Participatory Mode

The participatory mode focuses on the encounter/s between filmmaker and the social actors. The camera’s presence becomes an element of the encounter between filmmaker and subject and is used as a means to explore their relationship. Nichols explains this idea further in his statement:

“We see how the filmmaker and subject negotiate a relationship, how they act toward each another, what forms of power and control come into play, and what levels of revelation or rapport stem from this specific form of encounter. Cinéma vérité reveals the reality of what happens when people interact in the presence of a camera.”

From this explanation it becomes clear that participatory documentaries tend to focus more on the exploration between filmmaker and subject than the issue at hand. The film acknowledges that people behave differently around the camera and the film uses the camera as a means to achieve its point/s. The filmmaker is not simple observing action but creating the action and situations which are seen on screen. One common way in which the filmmaker can create a situation for a film is through an interview. The interview takes shape because of the filmmaker and the filmmaker can also shape the conversation through the questions asked. An interview is one of the most direct manners in which the filmmaker can encounter the subject on an issue. An interview can also be approached in a very stylized manner to achieve the affect which the filmmaker wishes to convey. 

For example, the films, Sick Around the World and Sicko, both utilize interviews to help establish their statements on the issue of health care. However, each filmmaker approaches the interview in distinct styles to help support their opinions on health care and to persuade the audience in different manners and directions. In the film, Sick Around the World, T. R. Reid takes a rather passive approach in his interviewing; he is very poised like a reporter. Though he is very poised to be politely discussing health care it is still obvious he has an agenda through the way he shapes the conversation. For example, in each interview he makes a point for each representative of a foreign country to declare that no one goes bankrupt in their country for health care and Reid usually shapes this question so that the subject also laughs at the idea of someone going bankrupt. Reid is doing this specifically to create a very pointed statement against the US health care. He however is making this statement through polite conversations. This style allows Reid to make his statement passive aggressive so as to be less likely to anger anyone but also to insure he gets his opinion across. 

On the other hand, in the film, Sicko, Michael Moore is aggressive in his interviews and works to achieve strong emotional reactions from his subjects. This type of interview is used by Michael Moore to build intensity in the subject and to try and make the audience more emotionally invested in the issue. Moore uses this type of interview to be very up front in his opinion and to make the audience emotional so that they are more likely to react and act upon the issue. 

So, interviews are commonly used in participatory documentaries to demonstrate the encounter between filmmaker and subject and the type of interview is used to help the filmmaker create a statement of the issue at hand. Overall, the participatory mode allows the filmmaker to explore encounters created by the filmmaker and for the filmmaker to use these interactions to make a statement on the issue being addressed.