To be frank, I don't think American Teen is entirely real. While some footage from the movie (for example, the scene where the girl cries and insist not going to the school while her father drives her) and epilogues do seem to be real, some other scenes are way too private.
For instance, the scene where the guy is comforting the girl who just broke up with her boyfriend. Even if those teenages got used to the camera, I don't feel like they can totally ignore the camera man. Especially in this comforting scene. I can't iamgine myself comforting a girl in front of the guy who I barely know holding a camera in the corner of my bedroom. Or even if I knew the person--let's say one of my parents was filming me comforting a girl--it would still be quite awkward. I feel like those teenagers in American Teen are too willing to share there private moment.
I also found one contradiction in this documentary. Towards the end of the film, there was a scene where teenagers hanging out inside the car. There were two cameras--one at the passenger seat and another at back seats. So when the footage from the backseat camera is shown, I should see another camera man sitting on the passenger seat; however, I didn't see any camera man. Instead, I saw another teen sitting.
Although I believe this documentary isn't completely real, I want to object to one of the critiques. I don't think use of animation makes any documentary unreal. In this documentary, the animation was used to portray what teenagers were imagining in their mind (for example, where that awkward boy fights to get a girl). These animations make easier for audience to understand what teens are talking about and make this documentary more enjoyable.
I think that in some ways the documentary was not real but it could be the actors are not aware that what they are doing is untruthful. Being constantly on camera can cause people to act differently without being aware of the change. Some of the incredibly raw moments like the one you cited with the girl in the car with her dad seem way too emotional and real to be contrived. However, at other points I felt myself wondering how they possibly filmed these intimate moments
ReplyDeleteA lot of front seat shots are done with a mounted camera on a visor or someplace like that. It is also possible to film through the window but use the audio from the camera inside the car. Next time I watch the film, I'll take a look, though. Interesting observation.
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