The "Unbiased" Documentary

         When discussing the “documentary” style of photography that emerged in the 1930s, Wells notes, “There was an assumption that the world was productive of fact and that those facts could be communicated to others in a transparent way, free of the complex codes through which narratives are structured (93).” That might have been the hope for documentary photography, but with the emerging war and the sudden increase of war propaganda, there was almost no possible way to keep documentary photography impartial. Considering that this documentary style was relatively newly termed, many viewers of documentaries assumed that what they were seeing was impartial images and footage. However, even just the slightest angle of the camera or the moment chosen to snap the picture says a lot about what the photographer wants to portray. Everyone is aware that we all see the world differently, so is it truly possible to make an unbiased, impartial documentation of something? I think not. But back in the 1930s, did people know the bias hidden in documentaries? 

            In my German film class, I learned about “documentary” filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. Riefenstahl was a female movie maker in the 1930s who was hired by the Nazi party to film “documentaries.” Her most famous was 1935’s “Triumph of the Will.” The movie is supposed to be an unbiased documentary about the Nazi party, but to the audiences today it is clear that Riefenstahl created a propaganda movie urging others to see the Nazi party as happy and free of any Hitler criticism. For example, Riefenstahl shoots Hitler from a low angle and films him coming into the Nazi convention by plane, almost as if Hitler is a god coming from the heavens. The crowds are filled with young, healthy, smiling people, persuading viewers to believe that they should be lucky to participate in the Nazi party and be united in a group. The women are filmed looking at Hitler lovingly, and Nazi flags are hung from churches as if Hitler is a new form of hope. A modern audience like my German film class considered it laughable that “Triumph of the Will” was a documentary in 1935. We are all so aware of the fact that the media is biased that we saw the obvious glorification of Hitler as incredible, and barely anybody watches a documentary expecting to be given an impartial look at the matter. Today’s definition of a “documentary” is so different than the definition of when the term was created, and I find it interesting to take a look back in history and try to put myself in the position of a 1935 movie viewer.