[Coursework Essay 2019]: Reversing Roe: Documentary Modes and Values
The following is a slightly edited version of one of my pieces of written coursework from my undergraduate university studies. I have posted it here with a slightly altered title alongside my later works for the purpose of showing the development of my academic research and writing skills. I wrote and submitted the original version of this essay for university coursework in 2019. Content Warning: this essay features occasional references to violence. Reversing Roe (Stern and Sundberg, 2018) is a Netflix documentary about the ongoing US political conflict over the issue of abortion and its legal history. The film’s central focus is the supreme court case Roe v. Wade , 410 U.S. 113 (1973) ruling abortion access a constitutional right (Planned Parenthood, 2019). The following is an analysis of the documentary’s cinematic techniques within the framework of Bill Nichols’ six documentary modes (Nichols, 2010, pp. 167-211), and an evaluation of its documentary values using Michael Rabiger’s ...