11 - Portraits of the Self

by Sereena and Aïcha

Throughout life, anything can happen. These events can help shape who someone is as a person. These also help build the story of your life. Many families share a story that helps them know who they are and where they came from. A documentary is one way that we can find out about the stories of other people. Through the documentary Stories We Tell, we get more insight into the story of Sarah Polley's family, and more specifically, the story of her mother, Diane. We find out most of her story from the point of view of Diane’s family, lovers and friends. The documentary Silverlake Life is the personal story of two partners, Tim Joslin and Mark Massi, and how they dealt with AIDS. Through this film, we get the point of view of the two men. We get to know more about their story and what they went through. Everyone has their own story to tell.

Stories We Tell

Stories We Tell is a 109 minute documentary made by Sarah Polley in Canada in 2012. It is about Sarah trying to find out more about her mother Diane and Sarah coming to terms with the truth, and dealing with it. Diane Polley died from cancer when Sarah was 11 years old. Diane was described by everyone as very happy, outgoing and joyful. She was always full of energy. Sarah interviews family, friends, and previous lovers of Diane for the full story. Each person has a different story to tell about Diane, as they all knew her differently. Everyone had a different relationship with her; some were her children, some her lovers, and some her friends and family.

Diane had to deal with divorce of her previous husband, and with that, she also dealt with the custody of her children. She was featured in an article and called unrepentant because she didn't get custody of her children because she committed adultery. Diane also had some secrets. While Sarah tries to piece together her mother’s story, she found out something that she didn't know before. Everyone grew up believing Michael Polley was Sarah’s biological father. Sarah later found out that Diane had an affair in Montreal, while she was working, with Harry Gulkin, who is revealed to be her real father.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/sarah-polley-s-stories-we-tell-examines-filmmaker-s-family-history-1.1281216

Sarah Polley uses different forms of narration to tell the stories. Sarah uses interviews and interrogations to get the story of her mother. Also, throughout the film, her father, Michael, does a voice over to tell his story. There was a lot of archival footage used. However, Sarah deceives us because there were also actors hired to play the part of many people and this was only revealed at the end of the movie.

This film is special because it shows us that every person knows us in a different way. We all have witnesses to our life; every person has a different story to tell about us. Each person that witnesses a part of our life has a different point of view. There are many different sides to every story. In Stories We Tell, through each person’s different point of view, we are able to construct the story of Diane and find the truth. Her story was shaped by what people said about her, and how they felt about her. However, sometimes putting the story of our life together can be difficult; there are some obstacles. We don't remember our life fully, but rather different pieces of it. We can put it together with our different memories but it will be fragmented. We also sometimes avoid painful things that happen in life. Some people also don't know the full truth. For example, many people believed that Geoff might have been Sarah’s real father, and they said this in their personal interviews. However, Harry was the real father, and Sarah found this out during the process of creating the documentary. Sarah herself had said that the “truth about the past is often ephemeral and difficult to pin down”. Therefore, it can be hard to remember the past and we might make up a story about it. One of the main questions that can be raised while watching this film is the question of authorship. Since many people are telling their own story of Diane, this shows that there are many authors of her story after she died. These are the people who were involved in her life, and witnesses. The people who are listening to her story are from the outside looking in.

Silverlake Life

http://www.amdoc.org/projects/truelives/pg_silverlakelife.html

Silverlake Life is an American film about two men, Tom Joslin and Mark Massi, living together and battling AIDS. They filmed their journey and explained the struggle of living with AIDS and how they are dealing with it. They couldn't direct the film because they died before it was finished, so it was directed by Peter Friedman. Silverlake Life shows us all the difficulties and challenges which people affected by AIDS have to live with. It shows us how it feels like to live with it and how hard it is not being able to do the things they were once capable to do. It shows how frustrating it is to live with the conscience of having AIDS and how challenging it is to face the world when you know all kinds of people are judging.

