Activity: How does it feel to be misrepresented?

Shara K. Lange, East Tennessee State University

How does it feel to be misrepresented? was originally part of a series of assignments about integrating ethics into production course that I wrote about for the Journal of Media Education (http://en.calameo.com/read/00009178989899f1688e0). Here it has been adapted as a stand-alone exercise for EDIT Media’s teaching materials database. This assignment was designed for entry-level production students who were preparing to embark on the production of their first documentary project.

One of the first hands-on production assignments for entry level production students is to interview each other. However, in order to integrate ethics conversations into the teaching production, in this exercise, I added a new element: not only did students edit their own interviews, they also had to edit a fellow student’s interview. And, not only did they have to edit this interview, but they were asked to intentionally manipulate the interview.

In addition to the digital editing assignment, students were given a reading and writing assignment focused on ethics in documentary filmmaking. Students were asked to discuss their feelings about watching videotaped interviews of themselves. This assignment was inspired by the video, “(Hate) Machine,” that was part of the Media that Matters Film Festival.

Download the full exercise here: How does it feel to be misrepresented__Exercise3_LANGE_rev071921 (PDF), How does it feel to be misrepresented__Exercise3_LANGE_rev071921 (.doc)

Keywords: documentary, editing, empathy, ethics, representation