Sundance Panel on Docs & Blogs
The Gothamist asked indieWIRE senior editor Eugene Hernandez to make some predictions for what to look out in the independent film world in the upcoming year.
The first thing Hernandez said was:
- There is a panel at Sundance this year looking at the intersection of blogs and documentaries. I am curious to see what that is all about. Technology remains an important factor right now.
I tracked down the full description of panel discussion titled Docs, Blogs, & the Changing Politics of America buried on Sundance's site. (Click on "Sa 22" & scroll down to 4 p.m.)
The first sentence reads:
"Recent advances in digital technology have enabled an upsurge in independent and maverick political discourse accessible to large American audiences."
Well, The Echo Chamber documentary continues this trend by infiltrating the DC Beltway and interviewing over 40 prominent journalists and opinion shapers regarding the pre-war failures of the mainstream media. This independent film attempts to break new ground by combining documentary investigative reporting with open source post-production techniques through the Echo Chamber Project blog and website.
The panel discussion description goes on to question the influence of blogs on the Elections 2004 and asks, "Have the fundamental dynamics of media and politics changed?"
Blogs have made a dent, and there is a long way to go before the ecology of the mainstream media, blogosphere, independent filmmaking and government matures to its evolutionary capacity.
Currently, there is an ongoing debate between Objective vs. Partisan Journalism, and this new media ecology has the capacity to create a new paradigm of "Integral Journalism" that combines the principles of documentary filmmaking without narration, investigative reporting, open source content development, and the integration of fact-based objective reporting with partisan and non-partisan intersubjective perspectives. Combining the filmmaking and Internet mediums provides the audience with new methods for creating meaning beyond the context of the 90-minute film.
Sundance hasn't published the names of the panel participants anywhere that I've been able to find -- They've only named the moderator as Andy Bowers, Senior Editor at NPR and Slate.com. I'm going to try and see if I can find out who else is on the panel to give them a heads up with what I'm doing.
The Docs, Blogs, & the Changing Politics of America panel discussion is at 4:00 p.m. at Sundance's Digital Center at Lower Level of the Main Street Mall -- 333 Main Street -- 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Here is the full description:
Recent advances in digital technology have enabled an upsurge in independent and maverick political discourse accessible to large American audiences. From the unprecedented success of Fahrenheit 9/11 and other digital docs to the phenomenon of bloggers crowding the presidential conventions, this past year has featured a reinvigorated social discourse not seen for nearly a generation. But what has emerged from all the noise? Was the outcome of the 2004 election affected? Have the fundamental dynamics of media and politics changed? Now that there are more ways than ever to influence the political process and make your voice heard, what are the strategies for marketing your message? Moderated by Andy Bowers of National Public Radio and Slate.com.