The biggest difficulty for Tom and Mike was that they couldn't live without the reminder that they will die. No matter what they do, they will die. When they had to take their medications every day, it was becoming really depressing and tough for them. It wasn't a healthy way of living even though they had no choice. They couldn't go anywhere because they would get tired easily and had bad headaches. Physically, they couldn't do anything because they were quickly losing weight. They were afraid of scaring people with their bodies, for example a lady at the pool asked them to put their shirts on so they won’t freak other people. They had to face comments of people who didn't really understand their situation and judgments that kept reminding them that they have AIDS.

What made the film special was the fact that the two partners were telling us their story by filming themselves. It felt like they welcomed us into their personal life. You could see how their lives changed in such a short time. It was interesting because we were able to see how their physical appearance and their mentality changed. They included their family and friends in their film. We saw that some members of the family had their own point of view on them living together and having AIDS. They weren't comfortable with themselves when people were watching but still showed their body. When you're with someone you love, it facilitates your journey. We could see that they had each other to make it easier. At the end of the movie, we saw Tom's face when he just died and his body was wrapped. It showed what people with AIDS have to go through.

Society tells you who you are. People put all their focus on negative things about your life. They don't care about the consequences that you will have because they only care about themselves. That is why it is important to have witnesses. They know who you are. They know what is right and what is wrong.

Reflection

These movies are about family, and the relationships we make in life. They are about the stories we create through our life and how we are able to tell them. Both Stories We Tell and Silverlake Life had something to do with death and the story of our life before death. There are many diseases in the world, such as cancer and AIDS, which can take your life or your loved ones life away so quickly. They can both teach us to not take life for granted and appreciate every moment we have because these moments create the story of our life. We can learn that we all have our own story to tell. The way we act can help shape our own life. It gives a perspective to outsiders and witnesses and helps what they say about us. In Silverlake Life, Tom had said that "You live a happy life, you live a happy life. You live a life of nay saying then that the life you live." We all have the capability to change our life, and create our own story. Everything we do creates the story of our life. Mark had also said that the little details in our life can create our story. The people that witness our story can tell our story, but we are the creators of it. You can be the one to tell your own story, which is how Tom and Mike did in Silverlake Life. You can also get other people to tell the story of someone, which is how Sarah Polley got people to tell the story of Diane in Stories We Tell. Tom and Mike used a handheld camera to get their personal point of view and tell their story. Sarah used interviews, footage, and actors to get different points of view to tell the story of Diane. Sometimes though, there is a question of if the stories of the past are true. In my life, it can be difficult to remember every single detail about my childhood. Sometimes people tell me stories of when I was younger and I combine them with what I remember. But alltogether it might not be the full truth. However, they are still good stories and I can tell them to others as I get older.

In the film Stories We Tell, it makes us realize that sometimes keeping secrets can be the better for you. It creates something better than if the truth is revealed because it might hurt the people you care about most. It shows that multiple version of the story may be better than one because no one knows the truth you are hiding from them. However, sometimes when the truth is revealed it might not hurt those who you are close to. It also makes us realize that even though someone seems opens about his life, that doesn't mean he's not hiding something. For example, one part of the film where there were multiple truths was about who Sarahs real father. Many people had different ideas of who her father could be. When Sarah found out her real father was Harry, she had to tell Michael. In the end, after she told Michael, neither of them were hurt, but Michael said he felt closer to Sarah.

In the film Silverlake Life, it makes us understand that people don't understand the struggle that other people go though every day. People forget that others are dealing with bigger problems than they do. There will always be people who don't care.

The first film, we can see that even though they lived through some lies, at the end, they are still together and appreciating life. We don't really care about the lies, life just continues. Only the important things matter. Family will always stay family. Being curious is a good thing because it can help us find more stuff than what we wanted to find. In the second film, the message is that everyone needs someone to get through difficult moments. It is harder to live without family or friends that can help you. No matter the judgments of others, we have to live for us and not to please them.

