How to analyze a documentary

A few steps….

Purpose- the purpose of a film may be to inform, persuade, or entertain. The purpose refers to decisions made by the filmmaker(s).

Subject- the subject of the film is the topic and those involved. The subject is different from the purpose. An example of a subject of a documentary would be fast food (from Super Size Me), not Morgan Spurlock (the narrator/director).

What is the difference in purpose and subject?

From your handout, you have the information you need but this information should not be entered into your analysis paper as question/answer format. For example, if you want to tell me that the

filmmaker uses animations in order to add humor to the serious topic of the documentary, you would NOT say:

“Yes, the filmmaker uses music.” and then move on…

The answers to your questions…

this is the process/method of studying the nature of something or of determining its essential features and their relations Basically, you are studying the nature of a

documentary and determining the elements/features and how these elements/features work together to make a statement.

Definition of analysis

Present tense No “I” statements Watch those vague pronouns!! NEVER use “this shows that” () 5-7 sentences= 1 paragraph Title goes in italics Films cannot DO anything….directors do NO BE VERBS in claim statement or TS

Writing reminders (also refer to do’s and don’ts sheet!)

The claim statement is your map. The claim statement should include the documentary’s title and should be a statement of purpose and argument. Ask yourself, what are you trying to analyze? What sticks out? For example, if I am viewing Super Size Me, I may want to

analyze Spurlock’s message to America and whether his message affected audiences or McDonalds.

I may say something like, “In Spurlock’s documentary, Super Size Me, Spurlock examines the effects McDonalds has on the body in order to illustrate the harmful effects of fast food and to possibly enact change in the way Americans eat.”

The claim statements should be the last sentence of the intro

Step One: The claim statement and topic sentences

The topic sentence are your points in your map. The topic sentences are derived from the claim statement. For example, (using our original example), look at the

claim statement, “In Spurlock’s documentary, Super Size Me, Spurlock examines the effects McDonalds has on the body in order to illustrate the harmful effects of fast food and to possibly enact change in the way Americans eat.”

Identify and separate the points of the statement and make these your topic sentences (see colors above). This is only a suggestion, but it helps! (see next slide)

Step One: The claim statement and topic sentences

“In Spurlock’s documentary, Super Size Me, Spurlock examines the effects McDonalds has on the body in order to illustrate the harmful effects of fast food and to possibly enact change in the way Americans eat.”

TS #1: Spurlock examines the effects that McDonalds has on the body.

TS#2: Spurlock brings in the authority of doctors and health professionals in order to illustrate the negative effects that fast food can have on the body.

TS#3: This documentary is presented in a way that could possibly enact some change in the way that Americans eat, or in the way that Americans view fast food restaurants such as McDonalds.

Creating topic sentences…

Identify the main argument and / or purpose of the film (this is somewhat subject to interpretation). 

5-7 sentences with claim statement as last sentence Include:

Title of documentary and director Principle subject (this is the topic) Principle purpose (what is the filmmaker(s) trying to do

and why?) Intended effect on audiences who view this film

Step two: the Intro (Identify)

Examine the ways in which the claim statement and / or aim of the film’s argument is supported through the particular style and manner of how the film is put together, that is, through rhetorical strategies and film techniques.

In order to focus your ideas, you’ll need to choose a selection of strategies and techniques to analyze; do not attempt to discuss everything about the film.

Choose specific scenes or moments from the film to illustrate these techniques and analyze how the filmmaker uses them to present the film’s argument. Think of this as the director’s cut of a DVD.

Step three: Examine (this becomes your body paragraphs)

Organize your thoughts and arrange per the topic sentences.

You should have one concrete detail that follows the topic sentence, followed by your commentary. For example, if you are discussing the effect voice

over commentary has on the audience, you would place this information in the paragraph that discusses the composition and make up of the film

Basically, just make it match! Organize topics and with those topics, evidence from the film with your analysis/commentary!

Step Three continued…

Follow this structure for all body paragraphs: Topic sentence CD (concrete detail)- example from film CM (commentary) – analyze! (this is NOT your

opinion)

Step three continued…

Interpret / explain, in terms of your own claim statement, why do you think that the filmmaker(s) made the particular compositional choices they did (i.e. #2) in an effort to forward their main argument (i.e. #1).

You should ask the ‘so what?’ question; these choices are not arbitrary, therefore you should interpret why the filmmaker(s) have made certain compositional / stylistic choices.

Your claim should be supported by the clips and with specific examples from the film that you point out in your questions (questions sheet).

DO NOT REPEAT YOUR CLAIM STATEMENT

Step Four: Conclusion time

Claim statement Underline points to become topic sentences Create topic sentences Pull out evidence and interpret Analyze and organize Create your conclusion

Let’s do this together!