Genre Analysis - The Devil Made Me Do It

The Devil Made Me Do It

Type of documentary:

This documentary was a mixed documentary because there was a combination of a voice over, an observation, a reconstruction and also interviews. The different parts of the mixed documentaries were used to add drama when it’s needed throughout the documentary.

Themes:

There were different themes throughout the documentary, these included the murder of a nun, religion and religious belief, gothic nature, music, youth and how the media effects society and their opinions.

Narrative Structure:

There is a clear narrative structure throughout the devil made me do it documentary, the beginning, held the setting out of a conflict,for example something that would get the audience to watch and remain interested in, this then sets out the exposition, where the nun is killed and the murder isn’t solved. The middle then holds the answer for the happening. It tells the audience who did the killing, in this case, 3 teenage girls. The police then don’t know why these girls committed such acts, therefore they start to question why they did it, but they also start to look for a puppet master, as they don’t believe that these girls committed the acts on their own accord. The fact that they couldn’t find an actual puppet master caused confusion with the police and with the media in general. And finally, the ending, was pretty clear, the fact that the girl were caught and sentenced mean that society could go back to normal, all the inverted crosses were painted over, and the trace of the murder wasn’t so obvious, and people started to carry on with their normal day-to-day life.

Camerawork:

There were different camera angles throughout the whole documentary, firstly, there was an establishing shot of the town where the nun was killed and also when the documentary switched to Marilyn Manson’s gigs, and also the scene where the nun was killed. There were also numerous low angle shots when Marilyn Manson, this is because the documentary makers wanted to make Marilyn Manson look very powerful, like he has some sort of influence over his fans. Whereas there were numerous high angle shots to signify the vulnerability his audience has, and also this creates that element of his fans being weak when compared to him. There were also high crane shots over Italy; this began to show the audience the vulnerability this town in Italy faced when the killing of a nun took place.

The fact that the documentary makers used canted and hand held camera shots, started to get the audience involved with the documentary, it made us feel in the nuns position, like we were experiencing what the nun was experienced. These shots also made us, the audience feel extremely uncomfortable when watching this documentary. A number of shots were used throughout the documentary, high angle shots being one of them, another high angle shot was of the grave yard, and this could put more emphasis on the killing of a nun. When interviews took place throughout the documentary, they normally consisted of 2 shots, this meant that two people were in the camera shot, this then gave the more comfortable feel, they were normally at a place they could feel most comfortable at, meaning they would speak honestly. There was also a close up of an psychologist being interviewed, she was more of an expert in the field, in why these girls killed this nun, but also, she could of been used in order to blame Manson, to make people think he was a puppet master in away, through his lyrics.

Mise-en-scene:

Mise-en-scene is an important part within a documentary, it sets the scene and brings the whole thing together, the fact that the psychologist is wearing red, could mean that because she’s an expert in this field it could show power and authority. It also holds that element of power dressing, she’s dressing like this because she wants to be seen as more authoritive in a patriarchal society, this colour then stands out, when she’s goes to the Manson concert, she’s not really dressed for the occasion, therefore she sticks out like a “sore thumb”. Once the murder of the nun has taken place, the documentary makers take us to the scene of the crime; this is to give the audience more of an emotional feeling towards the society which this has happened too. We begin to sympathise with them, like we are a part of this Italian society. When people are interviewed within the documentary, there interviewed in a more natural environment, this allows them to speak with more confidence about the issue in question, the murder of the nun, and it makes them more relaxed. When moving along to the “main source” of this problem, Manson, the people at the gig, tend to be a lot like him, they wear the same clothing, long black trench coat, and they also have their face painted with white make-up, basically a very stereotypical image of a “Goth”. The people at Manson’s gig are young teenagers, this could show that they could be very influential, and that Manson can easily influence them with his lyrics, they are also very rude, when the camera is around. Maybe this is because their just at this concert, but most people tend to act in a rude manor when at his gigs, maybe it’s the one day, where they get to play someone else, that they don’t have to attempt to fit in, but be a part of something they should be a part of. These people at the Manson concert are that of a very rebellious persons, they don’t fit in with society because of the clothes they were and just the general behaviour.

Sound:

Throughout the whole documentary, a lot of non-diegetic music was used in order to shock the audience, for example, the heartbeat was used when the nun was being attacked then eventually killed, once the heartbeat got faster, we the audience knew something was happening. Also the sounds of the girls throwing stones, getting the knives out, and the church bells, were added as special affects in order to create this reaction from the audience, to make them feel angry or remotely involved whilst watching the documentary. Whilst the documentary continued, Manson’s music was used in order to tell the audience what was going through the girls minds when they decided to kill this nun, this would then create this image of bad press, that his music drove those three girls to kill this innocent nun. And finally natural sound was also used within the documentary, to give that element of realism.

Editing

Within the documentary, there were a lot of long takes, the fact that a lot of these were used, meant that the audience began to realise that the narrative of this documentary was the most important part, and how people began to believe that Manson and his music was to blame.

There were also a lot of cut-aways in order to keep the audience attention, but also to give meaning to what was being said in the interviews by numerous people within the documentary, whether it was Manson himself, or a psychologist, or anyone else involved within the documentary. Match on action and shot reverse shot were also used within the documentary, it was mainly used when Manson was in concert, as we the audience would see Manson performing and how his fans were reacting to how he was performing but also the lyrics he used within his songs. And finally, an eye-line match was used, when the nun was killed, this would then put the audience in the nuns shoes, and we begin to make this emotional connection between how the people in the city felt, and the murder of this nun.

Archive Footage:

There was numerous archive footage used within the devil made me do it, documentary, mainly concert footage, this was used to give the feeling to people that didn’t or haven’t been to a Manson gig before, and insight into what it is like, and how the

people that go, act. Also, actual Manson music videos were incorporated within the documentary; this was again used to shock the audience, as he began to touch himself, and also scratching himself. Therefore people watching this, that don’t particularly like or know of him, would maybe begin to question whether he was involved slightly with the death of the nun, not physically involved, but involved through his music and how “crude” some of his lyrics are, and how he is very influential towards teenagers who listen to his music. The nuns funeral was also used as achieve footage in order to gain the element of dramatisation with the audience, they’ll be able to feel the pain within that society, and how this massively affected them, manly the young people within this small town. There was some columbine shooting used, in order to gain an understanding that people thought Manson’s music and lyrics were used to blame him for this evil happening. All the achieve footage was used in order to evoke the audience that Manson’s lyrics were indeed to blame, this then reinforces the exposition.

Graphics:

The graphics used within the documentary were minimal, as the information within the actual documentary, was the main focus. The title “The Devil Made Me Do It “held that religious theme which was portrayed throughout the film, and all the sub-titling was pretty simplistic, as we didn’t need to focus on who the people were. However when the achieve footage was used, to show Manson’s concert, rude language was sub-titled in order to show the audience that Manson’s lyrics could have affected the brains of his younger fans. The sub-titling of people’s names didn’t detract the attention from the audience, so they were able to focus more on what people were saying or what was actually going on throughout the documentary.