The House of the Dead—The Ethics and Aesthetics of Documentary

Chapter
First Online:

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to describe how the visual narrative, more specifically the ethnographic documentary, can be an instrument of ethical approach to social questions relating to issues where there is a strong moral prejudice, as is the case of madness and crime. The images do not have the power to change reality or to directly alter oppressive regimes, but they can become indelible images in the mind of those who watch a film and they offer new understandings of criminal madness, and may (in turn) stimulate political action. The images from this documentary ‘The House of the Dead’ are of unknown men, who do ‘not exist’ in ordinary social life: people without personal bonds or biographies. The documentary brings them ‘to life’ and ‘re-members’ them. I believe that “remembering is an ethical act” of nearing others’ pain, afflictions, and sufferings. In the first section of this chapter, I present the film and the main ethical and aesthetic decisions involved in the production of an activist documentary. The section is organised in three acts around three characters, mirroring characters in the poem ‘The House of the Dead.’ In the second section, I discuss some characteristics of the activist documentary, especially the ethnographic roots and the concept of a ‘call for action,’ and then some of the ethical and political tensions involved in this type of visual narrative. I believe that political documentaries—and art in general—can be tools to improve our sense of humanity in response to pain and human affliction, as the field of the visible and the intelligible is broadened.

Keywords

Political Action Solitary Confinement Cell Visual Narrative Missing Person Oppressive Regime 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in to check access.

References

  1. 1.
    Althusser, Louis. 1992. O futuro dura muito tempo. São Paulo: Cia das Letras.Google Scholar
  2. 2.
    Barreto, Lima. 2010. Cemitério dos vivos. São Paulo: Cosac Naify.Google Scholar
  3. 3.
    Barthes, Roland. 1981. Camera Lucida: Reflections on photography. New York: Hill and Wang.Google Scholar
  4. 4.
    Butler, Judith. 2009. Frames of war: When is life grievable? New York: Verso.Google Scholar
  5. 5.
    Caparrós, Martín. 2008. A quien corresponda. Buenos Aires: Anagrama.Google Scholar
  6. 6.
    Dostoievsky, Fiodor. 2010. Recordações da Casa dos Mortos. Trans. Nicolou S. Peticov. São Paulo: Nova Alexandria.Google Scholar
  7. 7.
    Farge, Arlette. 2009. O sabor do arquivo. São Paulo: Edusp.Google Scholar
  8. 8.
    Foucault, Michel. 2003. A vida dos homens infames. In Ditos e escritos IV – estratégia, poder, saber, Manoel Barros da Mota (org.), 203–222. Rio de Janeiro: Forense Universitária.Google Scholar
  9. 9.
    Gregory, Sam, Gillian Caldwell, Ronit Avni, and Thomas Harding. 2005. Video for change. New York: Witness.Google Scholar
  10. 10.
    Morris, Errol. 2011. The most curious thing. In Believing is seeing: Observations on the mysteries of photography, ed. Errol Morris, 97–119. New York: Penguin.Google Scholar
  11. 11.
    Sontag, Susan. 1973. On photography. New York: Rosetta Books.Google Scholar
  12. 12.
    Sontag, Susan. 2008. Fotografia: uma pequena suma. In Ao mesmo tempo, ed. Susan Sontag, 137–140. São Paulo: Companhia das Letras.Google Scholar
  13. 13.
    Sontag, Susan. 2003. Recording the pain of others. New York: Picador.Google Scholar

Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Social Policy Graduate ProgramUniversity of BrasiliaBrasiliaBrazil

Personalised recommendations