Abstract
This chapter investigates the function of morally ambiguous characters in documentary film; it argues that such characters can persuade documentary viewers to renegotiate their moral values, transcend the differences between authentic artworks and replicas, and transgress established social boundaries. It takes, as a case study, the documentary Art and Craft (dirs. Sam Cullman & Jennifer Grausman, 2014), which chronicles the life of Mark A. Landis, an American art forger living in Laurel, Mississippi. This study reveals that the viewers’ sympathy and transgressive emotions often undergo a similar trajectory for both documentaries and fiction films. However, the difference is that documentaries provide an alternative access to engagement, due to the genre’s special relationship with reality, as evidenced in Art and Craft.
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Notes
- 1.
The 130 internet messages mentioned in this chapter were shown to me by Landis in confidence. For reasons of privacy, I can neither make concrete references to individual letters nor disclose the names of or personal information about their senders.
- 2.
Based on my personal interactions with Landis, I can confirm his philanthropy. When helping me gather the sample fan messages, he seemed more concerned with the benefits I would derive from this study than his own self-interest. His thoughtful and caring demeanor towards me revealed an altruism that may explain his practice of creating art forgeries for donation rather than financial gain.
- 3.
- 4.
Landis repeatedly explains his personal ethics in the film by quoting verbatim from pre-1970s films and TV series. He says that he lives by “the code of The Saint,” meaning one should be as ethical as Simon Templar, the Robin Hood-type hero of the show. However, he laments that ethical behavior never pays off in modern society, as Finch, the protagonist of the 1967 Hollywood musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, discovers.
- 5.
The audience referred to here is the primary audience of the film—the average spectator. Museum professionals, on the other hand, may perceive that Landis has caused them real harm, potentially threatening the reputation of their institutions. Arguably, they comprise a smaller, secondary audience, which is a lot less likely to find Landis appealing.
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Tang, A. (2018). Fake Pictures, Real Emotions: A Case Study of Art and Craft. In: Brylla, C., Kramer, M. (eds) Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90332-3_9
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