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J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life (2007)
Overview of the format
'J.K. Rowling: A Year in the Life', provides a satisfactory explanation of Rowling's background and the way in which it affected the writing of the 'Harry Potter' series. However, I felt that the documentary strayed from its purpose. The original aim stated was to find out the secret behind Rowling's success. Despite this statement, the documentary went on to explore aspects of the writer's fame and how she dealt with it, which is irrelevant in consideration of the original aim stated. The documentary either needed to be more focused or widen its aim.
Another issue is that when the narrator initially talks about the 'Harry Potter' series, he doesn't give us a brief summary of what the books are about, and instead delves into the moral messages it provides. As a result, it appears as though the documentary is assuming the audience has already acquired this knowledge.
While it was interesting and relevant to consider the context of Rowling's writing in the form of her childhood, the telling of it could be more direct. For example, the interviews were personal, however, could have been better structured to avoid questions lacking in relevance. For example, the question 'do you believe in God?' appeared to an audience as a run up to the introduction of Rowling's mother's death, rather than linking explicitly with the context of her writing. The music was also distracting at times and at points did not fit the topic. When talking about the writer's mother's death, the tone of the music could have been better suited as it slightly undermined the seriousness of the topic.
Overall, an informative documentary, however it could have been improved with several alterations to increase relevance and focus.
Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive (2006)
An assessment of the programme's tools used to inform the general public
'Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive', is an excellent explanation of manic depression in terms of providing a greater understanding of the mental illness for those who are perhaps unaware of its effects. The introduction has a powerful impact on the viewer: a step by step recreation of Fry's suicide attempt creates a depth of awareness about the illness' extremes. The documentary is informative, providing facts that include symptoms such as hallucinations and shortness of temper, as well as the fact that women suffering from manic depression become more at risk in pregnancy and childbirth. Fry speaks to a variety of people, whether it be someone in the same industry as him or someone from a different background. These diverse sources help to define what it is to be manic depressive, and also what it is like to experience its effects from a family member's perspective. The documentary explores the notion that often the illness is passed off as 'bad behaviour', and consequently as an audience we become more aware of our behaviour and understanding towards other people. Conflicting ideas such as the contrasting opinions of British and American psychiatrists about whether or not to diagnose the illness at an early age, allows the audience to think for themselves. The programme, while informative, does not provide all of the answers. This is important in consideration of the vastness of the topic and relates to the fact that there are still only limited methods with which we can detect manic depression. The coinciding camera close- up of the modern technology involved in scientific research, and the doctor's description of our lack of ability to detect the illness through brain scans and gene tests, is particularly effective. It encompasses the notion that in a modern society, research is a work in progress and to develop this progress, it is important for the world's human population to have an awareness of its strengths as well as its limitations.