Dear Matthew--
I recently presented a paper at a conference and discussed Arthur's notion of an *intentional* "aesthetics of failure." I've read that essay of Arthur's and another one by film theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha, whose essay on technologies of the documentary appears with Arthurs in the same anthology (I forgot the title of the anthology). Minh-ha's essay is a geneaology of the documentary, beginning I believe with the cinema verite movement of the 60s. She also discusses roughly similar ideas of Arthur's, referring to this "aesthetics of failure" as "the new nonfiction epistemology." Like Arthur, Minh-ha is concerned with both the epistemic limitations ('failure') of documentary films *as well as* their new (postmodern?) potential. I want to call that anthology _Theorizing Documentary_. You should seek it out (if you haven't already) as it comprises several relevant essays on documentary filmmaking techniques.
Good luck!
Lysa
University of Washington, Seattle
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On Wed, 11 Jun 2003, Matt Niednagel wrote:
> I am currently researching the discussion surrounding the "Aesthetic of
> Failure" and "epistemic hesitation" in contemporary documentary film.
>
> I have traced the first term back to a 1993 article by Paul Arthur ("Jargons
> of Authenticity"), and the second to a 1997 monograph by Carl Plantinga
> ("Rhetoric & Representation in Nonfiction Film.") I also found a discussion
> of these ideas in Gary MacLennan's 1998 review of Plantinga's book in
> FILM-PHILOSOPHY, so I thought I'd poll current listmembers to see if anyone
> recalls further debate of these issues here or elsewhere.
>
> Does anyone else out there use these concepts in their own work? Have you
> seen these terms used elsewhere in print?
>
> Would be grateful for any leads.
> Regards,
> Matthew Niednagel
> Princeton U.
>
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