Assignment: Documentaries as Research Tools

Documentaries can be very useful resources, but they are never without bias. In this project, you will look critically at one documentary and assess its value as an academic resource. As a group, choose one of the following documentaries to watch. They explore different aspects of "queerness," from gender and sexuality to politics to family units. Some, though not all, have LGBT topics. As a group, your goal for this project will be to analyze how the documentary functions as a research tool.

What biases does it have?

What perspective(s) does it offer on queerness?

How does the director employ the techniques of film we learned at the beginning of the semester?

What time periods, locations, and demographics does it address?

What is the filmmakers' main message?

What resources are used?

What experts are interviewed?

What types of footage does the director use (i.e., is it live footage, re-enactments, animation, etc.)?

What does the documentary leave out or overlook?

How could this documentary be useful in a research project?

What kinds of projects might make use of it?

And, of course, in what ways (if any) does it relate to pop culture?

Video

The codes of gender: identity + performance in pop culture. (gender, advertisements, masculinity, femininity, bodies).