documentarv Expectations in all ways represents process: the writing and filmmaking processes, the process of discovering ideas, and— not least of all—the process of entering a discussion or debate among people interested in ideas about writing and filmmaking. This dissertation is an essay, a trial, and the journey could not have been completed without the help of more people than I can mention in this brief acknowledgement. 1 have to begin with my family for their encouragement and support. My parents, John Charles Zuber, Doris Strandberg Zuber Daneker, and James Daneker taught me to love learning and to always be willing to grow—at any age. I hope I continue to live up to these ideals. My siblings, Carol Pelenberg, J. David Zuber, and Barbara Gallivan, I cannot thank enough for never doubting that, one day, in spite of many obstacles, 1 would complete this project. Most of all, 1 thank my children, who watched their mother spend hours at the dining-room table writing, and who shared their bedroom with filmmakers and boxes of books and tapes. Without folly understanding what I was doing, you told me that I could do it. 1 love you deeply. Many professors at William and Mary have contributed to ray intellectual growth; I cannot name them all here. Special thanks go to Colleen Kennedy who served on my committee and Geoffrey Pingree, my outside reader, who accepted this job when on semester leave from Oberlin College. The two scholars who have most closely overseen my doctoral work have been Arthur Knight and Richard Lowry. Rich encouraged my first efforts to shape my topic on the essay as genre. Flowever, when this project expanded to include film, Arthur assumed the role as chair and mentor, guiding me with his careful readings, always challenging me in his gentle, steady way. M y students have also been important in shaping my thinking about documentary, particularly those in my documentary and video production courses. It has been my privilege to be a partner with them in learning. Other colleagues and friends—both academic and of faith—who lent encouragement and moral support deserve recognition; Ronnie Cohen, Marlene Davis, Jude Eastman, Vera do Galante, Phyllis Hunter, Rebecca Waite Shaw, and my dissertation reading groups. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Thanks are not enough for my two personal editors and dear friends: Debbie C3reen and Mac vSisson. Debbie has been on this journey with me from the beginning. She was first reader of some very rough drafts and helped me crack the codes in Microsoft Word, Mac, my last reader, devoted hours to proofreading at one of his busiest times. His attention to detail has made this document as error-free as is humanly pos.sible, and his support throughout motivated me to continue. Finally, I want to acknowledge Jonathait Mednick, filmmaker and mentor, who, before his untimely death, shared with me hi.s love for documentary film. VI Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF TABLES I ’able I. In Cold Blood Scene Analysis........................................................ ......... 107-109 Vll Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Illustrations 1. Richard Leacock .............................. 88 2. Screenplay Structure ....................................................................................... 105 3. Capote Dust Jacket Photo ............................................ ............................................134 VIII Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ABSTRACT New Journalism andDirect Cinema reflect a unique conjoined moment in the evolution of nonfiction writing and filmmaking in the United States. I argue that the.se movements developed as a specific response to the shift from a modern to a postmodern, aesthetic, a shift away from faith in a coherent reality at a historical moment, the 1960s. Ill an attempt to capture reality using new methods that would raise the status of nonfiction, writers and filmmakers in these movements call attention to process and “style.” Atfirst glance, these experiments with new stylesappear radical; instead. New Journalism and Direct Cinema—in opposition to their “revolutionary” reputations— function to conserve traditional views of reality. Ultimately, 1 claim, their innovative narrative style and emphasis on process undermine their attempt to reinforce a correspondent relationship between print and film language and the “real” material world. 'However, the innovative methods of writers like Tom Wolfe and Truman Capote and filmmakers like Robert Drew, Albert and David Maysles, andCharlotte Zwerin sparked a discussion about genre, language, and representation that established specific expectations about nonfiction that continue