Self Portraits

We can learn and understand a lot by entering into the personal life of others and themselves too. Self-portraits makes you realize how people perceive you in different ways. It is easier to connect with the person. You learn more about yourself every day. We are able to see our feelings and our personality through self-portrait. We all have witnesses to our life to tell our story, but we have the power to tell our own story and be the author of it.

10 - An ideal society

by Samantha, Elisa and Jessy 

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peSpUDMcGR8

     We all want to change something in our society; however small the change is it would be important in order to get closer to what we think is an ideal society. Many of us wonder what would be the perfect society and what would take us there. Throughout history people have tried to create the perfect society but always failed in the way. Utopia refers to the idea of a perfect society. A society with an ideology of life perfect without mistakes, where everyone can live an ideal life and the word ‘equality’ reign. Our current modern society makes us think progress will take us to the perfect society but we really think they are right. The films Surviving Progress and No Impact Man, show us the idea of ​​utopia as something that we can get but we have to start changing some things and making some sacrifices.

                     "No Impact Man"                               (Laura Gabbert, Justin Schein, 2009, USA , 93 min)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjpAboJsXKk

         Colin Beavan in this documentary shows how small changes in our lifestyle can make a big difference for our planet and can give us great benefits for our life. Sometimes we do not realize the damage we cause to the planet and how it affects us no just now but also to future generations. Would be good if we began thinking how in 25 years we could wipe out the world's resources and how this can destroy all the life in the planet. We can make the relation no planet no life and this involve us so we can finish with our life in this process. Colin is a man committed to the planet and determined that if a person starts with the change giving the example for other people and they will be convinced to start the change too. This determination gives him the idea to start the No Impact Man project with his family, this project consists in for a year they won't cause harm to the planet and they will start a better lifestyle.

         Utopia means an ideal society but this does not have to relate that all live in a consumerist style and we can have whatever with want, but rather as a society that come together and start thinking about solutions to our problems when everyone can give his ideas for how can we create the ideal society . But this is not only thinking of solutions because everyone could do this alone but rather unite in practice in order to obtain results we all hope for our society and start the change for a better society.

        Colin teaches us that a person and his family start changing little things in their house this is already a big difference. These changes will not only bring benefits to our planet but also for our family that will work together for obtain the results, start changes makes us share more quality time with those we love. Everyone in the house can be involve in this change Colin shows us this when he involves his little daughter in all the practices one example is when they show she how to wash their clothes without machine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nc4AESIu14I

       Some of us have heard of the three R's but not put into practice. This is the foundation of the No Impact Man project; the first step is to reduce and is perhaps the most important. The more reduce is equal to more benefits can we obtain , an example of this is when the family of Colin began to reduce electricity use in your home and the use of transportation to get to their jobs this brought them profit decreased their electricity bills and a more active life.The second step is to reuse, this will bring benefits to the planet and to reduce our spend on packaging that normally increase the cost of all the products, an example is when they begin to use food jars more than once. The last step is to recycle, it helps not to deplete resources and reuse as much as we can and a good example of this is when they begin to reuse clothing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8

         Colin implements more than thirty ideas for his project, but this does not mean that we should start with the thirty but rather we can start step by step and gradually implemented so few we want. What matters in all this is to start thinking about our future and how we as individuals can do for begin the change for our planetand not only that we can start the change that our entire society need.

http://noimpactproject.org/explained/

                  Surviving Progress

      (Mathieu Roy , 2011 , Canada, 82 minutes)

       How do you describe progress? Is it through your efforts or actions or is it the nature of how humanity and technology has advanced? Or the cultural and ethical advancements in the past two hundred years?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6IAs3tMZneM

      Surviving Progress is a Canadian documentary made in 2011 by Mathieu Roy. It runs for about an hour and 22 minutes and it fits rather closely to No Impact Man in the same vein of ecological problems with the Earth and humanity.

