We remember these terms from narrative film structure but they are apparent here too. There are many parallels with speech (speech to convince as opposed to speeches to instruct). Similarly we can question whether students learn what they are taught overtly, and/or do they learn from what teachers do? A teacher who comes late, misses classes is not teaching irresponsible behavior overtly but is certainly acting as a role model or a person whose behavior is the model for others.
In a sense one can see the subtext as something akin to subconscious/covert learning and the text as something more like conscious or overt teaching. So we can ask DO NON FICTION or perhaps just DOCUMENTARY films have a SUBTEXT? If so how do we locate it?
Films have as one of their goals teaching, enlightenment and conversion as goals. Films like Michael Caine’s Acting for Films seems a straight forward “educational film” it does not seek to convert at all. Films like Triumph of the Will “document” the meeting of the gathering of the Nazi Party but in addition have the subtext about the Nazi Party. The films by Capra are far less subtle in their subtext (REMEMBER ALSO DENOTATIONAL AND CONNOTATIONAL MEANING).
Some years ago the term “muckraking sociology” was used to indicate sociologists who were not so interested in describing how the system worked, but rather showing how it didn’t work. Perhaps a better way to state it is that they were interested in showing how the systems stated goals did not match the actuality (wee now there is a surprise – talk about naiveté) .
These films are not as interested in “party politics” but are interested often in the political aspects of things, as for example happens with Titicut Follies.
One of the things we have discussed has been the question of how qualified the film makers are to present material. In the Ethnology film problems one of the serious problems has to do with just showing what happens in another culture as opposed to explaining it. In fact in a way, the film maker decides what to show, but have no idea whether it is significant or not. The sociologist Menkin once said “For every complex problem there is a simple solution which is invariably wrong.” But if we have talked about how short stories and novellas are good for a film, but a novel really needs a mini-series! If this is so, how much would it take to examine a complex problem like understanding a complicated social issue and present it in a 90 minute film?
The “not in my backyard you don’t” syndrome. It is easier to be critical than to really offer a solution.