MY PHILOSOPHY
According to Ellis, a documentary “is purposive, it is intended to achieve something in addition to entertaining audiences” (Ellis, 2009:4). A documentary is made up of a series of sound placed together in such a way that it illustrates some sort of overall aim. They are meant to reflect a reality of a certain situation. Nichols illustrates, a “documentary-equals-reality, and that the speakers are a window rather than a reflecting surface.” (Nichols, 1981: 172). In documentaries one needs to achieve the very essence of your subject. I have achieved this through the use of qualitative research. This type of research shuns the positivist idea of social research, but looks at the social contexts of the subject in question. This type of research is not quantifiable it sees the social world through the views of the research subjects; it illustrates a deeper meaning when it comes to these subjects and their certain social situations (Newman, 2001). I held many qualitative interviews which were conducted to “obtain descriptions of the lived world of the interviewees with respect to interpretations of the meaning of the described phenomena.” (Kvale, 1996:29).
Ethongraphy is the type of philosophy that is most useful when it comes to my genre of qualitative research. It is seen as the science of cultural description. Ethnography comes from cultural anthropology and means describing a culture and understanding another way of life from a native point of view (Newman, 2001: 381). The researcher immerses oneself into the culture and understanding of the certain subject that is being interviewed. This was my case with Thandiswa, the teenager who I based my entire documentary on. Ethnographic research is seen as a holistic approach. This illustrates that Not only does the researcher study the culture, but he/she also interprets it as well in the specific context. This is achieved through in depth interviews with the subject about her experiences.
Kvale illustrates a metaphor which looks at the researcher either being a “miner” or “traveller”. In my work I had the characteristics of the traveller metaphor. The traveller illustrates that the interviewer goes on a journey where he tells his story when he returns home. On his travels he is directed and guided by the certain people he converses with. In turn these people provide gateways to other people who will talk on their own experiences (Kvale, 1996). As a researcher I went into my documentary with a naïve light, and only found my story after speaking to a number of subjects, who in turn referred me to more subjects.
Ellis, J. (2009). A new History of Documentary film. The Continuum International publishing Group Ltd.
Kvale, S (1996). InterViews: An Introduction to Qualitative Research Interviewing. Sage Publications. Newman, L. W., 2001, Social Research Methods: Qualitative and Quantitative Approaches. 3rd edition. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.
Nueman, M. & Makagon, D. 2009, Recording Culture: audio documentary and the ethnographic experience. SAGE Publication Inc.
Objectivity
In this scenario Kvale’s third case of objectivity is heavily emphasized, this illustrates that the documentary must “reflect the nature of the object researched, letting the object speak, be adequate to the object investigated and express the real nature of the object studied.”(Kvale, 1996:85) This mode illustrates the subject speaks for itself, if the researcher ushers any subjective comment it will be emphasized as simply a statement from the researcher himself. The subject is given the space to talk about his/her situation. The researcher is not seen as either with or against the subject, he simply creates a space for the subject to speak freely and openly.
Deliberate Naiveté
This illustrates where the researcher does not go into an interview having it preformulated and ready made categories for analysis. The interview needs to be presuppositionless and semi-structured (Kvale, 1996). The interview must bring as much unexpected, open and new content as possible. A semi-structured interview illustrates a few general questions to start off the interview, yet the researcher delves into more questions from the content produced by the subject.
Interpersonal Situation
This illustrates the very interview itself. It is seen as a conversation between two people. The very word, conversation, means ‘wonder together with” in Latin, (Kvale, 1996). Each interview has its own social boundaries of respect. In an interpersonal situation there is more than just a series of dialogue. Body language is also seen in interpersonal situations, and adds an extra ingredient to one’s interview (Kvale, 1996).
Life world
This illustrates the “lived world of the subjects and relation to it.” (Kvale,1996:29). By having detailed interviews with the subjects, one is allowed to dive into the lives of these people. They illustrate the various factors that affect their lives, and how they feel about these factors. The main purpose is to understand and describe those central themes that the interviewee experiences.
Underlying Meaning
A qualitative research interviewer will not only write down the words the subject is saying, he/she must also “describe and understand the underlying meanings of central themes in the life world f the subjects” (Kvale, 1996:31). The interviewer must interpret what has been said to him./her, and needs to ‘read between the lines’ of what the subject is saying. This isn’t only in speech but also in the actual body language of the subject. The subject may in fact say one thing yet feel completely opposite to this altogether.
Informed Consent
This illustrates “informing the research subjects about the overall purpose of the investigation and the main features of design.” (Kvale, 1996: 112) At any time the subjects were allowed to pull out of the interview. One must also get permission to talk to certain people, such as professionals and minors.
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