      Surviving Progress tells us that if we don’t change our ways, in a few decades, or centuries, we’ll be fighting for simple necessities like land mass (due to global warming), wealth and water. These kinds of consequences would be considered the fall of modern society itself and civilization. There’s also mentions about “humans becoming gods” and the god complexes some people have today when it comes to progress and engineering that as a society we’ve been getting cocky and our ‘improvements’ can easily lead us to a dead end or a ‘trap’ (We might think at first that everything’s fine and dandy, then you realize the severity of the event and there’s no escape.)

        No Impact Man does make a mention about how much garbage and waste we make today when it comes to society (which leads to pollution) and how corporations almost rule all and that society is materialistic. Surviving Progress also talks about how our economic and poor distribution of wealth is so unhealthy and inflated that if ecological resources, space for food doesn’t catch up to us and cause the beginning of an ecological collapse, the distribution of wealth will and its effects would be catastrophic, as the only people who have millions and millions of dollars are powerful figures like the government or head of companies.

        Another unique idea that the movie brings up is that today, everything is at the tip of our fingers through the internet. We can connect with people from all around the world to discuss similar things or just to watch the news unfold that many people believe that the internet can serve as one huge human ‘brain’ network. Before the internet everybody was secluded in their own societies and if there was information of other countries or cultures, it was rather muted or hushed away. But with the internet we can easily show our humanity and express it through social media and raise awareness….which has led to popular social networks like Twitter to be banned in several countries.

 We can do something 

        By watching these two documentaries we can establish two facts about the human race, we have grown very dependent on items which we do not need because we are growing into an over consuming population which means that we will exploit our natural resources which can result into disaster!

       In the film that we watched in class : No Impact Man, we can clearly see that it is very difficult to leave behind bad habits and that it is incredibly overwhelming as a viewer to know  that it’s possible to live without the polluting products that we have become accustomed to.

      In the documentary of Surviving progress, we can see that the evolution of society is not entirely a positive matter for many negative reasons. Basically it is in a way the same concept as the film: No Impact Man, because it shows that we are being careless into exploiting our resources, over consuming and that all this might bring a disastrous end to our planet.

     In No Impact Man, Colin Beavan’s idea was to cut off everything that might be a huge impact on society and the well being of our environment. For example: He turned off his electricity for approximately six months, he hasn’t used any chemicals that can be flushed into the sewer lines, and so on.  His main idea was practically achieved because many organisations and schools started practicing this activity.In Surviving progress, the main idea has been clearly demonstrated by the negative images and many theories on how the outcome of our irresponsibility could be horrendous. Has it had an impact on our society? Maybe not, due to the fact that most of us refuse to give up our “necessities”.

     Colin Beavan has challenged our understanding of the world by showing us that we can survive with the simplest things that don’t bring much impact on the environment. We don’t need high quality products, or technology to survive and these are one of the main things that many people can’t deal with. As it was mentioned earlier, many schools and organisations have tried following his footsteps and making this idea grow bigger.The surviving documentary can challenge our understanding of the world in the simplest way. After watching it we could easily realize how much damage our intellectual evolution has been done to our planet without noticing it. We see the horrors going on around us even more clearly than before and gives us an idea of what should be done to prevent this from becoming bigger than it already is. Many viewers might only feel sad about the situation and still end up not doing a thing to help the situation while others might finally have enough and speak up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y9wYQKGyVD4

    There are a few ways we can relate the message of these two documentaries to our own lives and society. There are many people trying to fix our problems of overconsumption and many volunteers strive for their voice to be heard when it comes to taking care of our planet. 

                    Be the change 

      “We're gonna change the World by changing ourselves. I don't believe that you can really change the World outside until you change the World inside yourself. And I really do believe that love, if you really have love in your being, then it's very difficult to be unkind or cruel to another person or the planet. And I think, I really believe that we, as a species mankind, we really need to live from our heart more. And when that happens we will stop being destructive to each other and destructive to the planet. But we've lost touch with that, and that's how we can commit such cruelty to each other and the planet we live on.”

