Comment by aasasd | Hacker News Reader

Comment by aasasd | Hacker News Reader

Parent Full thread

> The release of Pandora's Box (1992) marked the introduction of Curtis's distinctive presentation that uses collage to explore aspects of sociology, psychology, philosophy and political history. His style has been described as involving, "whiplash digressions, menacing atmospherics and arpeggiated scores, and the near-psychedelic compilation of archival footage", narrated by Curtis himself with "patrician economy and assertion".

Is this guy in fact the inventor of the annoying modern style of political documentary, where I have to listen to anxiety-inducing drones and the worst kind of movie-trailer voice, nonstop for an hour at least? The one used by shittiest propaganda tv channels? And for some inexplicable reason also borrowed by Youtube personalities that supposedly appeal to thinking, educated people in opposition to that propaganda tv.

> annoying modern style of political documentary, where I have to > listen to anxiety-inducing drones and the worst kind of > movie-trailer voice, nonstop for an hour least?

Well you're in for a real treat with "Russia:Trauma Zone" then. Curtis listened to all the bleating criticisms and delivered six hours of absolutely bare footage, which juxtaposed and sequenced speaks for itself. The result is even more powerful than ever before - which shows that incorporating criticism, even when it's only about surface style, pays off.

The only criticism I have is that the title is a bit bland.

It should gave been called "Natasha's Boots". She is the star of the show. And in the ened she gets her boots.

> that propaganda tv

All TV and social media is propaganda. Even cat videos. It propagates. It carries a message. Even if the message is "Don't think".

> even when it's only about surface style

There's such thing as respect for the viewer. Idk about Curtis, but the grossly manipulative style of popular political documentaries doesn't show that respect. I also don't think it's about the ‘surface’ when it's designed to tug at the emotions every second of the film.

P.S.: looked through the filmography, turns out Curtis is the author of ‘HyperNormalisation’. At least based on that I'm gonna say he does use style close-ish to what I described above: perhaps less drones, more hyperactive editing. Can't remember what the narration was like in that film, but I wasn't impressed in any positive way.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com