Louis Theroux- Extreme Love: Autism
In this documentary Louis Theroux visits several different families where one or more children who suffer from autism. Louis also visits a school which specialises in teaching autistic children between 5 and 21. Throughout most of this documentary Theroux is in front of the camera acting as a presenter who interacts with people who are in the documentary. We see louis become emotionally involved with the parents and teachers. This mode of documentary is known as The Participatory mode. |
In this documentary the audience begin to emphasise with the subjects and Theroux does not put forward any biased opinions allowing the audience to make up their own minds.
The editors have used camera shots of Theroux driving a car to break up scenes, this separates the different peoples stories and lets the audience know there is going to a change.
The Town That Caught Tourettes The Town That Caught Tourettes is a documentary which looks at the strange events which took place just outside New York, where a group of young girls who had all suddenly 'caught' tourettes. Throughout we witness their struggles and despair as they deal with this sudden lifestyle change. There is no presenter but a voice over/ narrator throughout. We here directly from the 'victims' and also from the different medical practitioners. Archive footage is also used to show the girls when they first got tics and their families had recorded it. |
Storyville - Survivors: Despicable Dick This is a documentary that follows a recovering addict Dick Kuchera. He is trying to make amends for all the bad stuff which he has done to loved ones and friends. Throughout this documentary the audience are made to feel mixed emotions about Dick. We are given an insight into some of the ways he has treated loved ones, which makes us see him in a negative light because of his awful ways and the arrogance that he still conveys in present time. |  |
However through his comical charm we find ourselves warming to his bold personality, as we see how honest he actually is and we want him to succeed in his 12 steps to recovery, as we become emotionally intrigued.
Observational mode is used which tries to capture the reality in as natural way as possible and relies heavily on the spontaneity from the subject. This works well with this documentary as Dick is an interesting and weird character who can draw in an audience for a long period of time.