                -Rodger Hodgson - The voice of Supertramp

          Protect the planet for future generations does not mean giving up our lives or abandon everyday activities. By adopting simple habits and common sense, each of us can save energy, reduce pollution affecting the temperature of the Earth, and conserve our limited natural resources. 

       The challenge is big and can seem overwhelming. But when many people make small efforts, these add up to make a positive change on a large scale. The main thing is to start the change for our planet.

9 - Taking Action

 by Timmy and Jennifer

“ Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. “

­ Thomas Jefferson

It was 3 years ago in 2011, “ If a Tree Falls” directed by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman, produced a documentary movie to reveal the significance impact of deforestation. Throughout the 85-minute film many issues about the environment were raised, specifically the way human beings contribute to the destruction of our environment. The film documents Daniel Mcgowan and his associates who were tired of the demolition of Mother Nature by: burning timber companies, horse slaughterhouses, stolen goods, etc. The United States government arrested Daniel and thirteen other ELF affiliates “Earth Liberation Front” to bring the group to an end. Daniel was judged as a terrorist even though it is factually the contrary. In the documentary, Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman used several forms of technical arrangements to show the issues; sequences of their life before the film and after; the interviews with the Daniel and other activists, the progression and juxtaposition of what eventually happened, the footages of incidents, and credible proofs such as the conversation of Daniel.

                             

 Considering that our week topic was “ Myths and Ideologies” “ If a Tree Falls ” was perfectly reliable to the theme, Daniel Mcgowan put himself out there, fighting for his beliefs and Ideologies. Environmentalism is all about supporting nature and Daniel used the film to expose his ideologies and set an example to the rest of us. The most important lesson from the movie is that we must fight for what we believe in. This “myth”/ Story that Daniel told, helps us raise questions and rethink our personal limits in terms of eco-activism. We learned in class that it does not take much to become a activist, and anyone can be a environmental hero! “ If a Tree Falls ” demonstrates the flaws in our so called democratic society; a system based on the idea that cooperation is necessary to achieve our goals. It seems to be perfectly impossible but nearly practicable for human to produce. As long we try, as long as Daniel, and his colleagues make the effort; that’s what is important.

 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQdejn_RxBQ]

As this short documentary “The Human Footprint” about our impact on the planet says “Each person should be aware that each action they takes has a profound effect on the environment in the long run, and steps should be taken so we can reduce this footprint.”

The movie, Daniel Mcgowan and his associates make efforts to change devastating practices that we do everyday and apply another method of doing things: whether simply by deciding to protest, these are their way of living nearly perfectly. As creatures we must and it is our responsibility to change the world, and this, start at home! “If a Tree Falls” inspired to show that, we hold the power to make a difference, take a step a time, small or big.

[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpkBht9_uqI ]

“L’Erruer boréale”

The Documentary film “L’Erreur boréale” was directed and filmed by Richard Desjardins and Robert Monderie. The film took place in Quebec and was released during the year of 1999. The directors of the film were environmental activist and included many interviews of themselves, workers, and related officials to the tree industry. The film presented its ideologies in a very one sided point of view leaving the audience with a strong message about deforestation and its atrocity to our environment. The birds eye view from the planes and the many clips of high tech machinery chopping trees showed the large amount of forest cut down across northern parts of Quebec. Richard Desjardins Interviewed workers, they explained how much the logging has changed since when they were younger. In our society there are consumers and producers, the more we consume the more producers will produce. Environmentalists and industrialist are opposing ideologies because the industries want to exploit the land while environmentalists want to preserve and respect it.

