Nanook Of The North Essay

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Nanook of the North is a documentary film about Nanook, an Inuk man, and his family. The film was released in 1922 and was created by Robert Flaherty. The documentary received a lot of back lash because many of the scenes were believed to have been staged rather than filmed in the moment. Nanook captivated audiences with his heroic demeanor, which was a plus in the film’s success. Throughout the film there are various scenes where Nanook and his family members look directly into the camera, which is a part of the “proof” and “lesson” of documentaries. Proof is how much one can manipulate a documentary, but can still teach the audience a lesson. In the scene where Nanook is introduced and intrigued by the gramophone, he looks directly into the camera. Perhaps Nanook looked into the camera because he was purely fascinated by this object that released sound. Flaherty perhaps wanted to depict to audiences that the Inuk’s culture was different and that they had not been exposed to modern technology. On the other hand, this is where a “proof” or a manipulation comes in perhaps, Nanook had seen a gramophone before, but he was only acting for the camera. The lesson from the gramophone scene is the Inuk …show more content…

The child is given castor oil to relieve his tummy ache. The child seems intrigued by this syrup and as soon as the syrup is ingested the child seems to savor the taste. Additionally, when the child looks into the camera it may have been an indication that he is wowed at how good the medicine tastes. However, this could potentially be a manipulation because by the early twentieth century the Inuk’s could have been exposed to castor oil from a local store. Moreover, the child ingesting castor oil is another scene that is relatable to the audience because it shows that the child was susceptible to a tummy ache just as any another

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