Theories
Gender Representation- I chose to use a female subject when creating my documentary. I chose to use a woman, to challenge the idea that it is men that are typically scholars and well read people. Although this is an old view now and women are considered as equals to men, the audience that I feel my documentary would be suitable for, would be older, and therefore may still have these outdated views. The representation of women in my work is highly significant to feminist theories and challenges the idea that female subjects must be sexualised. ‘A look into the life of one woman and her love of books.’ The quote that I have used for my newspaper advertisement is particularly important in the representation of women, as it shows that this woman is intelligent and has based her life around furthering her knowledge. The fact that my documentary does not specifically talk about the subject as a woman is also vital, as I wanted to highlight the fact that her gender should not be regarded when considering her successes and failures with the bookshop. I also feel that to highlight her gender would show inequalities.
Intertextuality- I used intertextuality in my documentary, with the shot of the fly fishing book. This was a comical reference to the yellow pages ‘J.R. Hartley’ broadcast in 1983, significant because it was set in bookshops. This reference would be picked up on by the audience.
Narrative- Although narrative theories apply more to fictional works, a narrative does run through my own work. I created a narrative through my interview technique, not using the interview questions, and the direct mode of address to the audience. This way the audience feel as if they are personally being told a story. When the subject is discussing the history of the bookshop, there are quick cuts to old sepia photographs of the bookshop. This creates a visual image to accompany the telling of the history. I then use cuts throughout to reference what the subject is telling us. The overall narrative is that of the life of the subject owning the bookshop.
Audience- The cultivation theory can be seen in my syntagm. First developed by Professor George Gerbner, the cultivation theory is a social theory. The idea is that over time exposure to television ‘cultivates’ an audiences perceptions of reality. It views audiences as passive, and that television subtly alters their stance of society. I used this theory in the sense that I want my documentary to alter the view of bookshops and reading as outdated. By showing the bookshop as interesting in my documentary I wish to alter these views. It also plays a part in the sense that I wish to alter the viewer’s idea that scholars are primarily male.