             

Léopaul Gaudreau was a minister of the environment who explained how logging companies didn’t have rules against cutting wood only for protection of water, where they can build roads, and place camps. When Richard Desjardins realized the minister of environment had nothing to say about rules on cutting trees he appeared at a DOMTAR press meeting in 1996 for answers and was denied any. Richard Desjardins is committed to his environmental ideologies and through this documentary film he displayed the importance of them because even though forest are being claimed to be reforested they never grow back as large or full as before.

The definition of environmentalist is “any person who advocates or works to protect the air, water, animals, plants, and other natural resources from pollution or its effects.”(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/environmentalist) Mainstream media does not show us the destruction that industries have on the environment. We must group together and protect our environment. Richard Desjardins ideologies support that each person has the responsibility to protect the environment that we inhabit because we only have one planet and it can never be replaced to its original state. The one hour and eight minute film has the power to make a big impact on many people in Quebec because it’s so close yet so few are aware of deforestations monstrous affects on the environment.

"people making a stand"

The documentary films “If A Tree Falls” and “L’Erreur boréale” introduce different beliefs that people have towards the environment. Both films giving non-bias presentations of what happened. In the film “ If A Tree falls” there was protesting demonstrations, interviews of police officers, and interviews of ELF members. The many points of view communicate the message of the film while also giving both sides of the situation. Something to be learnt from these films is that there are more important things to be focusing on than the new gadget coming out, or when we can afford to go shopping again.

Our planet is in desperate need of our attention before all the beautiful wildlife is destroyed. These films are persuading us to stop conforming to society and make a stand for the ideologies we support, because it is our right as inhabitants of a democratic society. L’Erreur boréale’s film shots from planes show the large amount of forest being cut down by logging companies in northern Quebec. Not many people realize how close to home some issues are and these documentary films give a chance for

Us to see first hand the impact we have on the environment.

People use protesting as a manor of voicing beliefs and being heard. Many peaceful protesting demonstrations have been terminated by police force, leaving society limitations when it comes down to being heard. Each and every person has a belief but writing angry letters or marching down main road wont generate the change needed. Ask any person if they believe the environment is important and yes will be the answer almost every time. Society claims that ELF actions were Eco-Terrorism but what other choice did they have. The ELF showed that there is a problem with the government that is claimed to be “of the people” when we do not have the right to make progression as a united nation. Throughout my life I have lived in a house surrounded by forest and farms, and most my childhood exploring the surrounding wildlife. Traveling to British Columbia and driving through the mountains opened my eyes to the mass amount of logging. Through out the drive there was many logging trucks passing by and skeletons of forest that were once so alive and wild. Our country is beautiful, and without the support and protection of all its inhabitants it will continue to become a burial ground of natural beauty.

“Perhaps the time has come to cease calling it the 'environmentalist' view, as though it were a lobbying effort outside the mainstream of human activity, and to start calling it the real worldview. -Edward O. Wilson”(http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/environmentalism) 

In conclusion, we all must learn not to rely on the media to inform us, but rather get involved, inform ourselves and others around you. Living in a democratic society gives the right to people to stand for what they believe. If Demonstrations of peaceful protesting are the best option then we must proceed in that manor. I want to support the environment, just as Richard Desjardins and Daniel McGowan, but the real question is whether you would as well? If you cherish the environment you do not have to make a documentary film to make a difference, simply getting involved as a citizen and encouraging eco-friendly lifestyles makes all the difference. Though music, media, and conversation spread the word that Mother Nature is under attack.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R45ZcM8iwkc

8 - Collective Memory: The Foundation of Our Identities

by Sylvain Duguay

We have all wondered, at some point or another, where we come from: which forces, events, people, and ideas have shaped the beings we are and the societies in which we evolve. Furthermore, we must wonder what brings us together as a group, and holds us together through time. Documentary films offer some answers to those questions as they carry forward in time traces of events past, as well as interpretations of great periods of history.

