Interpreting Reality: Baudrillard and Barthes Documentary Films

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Interpreting Reality: Baudrillard and Barthes Documentary Films

A documentary film is defined by Amato, Castelli & Pisani (2000) as a nonfictional motion picture that presents some aspects of reality and records events that happen in the real world, including science, politics, and culture. Documentary films aim at documenting events in society that are disappearing or on the verge of disappearance to keep history alive. Therefore, documentary films are perceived to be accurate and represent reality. However, this notion has been disputed by some theorists such as Jean Baudrillard and Roland Barthes. This paper discusses the theories of these two theorists concerning documentary films’ capability to represent reality and their impact on society concerning documentary films, The Plow that Broke the Plains and Nanook…