That statement that was made last class that “Just because a statement is ineffectual or doesn’t make a difference, doesn’t mean that it is meaningless.” It was either a quote or an idea from the novel “1984;” I could have written it wrong but I don’t know.
Anyway, what if you substitute “film” in place of “statement?” The other Errol Morris films we’ve watched in class have not been well known. The people who do see Morris’s movies walk out or turn off the t.v. at the end thinking, “What in the world did I just watch?” And that’s only considering they did not walk out or click the power button before the end. One of Errol Morris’s idols thought one of his films was not a film at all, but instead a slide show. I can see where that spectator was coming from, but he did not look deeper into the movies. Morris’s idol did not look under the surface of the film itself. There are so many things taking place, so many important and interesting things being said, and hardly anyone picks up on it. Those viewers only say, “That’s just weird.”
I thought that too, until certain characteristics were pointed out, and then I began to see connections everywhere. I have gone into details about the different films in previous Errol Morris blogs (Refer to the Errol Morris Category for specifics) so I will not do so again. But there are certain things that make these films into pieces of art that should not be called Documentaries; they are something else. A documentary about pet cemeteries would be all about pet cemeteries. Morris made a film about pet cemeteries that also commented on life, death, love, hate, family, companionship, betrayal, loss, and even music.
Errol Morris has taken Documentaries to a new level, and uses a genre that works for him.