Second Hand News:
Documentary Blogging #4

October 19, 2007

These days I get a fair number of brochures designed to get me to buy education products. Many of these feature video documentaries aimed at some religious topic or other. I got a brochure last week from Insight Media. Don't bother looking at the website because it is unhelpful. Titles and a brief description of their documentaries are listed, but nothing in the way of video trailers or even sample photos. It seems one must buy blind.

Insight Media is an example of a business aimed squarely at education. The single possible use for these videos is in the classroom. Many of the videos are in the half hour range and they would work fine for filling half a class period and leaving some time for discussion afterwards. Even a short video will cost you (actually your department or library) about $150.

When it comes to documentary, the preferred use in an educational setting is as supporting visual material. Documentary, in this case, is a strictly secondary literature. It does not peddle original views so much as visualize accepted views. This limits the creativity that is possible in producing these videos. Their subordinate role in an educational context means that they cannot ever express a really interesting idea. Written texts are allowed to be interesting, not documentaries.

My evolving philosophy of the documentary is to allow it to have a more primary role in setting out ideas. Documentary is obviously an engaging form since it can show religious practices and convey authentic voices.. but in addition it can be a form for advancing new ideas. I imagine a time in which scholars will be able to present their work in video essays.. which could then be required viewing for students.

The new platforms for video sharing (like YouTube) play a possible role in my conception of documentaries. The website for Insight Media conveys their hostility to any form of sharing.. but even as they resist and maintain their business model, more and more videos are being uploaded every day.. and a certain percentage of these are useful for the classroom since they portray lived religious experience, often from the point of view of a practitioner. In addition a public platform allows for the consumption of documentaries in a setting outside the classroom. Something done smartly on pilgrimage in India could well find a broad audience of interested viewers. Not millions perhaps, but thousands of people would be interested in a video that captures actual religious experience. Getting documentaries outside the classroom should be a push among filmmakers. We don't want or need a captive audience.