Guided Reflection about Documentary

 

Specific Scene

The protagonist focuses on four different types of people: a preacher, a kung fu master, a terrorist, and a
bank robber. They dive into their backstories quite intensively, how they were as children and their home life. Before explaining who they were, one of the men grew up getting abused by his father; he would get beat and almost watch his brother die. He ended up stabbing his father with a knife after finally having enough of the abuse, as that night, he had broken ribs and a concussion from the beatings. But this scene just got to me and made me angry that parents treat their kids in this type of manner. I was lucky to grow up in a loving household where my parents cared about me. It just makes me confused as to why other parents physically abuse their children, as it can have incredible effects on them and how they grow up; it changes them. It shows the brokenness of the world.

Surprises

Im not one to make assumptions about anyone, but I was shocked to hear the same man who was abused by his father, who stabbed him and said he felt extreme power after that, as if he couldn't be stopped was the bank robber and not the terrorist. Just the fact that he said he felt a power led me to believe he would do bigger things, causing more harm to more people because of how he was treated. This, to me, meant he would hold people hostage, set fire, hijack planes, and all of that. Instead, I was shocked that he was the bank robber.

Questions/Feelings

My significant questions were about how they were organizing it. They had some Greek theme going on, and it felt like I was watching something related to a cult, so im just curious: why make it like that? This included wooden figures used to act out certain situations; it felt off, and im curious if that was the directors' goal or if it was a budget thing. My feeling about it was all positive; besides those few things I touched on prior, the documentary was well-made and produced. I thought the range of people was pretty interesting; people were trying to do God's work, and there was also a terrorist. Hearing their perspectives is essential; it shows us there is more to them than we could have ever known. Everyone only sees the bank robber as someone terrorizing banks and greedy for money, when in reality, his past was more complicated than anything I've ever experienced; he was broken and abused, and his mother died of sickness when he was 9, a callous life. I love that we see how they were changed, how they realized they were wrong in the bank robbers and terrorist cases, and how the preacher realized his true self and became it. It shows that no matter who we are and what we have done, we still have time to change, which is a strong message.

Why not Research?

This project aims to practice analyzing documentaries and all things involved, like chronology, cultural relevance, cinematography, and story elements. Researching and using outside resources would not help us learn and practice to do these things; it would be cheating our minds on how we view and look at documentaries.

Ethos/Pathos/Logos

Ethos is the credibility of something; this documentary focuses on the stories of four different humans and their paths toward fixing themselves. Everything we see comes from the voice of the person who experienced it, making it credible. Pathos is the emotion; while they tell their stories, we feel emotion, especially in hearing about the bank robber's abusive father and especially when we hear how they all changed to be the best version of themselves. Logos is logic; there is little to talk about logic-wise. We see a gap in logic from the bank robber and terrorist point of view, but also the kung fu as he couldn't tell the good reasoning from the bad until he saw his friend get choked out by their teacher.