Caracterización y ética en el género documental

In this essay I draw a sharp distinction between fiction and nonfiction, arguing that one of the hallmarks of the documentary is that since documentaries represent actual people, the filmmaker has ethical obligations toward the people he represents that do not exist for the representation of fictional characters. Though the documentary represents actual persons, it nonetheless characterizes them rather than presenting them transparently as they really are. In this essay I first define the documentary as what I call “asserted veridical representation.” Then I go on to explore the various means by which filmmakers characterize persons in films, and the ethical implications of such characterizations. One of the chief ethnical obligations of the documentary filmmaker, I argue, is to show the truth insofar as this is possible, although the obligation of truth-telling can sometimes be superceded by the requirement of charity toward the film’s subjects.