Genre Analysis - The Secrets of the Austrian Cellar

The Secrets of the Austrian Cellar

Type of documentary:
This type of documentary is mixed, because of the fact that within itself it holds interviews, reconstructions and voice-over’s in order to get its message across. There were numerous interviews from Elizabeth’s friends from school, and neighbours, on this topic and what had happened to her.

Themes:
The themes within this documentary included incarceration, kidnap and also rape, along with a change in the legislation in Austria.

Narrative Structure:
There is a clear narrative structure throughout the documentary, at the beginning we see the early life of Elizabeth Fritzl, we see her school life and her school friends and how she was rather reserved to talk about her life outside of education. However by the middle of the documentary the conflict comes into place and Elizabeth goes missing, only to have been kidnapped and trapped in her own home. She’s drugged then dragged down to the cellar, where her father kept her a prisoner for 24 years. She is then left alone and subsequently raped numerous times, soon after she becomes pregnant with one of her 7 children, however one died, leaving 3 of her children being left in the cellar and 3 being brought up to the surface, to receive a better life. And by the end of the documentary, a clear outcome has been made, Joseph Fritzl has been arrested and put into prison, however Elizabeth and her children remain in hospital until they are able to live in the outside world.

Camerawork:
There were a different amount of camera angles used throughout the documentary, there were many close up shots of the prison Joseph Fritzl locked his daughter in, this was the show the intensity of the horror she had to live in for 24 years. These shots would have been used in order to gain an emotional reaction from the audience but also to give a shocking side to it also. People would then start to think about why her own father would have subsequently imprisoned her, in her own home. Other camera angles used, consisted of mid shots within the interview stage of the documentary, this gave the audience a full emotional response towards what the interviewee was saying. Also panning shots were used to again signify the horror Elizabeth had to endure for numerous years. There was also an establishing shot, of both the house in which Elizabeth was held captive in and also of the prison she had subsequently been placed in. The establishing shot of the house meant that no one would have known anything from the outside, which meant that everything just looked natural, but within its walls held a dark secret no one knew about.

Mise-en-scene:
Like all documentaries, mise-en-scene holds vital importance in portraying certain aspects within the documentary, the fact that all interviews were said in a formal surrounding meant that the people were able to give there honest answers without feeling threatened by the surroundings they were in, they were able to feel comfortable, and not forced to answer such questions. When the audience got the view of the house of horror, they begin to realise to the full extent what Elizabeth had to endure for so long. Throughout the prison, the settings were dark and dingy in order to portray evil, the fact that prison was dark meant that the horror of what she had to experience was intensified to give a more graphic feeling towards her, people would then start to gain an emotional response towards Elizabeth and her 7 children. The fact that the surrounding elements were the way they were, should an intensity of horror and pain that Elizabeth Fritzl would have encountered for many years, therefore having the prison in which she was held in to be dark meant that the horror was being shown to the audience to again gain this emotional response.

Sound:
A slow music bed was placed throughout the documentary meaning that people would have an emotional feel when watching this documentary. Even though not a lot of music was used, people would still be able to feel the intensity of the horror she endured for a number of years, and even though the audience did not feel what she felt, they were able to imagine the horror of her life within the, meant to be safe environment, she would call home. However, the music used within this documentary was designed to make the audience feel a certain way, whilst watching this documentary.

Editing:
Throughout the documentary, long takes were used in order to portray the element of horror she had once experienced in her own home, therefore we as the audience are able to gain some knowledge to what she had suffered for many years, and how her own father kept her imprisoned in her own home. There were a lot of cutaways within the documentary, as it was to show the audience certain archive footage of the house, when people during interviews would talk about it. The editing techniques used throughout the documentary held vital importance in itself, people were able to gain this emotional response when watching this, and how she must of felt as she experienced this gruesome torture.

Archive Material:
There were numerous archive material used, however a reconstruction was also used to show the intensity of what Elizabeth Fritzl pain, and how she was subsequently imprisoned in her own home. Photo’s from the prison in which Elizabeth Fritzl was held began to give the audience an insight of how she had to live for numerous years, and how she had to bring up 6 children, in such conditions. Therefore the audience was able to gain an emotional feedback when seeing such photographs. As we weren’t able to physically see what the prison was like, the photo’s used within this documentary intensified how we were meant to feel, if conditions like this were ever to be brought upon us.

Graphics:
The graphics within the documentary were rather simplistic; the idea behind this was to keep our attention on the information held within the documentary, rather than being distracted by fancy title graphics. When people were interviewed again simple graphics were used in order to keep our attention on what the interviewee was saying. We didn’t need all these fancy graphics, because the documentary itself had so much meaning and emotion in itself that having such fancy titles would have made it less emotional for the audience as they watch it.