The Media Ethical Study Of Independent Documentary Films

In recent years,with the development of online media,independent documentaries have gradually moved out of the private circle of type film fans and unpopular film festivals in various countries,with the public's attention increasing.However,with the increasing social impact,the ethical issues of the independent documentary films,which contain topics from the controversy of authenticity to the denunciation of privacy violations,have increasingly come into public view.What's the definition of the documentary film? Documentary film is a film genre distinguished from drama film,with the main features of non-fiction narrative and documentary aesthetics.The independent documentary is a type of documentary produced and released independently of the official channel,pursuing the "independent thought" of the director.Since such independent films often focus on the marginalized characters of the society and go deep into the private life space,ethical issues are particularly prominent.Ethics is the research science of right and wrong,responsibility and obligation.From the perspective of ethics,independent documentary films often touch on various related issues,such as the authenticity and justice of the media,and the unity of form and content,which also leads to the individual professional ethics,media responsibilities and obligations,autonomy and heteronomy etc.Therefore,it is feasible and necessary to conduct ethical elucidation on the ethical issues of the independent documentary films.The main ethical dilemmas of independent documentary films can be divided into three categories: The first is the authenticity dilemma in independent documentaries.The documentary film is a communication medium,its own characteristics are between "documentary" and "aesthetic".Therefore,whether in a direct movie in which the photographer's posture is just a bystander,or a real movie in which the film makers often participate in the construction,the ethical problems caused by the authenticity dilemma cannot be avoided.The second is the justice in the process of production and dissemination.It can be parted into three sections: the exploitation of the subject caused by the gaze of the lens itself,the incompleteness of the principle of notification and the violation of personal privacy,which is also often criticized in independent documentaries.The third is the possible violence caused by the film aesthetics in independent documentaries.The excessive adherence to independence itself,the extreme admiration of bystander aesthetics,or the persistent pursuit of formal aesthetics all may make independent documentaries an art machine rather than a kind of real art based on human beings.Finally,on the basis of fully consideration on the characteristics of the independent documentary media itself,this article gives three ethical countermeasures: Firstly,at the individual ethics level of the independent documentary films creator,we must help them to strengthen the professional ethics and grasp the true bottom line,with clearly distinguishing within justice and interest.Moreover,they should treat “the other”,which includes both the subject and the audience,as a goal rather than a means.Only if we push the social ethical construction both in autonomy and heteronomy construction,can we truly eradicate the ethical chaos of independent documentaries and let "independent thoughts" truly play the positive role of society.