Comment by nonrandomstring
3 years ago
> annoying modern style of political documentary, where I have to > listen to anxiety-inducing drones and the worst kind of > movie-trailer voice, nonstop for an hour least?
Well you're in for a real treat with "Russia:Trauma Zone" then. Curtis listened to all the bleating criticisms and delivered six hours of absolutely bare footage, which juxtaposed and sequenced speaks for itself. The result is even more powerful than ever before - which shows that incorporating criticism, even when it's only about surface style, pays off.
The only criticism I have is that the title is a bit bland.
It should gave been called "Natasha's Boots". She is the star of the show. And in the ened she gets her boots.
> that propaganda tv
All TV and social media is propaganda. Even cat videos. It propagates. It carries a message. Even if the message is "Don't think".
> even when it's only about surface style
There's such thing as respect for the viewer. Idk about Curtis, but the grossly manipulative style of popular political documentaries doesn't show that respect. I also don't think it's about the ‘surface’ when it's designed to tug at the emotions every second of the film.
P.S.: looked through the filmography, turns out Curtis is the author of ‘HyperNormalisation’. At least based on that I'm gonna say he does use style close-ish to what I described above: perhaps less drones, more hyperactive editing. Can't remember what the narration was like in that film, but I wasn't impressed in any positive way.