Nicaragua: No Pasaran
Major Essay Task
In the documentary Nicaragua: No Pasaran, David Bradbury has presented a biased impression of reality, and has used many techniques to present this reality to the viewer. The aim of the documentary is to cause the viewer to feel sympthatetic to the Sandanista's and become distanced and "anti" towards the Americans. Both these two parties are portrayed very differently to achieve Bradbury's desired viewer positionment.
The start of the documentary presents the Nicaraguan society with a community type spirit, giving off a festival type atmosphere. There is local-type music, and people present from all walks of life. They all seem to be happy, and the Sandanistan military is shown very briefly. Suddenly, this mood is juxtaposed with footage from a Nicaraguan mass funeral, which outlines the extreme differences in the Nicaraguan society. It becomes apparent that this conflict has political roots, and the viewer questions the motives of the enemy to the people at the funeral. The crowd is chanting "no pasaran" which translated means "no entry." Later in the documentary, it becomes apparent that the Nicaraguan's do not want American control of their county as a "puppet." A low camera angle shot of a soldier is seen in a stance which indicated to the viewer that the Nicaraguan people would prefer to protest by passive means rather than by aggressive ones, but is prepared to fight if it is deemed necessary for their survival. Already, in these opening scenes, Bradbury has positioned the viewer to begin to feel sympathetic toward the Nicaraguan's.
The featured leader in the documentary of the Sandanista's and the Nicaraguan government is that of Thomas Borhes. This is done because Borhes is the one that the viewer can feel more sympathetic and supportive towards, because of what happened to him in the past. Plus, if they feel more sympathetic and supportive toward Borhes, then they can feel the...