CHAPTER 20
RE-ENACTMENT, RECONSTRUCTION, AND DOCUDRAMA
RE-ENACTMENTS
A key aspect of documentary is its ability to provoke discussion. A film does this by posing questions, exposing contradictions, or juxtaposing opposites—all of which challenge audience members to reconcile the contradictions and tensions that have emerged. Conjecture on a larger scale might require reconstructing bygone situations, such as a crucial career interview for a job that your reformed criminal main character has in fact already begun. The company decided to take a chance and hire him, and this has changed his life. The encounter was so pivotal a moment in his life that you decide you must reconstruct it for your film. Your participants are quite willing to re-enact ...
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