Autobiographical Mode

According to Fox, the autobiographical mode is a type of the performative mode in which one performs self. A mode in which one re-creates/creates one’s story for the audience. From our discussion and the examples of films we viewed I feel that there are performative aspects in some autobiographical documentaries but that an autobiographical film does not necessarily have to be presented in a performative manner or solely in a performative manner. For example, the film History and Memory: For Akiko and Takashige (an autobiographical documentary) has performative elements, but I feel the film is more of an essayistic documentary than performative. There are moments where there are re-enactments in the film which is performative, but there are many essayistic qualities including narration, images being used as evidence, and the film meanders in flow while the filmmaker makes discoveries with the audience. The things which the filmmaker discovers are things about herself which is what makes it autobiographical. She explores the concentration camps of WWll and her families’ past as a means to discover herself. She does this more with an essaysitc approach than an approach of performing herself for the audience. From this example, it can be seen that an autobiographical film does not have to be approached or presented as a performative film. Therefore, I feel what Fox presented(that autobiographical films are performative) represents many autobiographical films but not all of them. 

Two clearly autobiographical films which present themselves through the performative manner are Sadie Benning’s films A New Year and A Place Called Lovely. This performative element is particularly evident in A Place Called Lovely when Benning uses her performance in front of the American flag, in which she performs the way others wished she were, and her juxtaposing performance of herself as her natural self. These presentation of these two performances allow the audience better understanding of how Benning sees herself and how she feels others see her. Benning uses the performative mode to tell the story of who she is. 

Overall, the autobiographical mode focuses on the filmmaker’s story being the primary subject. These stories are commonly presented through the use of the performative mode, but other times use other modes to tell their story. However, Fox may agrue that the fact alone that the filmmaker is presenting a created art on themselves it is a performance of self. I don’t believe this counts necessarily as the performative mode since with this definition every piece of art is the performative mode since it is ‘performing’ an idea. So, autobiographies are commonly performative but do not have to be performative.