Stretching The Sociological Imagination -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Stretching The Sociological Imagination? Answer: Introducation The essay is a personal review on the riveting documentary Obit: Life on Deadline, by Vanessa Gould is stark and beautiful portrayal of the life of obituary writers.Gould provides us through her art with a livid picture about the different layers of journalism. The structure will include a brief discussion on some of the essential aspects of the documentary like the picture of journalism that it slowly creates in front of our eyes. Impression Of Journalism From The Film The documentary is 1 hour 33 minutes long, providing the audience with a glimpse of the typical crudities of a job that requires writing obituaries on public figures. Writers professionally strive to give birth to artistically shaped, inventive obituaries that would capture the attention of readers. The astounding phenomenon of earning a living by gripping and tackling death on a daily basis is bound to captivate the audience giving them a quick introduction to the first paced world of journalism. The film leaves the audience to grapple with the inventive idea of running after deadlines and consulting journals to scribble some of the finest obits. The film is an absolute treat as it progresses and delivers the unthinkable by mocking the tacit Victorian idea circumscribing the fashion of writing obituaries. Gould is brave enough to challenge the old and tattered notion of writing obituaries as something gloomy and bland in tone, a strict blend of respect and regard for the person deceased. This is where the film plays with the audiences preconceived notion regarding writing obituaries and to consider a kaleidoscopic view, the world of journalism. What I Liked About The Film What I liked most about the film is the cinematography which centralizes audiences attention on the media desk and the charming David Carr, to steal the frame. The art of making motion picture plays a role in ensuring that the final product is not just a mere amalgamation of ideas and information. On the very surface, Obit: Life on Deadlines appears nothing more than a tedious documentary on death which involves the accumulation of facts and data, arranging them in a synchronized manner is a matter ofemotional roller-coaster ride for the writers themselves. However, the director has invested the film with an artists perspective, which is nevertheless, not disparate from the real life. The intrigue lies as the camera zooms into the panic stricken faces of the writers struggling to come up with engrossing leads to make the obituary attractive to its readers. This is exactly where the narrative jolts the audiences as they witness the whole affair with a rather sadistic pleasure of seein g the writers crumbling under the burden of writing obits. Do I agree with the film? I agree with what the film shows and the documentary never had a dull moment as it gives a colorful view in a collage form, often in an inoffensive and humorous way of depicting the lives of the writers. Bruce and Margalit Fox have scribbled around thousand obituaries for The New York Times, with subjects spanning from celebrities to politicians brings a whiff of fresh air in the documentary. Interestingly, the document is not centered round fun and frolic that might be intertwined with the job profile of an obit writer. Gould has infused it with taint of melancholy and despair as well, the mind-boggling stress that every writer of the department. What Vanessa Gould does is it provides with a different perspective on print journalism. It is massively reminiscent of Thackerays Pendennis, the great engine that printing press is. Also it is a stark reality how the readers are decidedly uninterested to even spare a passing glance to the obituaries until and unless they are related to somebody of grand and imposing stature. Somehow, I felt the all pervasive question of mortality hanging high over the living characters, thriving on resources stained by the dead. Personally, I have never considered obituary to be a part of print journalism till I Goulds documentary that clenched onto my attention for the entire span. According to me, far from being loud or disrespectful towards the art of writing obituary or the deceased, the documentary has gifted me with a subtle humor and wit which refused to fade away long after the documentary had finished. Obituary writing is a character in itself, the driving force behind the narrative of the film, taking the audiences into the very depth of it. Every little aspect involved with the profession of obituary writing including how much space a deceased personality should occupy in the paper is an instance of a true artists observational skills. The talent of magnifying the trivialities of everyday nothings into art and projecting them in front the audience is nothing less than a blessing. I struggled to imbibe the idea within myself that the total space on the paper is proportionate to space the world is w illing to allocate for a deceased person. I am thankful to the documentary for not expanding the heap of frustration and gloom that one associates with the profession of obit writing in a newspaper. Instead it turned out to be a very personal creation of Gould, a child beautiful and invested with lively spirit. References Bordwell, D., Thompson, K., Smith, J. (2016).Film art: An introduction. McGraw-Hill Education. Chambers, D. (2017). Journalism. InThe History of British Womens Writing, 19451975(pp. 71-88). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Fowler, B. (2015). The Media and Collective Memory: The Obituaries of Academics. InStretching the Sociological Imagination(pp. 120-140). Palgrave Macmillan, London. Heynderickx, P. C., Dieltjens, S. M. (2016). An analysis of obituaries in staff magazines.Death studies,40(1), 11-21. Landy, M. (2015). A Cinema of Poetry: Aesthetics of the Italian Art Film. Martin, C., Campbell, R., Harmsen, S. (2014).Media essentials: A brief introduction. Bedford/St. Martin's.