The Holocaust
Word War II has left profound scars on our civilization: the scope of the savagery committed, the unprecedented destructive power used by all sides, and the distress to which billions of people were subjected has defined how we perceive ourselves today. Two films explore very well the ins and outs of the conflict from different temporal perspective, looking at the rise of the Nazi party and the disaster of the Holocaust.

In Triumph of the Will (Germany, 1934, 110 min.), Leni Riefenstahl put her creative genius at the service of the Nazi party. Although she has always denied voluntarily creating a propaganda film, we are forced to acknowledge the incredibly convincing force of the film. Though a series of carefully selected events surrounding the Nazi party held in Nuremberg in 1934, the film shows us a country tightly united behind the rising force of the National-Socialist party. Opening on a scene showing Hitler coming down from the sky like a messianic figure, the film sets up the leader of the Nazi party as the leader-father of the wounded German nation. Every civilian is shown manifesting support for the party, and all the might of Germany is also shown to be at the disposition of the Fuhrer-to-be. This film was intended to rally the German nation and scare the possible foes of the nation. Looking at it from today’s vantage point is a chilling experience.

In Night and Fog (France, 1955, 31 min.), made 20 years later, Alain Resnais explores the consequences of the short-lived yet destructive Third Reich. This contemplative film, narrated by Jean Cayrol (himself a survivor of the camps), proposes an unforgiving look at the horrors perpetrated by Nazis in the their concentration camps. The archival footage, joined to images of the camps taken 10 years after the war, create a haunting picture of human tragedies lived in inhuman conditions. The film is about memory: who is left to remember? Is that past forever gone? How can we make sure not to repeat those events?

The film Shoah is a 10-hour documentary, based on interviews of survivors of the camps and archival footage, 

that is one of the most important films ever made about the Holocaust.

Documentary films participate in the creation of a contemporary mythology by helping us understand the deep forces that shape our destiny. As we wonder what has shaped us as a collectivity, we turn to those films to show us the past in a way that offers answers to big metaphysical questions, and draw links to the human unconscious that drives our lives. Films like Triumph of the Will and Night and Fog help us make sense of the world in which we live, and provide us with some tools to understand our relationship to the world around us. Are we safe from such events repeating themselves? What is the nature of evil? Don’t we all bear a part of shadow within ourselves? And don’t we have a duty to bear the memories of those events? As we look at those past events, and as they are played back time and time again, we come to share a collective understanding of the past, and we develop a community of ideas that link us to one another.

Je Me Souviens
The political scene in Quebec is a complex one: French and English have had a strong presence in the province, and the traces of those two founding peoples are still at the center of the political, cultural, and ideological landscapes of the inhabitants of La Belle Province. The tensions between French-speaking and English-speaking Québécois are ever smoldering below the day-to-day accommodations made by both groups, but the nationalist aspirations of a part of the French-speaking population have shaped the political aspirations of the province for many decades.

In Action: The October Crisis of 1970 (Roby Spry, 1973, Canada, 87 min.), the events surrounding the kidnapping of James Cross (British trade commissioner) and Pierre Laporte (Québec minister) by the FLQ are documented through extensive archival research and informative voice-over. Explored in this film are the causes of the rise of nationalism in Québec, the violent actions of the FLQ, the unfolding of the crisis leading to the promulgation of the War-Measures Act by Prime Minister Trudeau and the subsequent assassination of Pierre Laporte, as well as the reactions of various people to the events. The film offers a striking (yet rather well-balanced) portrait of nationalism in Québec, and allows the viewer to grasp the complexity of Québec’s independence movement.

The CBC archives offer an interesting panorama of the October crisis through original clips from the era: 

select the various clips from the right-hand side column.

In Comfort and Indifference (Denys Arcand, 1982, Canada, 108 min.), we are presented with a portrait of Québec on the eve and the aftermath of the 1980 referendum on the independence of Québec. Renowned filmmaker Denys Arcand takes the pulse of the province as it is asked to decide on its future. Using footage gathered by many filmmakers throughout the years, he highlights the main arguments for and against independence, presenting their main political supporters (although many of them are hard to recognize without proper identification, more than 30 years after the events), and showing a favorable bias for independence. This bias is mostly felt through the inclusion of the historical figure of Machiavelli, commenting on the actions of the government and comparing the tactics of the promoters of the “No” camp to his famous book of advice to rulers, “The Prince.”

