Issue 17
Vanishing Points

Seeing is believing: notes on the documentary effect

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  • Imanol Zumalde,
  • Santos Zunzunegui
Imanol Zumalde
Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
Bio
Santos Zunzunegui
Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea
Bio

Published 2014-01-01

Keywords

  • Document,
  • documentary,
  • truth effect,
  • making seem.
Copyright Notice

Abstract

There is a category of texts, conventionally called documentaries, which aim their main weapons at the creation of a kind of truth effect (what in structural semiotics is called referential illusion), which depends to a large extent on a whole range of strategies aimed at making what is expressed seem true. In other words, the forms of the text determine its plausibility. This essay reflects on this question and outlines a taxonomy for the documentary’s calligraphic effects, with reference to some illustrative cases.

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