About Documentary and Fiction of Michel Brault - Essay Example

Fictions and Documentary Genres of Literature Literature has stood out for a long time as the only source of entertainment among various communities in the world. Literary usage has a long evolutionary life right from the early Greek philosophical period where philosophical writings dominated the field such as Platos’ works as well as other philosophical works dominant at the moment (Plantinga). This transpired till the dawn and development of the early English writers such as Shakespeare, McOpollo among many writers of the times. This period was dominated by fictional narrative based on romance hence its renowned name, the romantic age. This period was referred to as the romantic age by most writers since love and romance formed the central theme in these works. Examples of such writings include Shakespeare’s works such as Othello, Romeo and Juliet, Merchant of Venice among other renowned Shakespearean book (Winston). Shakespeare’s writings however dominated the scenes in most theatres and public performances at the time that it was referred to by literary writers as Shakespearean age. This paper will look at the differences and points of convergence between fictional narratives and documentaries based on certain pertinent factors. This shall be done with close examination of the works of Michel Braunt. As can be seen, fictional narrative was the dominant genre during the early ages. Fictional works are those that do not actually express the true meaning of what is presented but remains to serve al purposes of the literary functions such as the informative function of literature. Fictional narratives are based on the need to entertain and inform the society on the past as well as the looming dangers just as the other literary genres do. (Winston) defines fictional narratives as a branch of narrative literature which is composed from an informed background after the writers has closely scrutinized all the requirements and the structural components of the society which he or she reflects in the composition. This he relates to a number of issues such as their performance, functions as well as its composition in the literary world. The writer has certain things to consider in his or her composition such as the humor, informative functions as well as the use of other literary devices necessary to qualify the work of fiction as a recognized genre in literature. The later ages experienced a shift in the forms of literary works which were recorded during the time. The Romans period, then the dominant period with more emphasis being laid on the documentaries as the aspect of writing dominated the global atmosphere. Roscoe and Hight notes the Romans age was more leaned towards power and governance, the need to keep the documentary accounts of wars and kings dominated the literary forms (Roscoe and Hight). Besides, works of explorations and trade among various communities were as well written down as a reminder for these inquisitive ventures. Various accounts were recorded and kept at this time informing the world populations of the various activities which dominated both the societal as well as the ruling atmospheres at the time. Documentaries are very different for fictional works even though some common features are alike. For instance, all being literary forms, they tend to share certain literary devices and functions which groups them together as forms of literature. Rosen notes that while fictional stories are not true accounts, documentaries are true accounts of events which took place sometime in the past all organized into a single piece of work (Rosen). The convergence point between the two forms of literature has made it rather difficult and confusing. Most writers have in many occasions have borrowed fictional traits into the documentaries as well as those from documentaries into the fictional works (Riis). Examples of such works which have merged fictional features to create documentaries are the works of Michel Braunt and Menschen am Sonntag in Pour la suite du Monde and people on Sunday respectively. We will use the two texts mentioned above to show how fictional devices have been applied by the writers to present their works such that the end product becomes neither a fiction nor a documentary as people would grade it. Most documentaries are known to convey their information in a plainer context as compared to the fictional works which looks at both the surrounding atmosphere as well as the film environments as these helps in communicating certain aspects of the ideas being brought forth. Michel’s and Sonntag’s documentary, Pour la suite du Monde and people on Sunday respectively are however exceptions to this as they have the environment determining the actions to a great extent that they actually become very difficult for the viewer to draw a line between it being either a documentary or a fiction. The documentary seems to be an action rather than an expression of a real life situation as is expected of such works detaching it from its known genre (Plantinga). At the beginning of the film Pour la suite du Monde for example, the three tremblay brothers begin to discuss the island’s invalid whale hunting with their father, it can be noted that the close proximity at which they are paced helps in communicating a lot of sense of familiarity, comfort and group solidarity in a more fictional manner as opposed to the real reflection of these events. Leopold’s domination of the conversations at this point chiefly points out that he is the leader of this particular assemblage despite the fact that we are actually not informed on this. The leadership positions in this documentary do not seem to be determined by the known origins of the play but rather as a result of the functions and scenes played by each character just as in fictional stories. The same applies to the documentary on the people on Sunday when the two men, Erwin and Wolfgang meet strangers as they go swimming and interacts with them as if they are long time acquaintances. This is actually not real and normal in real life situations. Most people, even the most outgoing persons to not become well used to strangers on first encounters. We can therefore argue that the two gentlemen are purposely fulfilling their fictional roles rather than performing a documentary as is claimed. We as well notice the kind of dominance and power that Alexis is endowed with as he enters the house and poses an authoritative command to one of his boys, Marcellin to evacuate his chair. He assumes this position in a senior way and seems not to be moved by anything. He actually issues various commands from this point. The trembleys actions in these scenes meets the definition of everyday performance by making the visual, verbal and gestural decisions which largely determined the way they are understood by the general public that listens and views these performances. The performances documented here goes beyond mere performances of documented piece of work to adopt certain fictional styles which closely links the genre to fictions. Besides, Michel brings out the difference between the two characters in the play, Alexis and Louis in a manner that is somehow confusing and in an artistic nature by exposing the inner traits of both characters. It is not real in this scene as the two old men on sitting immovably as the other danced around proudly. Louis is figured to be dancing around with a rather frenetic abandon as he spoke to his friend Alexis which actually not a normal occurrence in a documentary. The inner meanings of the two opposing characters are here brought out in a more artistically intertwined and fictitious manner almost bridging the gap between fictions and documentaries. It is not as blurred and flat as a documentary is known to be but instead contains some sense of humor normally uncommon among documentaries. The same feature is repeated in the people on Sunday by Sonntag when he creates characters such as Erwin and Wolfgang who are actually playing the roles they seem to be less associated with in real life. Besides, the manner in which the meet the three ladies Annie, Brigitte and Christl are rather unnatural. Besides, the coincidence created at the cinema with each character benefiting from the actions performed in the cinemas, that is the tearing of the photos is rather a fictional phenomenon rather than a documentation as on may purport. To add onto this, it is unusual for Wolfgang and Brigitte to relate with one another as long time lovers just on their first encounters. The two actually meet and play chases; eventually they find a secluded place in the forest and lie down to make love. It may happen but the manner in which it takes place and the fact that the eye of the camera is taken away from this point as the two begin their affair is not a commonality in documentaries. The scene is not captured fully by the camera leaves some gaps for the viewers to try and fix up what actually followed which is only common with fictional narratives and not in documentaries To conclude, it can be seen that the distinction between fictional and documentaries in narratives is a natural phenomenon which ought to endure the change of time. The two sub genres have however been intertwined by some scholars to bring out meaning and convey information in a manner that makes them almost the same thing. The natural differences are in such cases diluted by the merger making the close linkage somehow indistinguishable. An example of such a literary work is that of Michel Braunt commonly known as Pour la suite du monde where the author fuses the two genres to make a presentation of his characters and message. The performances are unordinary documentary closely linking it to that of a fictional work. References Winston, B. Lies, Damned Lies And Documentary. London: British Film Institute, 2000. Roscoe, J and Hight, C. "Building a Mockumentary Schema." New Challenges For Documentary (2005). Plantinga, C. Rhetoric And Representation In Non Fiction Film. United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press., 1997. Riis, J. "Is a Realist Film Style Aimed at Providing an Illusion?" Reality And Realism In Film And Media (1998). Rosen, P. "Document and Documentary: On the Persistence of Historical." Theorizing Documentary (1993). Winston, B. "The Documentary Film As Scientific Inscription." Theorizing Documentary (1993). Read More