The 1980 referendum as presented by the archives of Radio-Canada

Once again, those films play the role of myths by explaining to us, through two narratives central to the nationalist identity, how the Québécois political identities are rooted in conflict and attempts to determine their specificity. Knowing your roots is supposed to help you decide how to shape your future, and those films, by exposing many issues linked to the identity of the province, seek to create a foundation to answer some questions related to the political future of Québec. By helping us imagine what the nation should be, those movies are trying to help come together as a collectivity in order to shape the future of the province (or the country, depending of your allegiance). While nationalism can exclude the other in some of its more conservative forms, it is nevertheless essential to gather people around a common sense of identity. The films serve as fundamental tools to promote, discuss, and define the Québecois collective identity.

Looking Back, Looking Ahead

While there are many ways to learn about our past, either by taking history courses, listening to people recount the events they experienced first-hand, or conducting in-depth research on a topic related to our past, documentary films offer a unique opportunity to reach out to a time that is forever gone. The Holocaust has redefined our understanding of evil, and struck a blow to our pride of being at a “civilized” stage of the evolution of our species. We must learn to recognize manipulation and propaganda when it is aimed at us, and we must accept to confront the consequences of the actions of our fellow human beings. And while the rise of nationalism in Québec is more focused on the history of our country, it is nevertheless essential to understand the roots of the various political ideologies (and corresponding parties) that are part of today’s political life in the province. Only when we look back at the past can we understand the present and look ahead to the future.

Yet those films reflect a past forever gone and inaccessible: the march of time, rushing forward in the name of progress, tends to blur our vision of the past. Who get to write the past? How accurate are the representations reaching us through the years? Can we really understand what has happened from our position, solidly anchored in the present as we are? As time goes by, some meanings attached to those stories are forever lost or distorted. This is the fate of all myths are they are carried through time: they are reinterpreted and reinvented according to the needs and the worldviews of the eras through which they are carried.

By making extensive use of archival footage, those films try to capture a sense of the past as it was happening. While Leni Riefenstahl had the opportunity to document the events as they unfolded (and shape them according to her vision), the other filmmakers had to use images taken from newsreels, various news services, archives, as well as footage recorded by other filmmakers. Although the narration often guides our reading of those images, there remains a sense of immediacy and truth to the unaltered images reaching us through time. We may want to ignore the horrors and troubles of the past, yet they find a way to reach out to us.

The Internet Archive is a website with the mission of collecting all sorts of media 

and make them available to the wider population

As we navigate the political landscape, we are asked to make decisions. When we vote in elections, we must take into account the history and the development of the identities to which we belong. And on a more global scale, as we look at the history of our species as it spreads over the centuries and across the planet, we must ask ourselves how we relate and react to the constant repetitions of the bloody conflicts that have plagued us since times immemorial. As a Montrealer, a Québécois, and a Canadian, as well as a global citizen of the Earth, I must constantly redefine my position to the world that surrounds me, as everyone must do. We belong together, and we must constantly learn to live as a collectivity.

Stories About Ourselves
Mythology has a way to travel untouched through ages and civilizations, bringing forth a sense of connection with the previous generations of humans that preceded us. Those stories have taken many forms, and today it seems that documentary films offer us a mirror through which we can look back in time, only to realize that very little has changed. We tend to think of ourselves as independent, free-willing beings, yet we are inescapably trapped in the folds of history, carried forward on the waves set in motion by generations of humans who lived, loved, and died just like we do. A humbling thought, maybe, but it is also joined to a sense of shared evolution, and hopefully, to a desire to become a better people.