Cameraperson
By Logan Schurr
For this blog, I watched the
documentary, Cameraperson. The film
is very unique in that it doesn’t follow a structure. The cinematographer, Kirsten Johnson, calls it her memoir. “These are images that have marked me and leave
me wondering still,” Katherine wrote at the beginning of the film. It is a
collection of footage she used for various other documentaries she made from
all around the world. From Bosnia, to Nigeria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Missouri,
Brooklyn, and Texas, Kirsten covers various environments, situations, and she
encounters a vast array of people. Really, there is no thematic tie between
these locations or people, as they were taken from various other documentaries.
This unique structure made it difficult to find an argument, however, it subtly
makes a strong claim about humanity and the importance of capturing life. The
overall purpose was to show how similar all humans’ struggles are, regardless
of their environment or culture. Though the purpose is not outright stated,
I’ll use context, audience, purpose, and point of view to analyze why it is
still extremely compelling.
The context
of this film is fairly rudimentary, however, I think that adds to the elegance
of the film’s style. Kirsten Johnson, an award-winning cinematographer, has
been the artist behind 48 documentary films. She used footage from her past
films to put together this one. Whether that be outtakes, b-roll, interviews,
or action shots, she captured the human condition. Her purpose, as I stated
before, was shown at the beginning of the film; “I originally shot the
following footage for other films, but here I ask you to see it as my memoir.
These are images that have marked me and leave me wondering still.”
Her
audience has no limit. The film is available on Netflix, iTunes, and for free
on Amazon Prime. To me, this shows how accessible she wanted this film to be,
anticipating a large audience. According to IMDb’s statistics, it did just
that. Both males and females, ages 18-45+ all rated the film 7.0-7.9. They were
all pretty equal in their viewing. As a new style of documentary, I don’t think
it turns a particular group away nor encourages a specific group to watch it.
This equality was effective, as proven by its 22 won awards with 32
nominations.
Speaking of
purpose, this film was so creative in how it achieved its purpose because of
it’s innovative style. There was no call to action and it wasn’t really just a
spew of information. It was simply capturing unrelated experiences and leaving
it up to the audience to decide the action to take place. Though the speakers
were unnamed and ranged from war victims, rape survivors, African midwives,
shepards, parents, boxers, and children, their lifestyles served as their
credibility. For example, the rape victim from Bosnia, though we only saw her
hands, had credibility in her situation which appealed to ethics. The main
appeal Johnson utilized was pathos. Very extreme pathos. For example, the
images of the filmmakers interviewing a woman before her abortion and only
filming her hands. The lieutenant admitting he’ll be sent to prison soon for
not agreeing to go back to Iraq. This film was filled with unrelated stories,
yet equally powerful moments exposing the human spirit. This, and revealing how
they cope was the strongest way to achieve the film’s purpose of equalizing
human struggle and the need to capture it.
I think the
film did a very impressive job of illustrating a unique message. It was
beautifully executed and it portrayed a very uncommon theme. I am giving this
film a 4.5 rating because it successfully achieved its goal in an artistic way,
but it did not call to action. I think it would have inspired a better audience
response if there was a statement about how humans face and cope with
challenges.
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