Two Important Documentary Film Terms: Social Amelioration and the Cinema of Attractions

In discussing the terms "cinema of attractions" and "social amelioration," in the context of documentary film (and its precursor, documentary photography), one refers to the primary motivations of the medium. The "cinema of attractions," a term coined by professor Tom Gunning of the University of Chicago, refers to moving pictures as spectacle. Rather than a straightforward educational purpose, or an outright entertainment purpose, a film may seek to reel its viewer in by offering him something different: the chance to take a journey somewhere else-a place to which he will likely never physically travel. Thus, as Gunning explains, many early documentary films sought to transport the viewer through space and time, rather than to simply tell a story. The term "social amelioration" refers to the betterment of society as a primary motivation of a documentary film or photograph. Thus, through its storytelling and imagery, a film may bring to light certain issues for its audience. It may also seek to advance scientific or social studies through the use of pictures.

In the 1855 photograph "Seated Woman with Bird," by Doctor Hugh Welch Diamond, a female insane asylum patient sits in a chair, cradling a dead bird in her hands. She looks directly at the camera with a slightly surprised expression on her face. Dr. Diamond's stated purpose in taking this and other photographs like it was to study the individuals with mental illness in order to help diagnose and treat them. Thus, the photograph at hand is an example of the early use of documentary photography for social amelioration. Looking beyond the obvious purpose of the photograph, that of documenting the illness of a patient, one can see other possible motivations lurking. The woman in the photograph is likely very different from the doctor who took her picture. She is "insane," and thus "other" when compared to the voyeur. Thus, she is the object of spectacle. Whether intended or not, "Seated Woman with Bird" falls under the rubric of the cinema of attractions.