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The areas of investigation are the portrait, the gaze, the American filmmaker Errol Morris, representation of reality and subcultures. These are discussed within an historical, technical, cultural and social framework. Colour, the film theorist Bill Nichols, the filmmaker Errol Morris are discussed with reference to the central gaze and what constitutes reality. Taking on another identity, the role of subcultures and my influences as a photographer are explored within this context. Work for Examination Other Lives is a photographic work consisting of portraits including: civil war re-enactors who believe that the war between the northern and southern states of America still exist Elvis Presley impersonators and fans who believe that Elvis Presley still lives people who take on another identity as scarecrows in the context of a local festival people who take on another identity as medieval knights.

The areas of investigation are the portrait, the gaze, the American filmmaker Errol Morris, representation of reality and subcultures. These are discussed within an historical, technical, cultural and social framework. Colour, the film theorist Bill Nichols, the filmmaker Errol Morris are discussed with reference to the central gaze and what constitutes reality. Taking on another identity, the role of subcultures and my influences as a photographer are explored within this context. Work for Examination Other Lives is a photographic work consisting of portraits including: civil war re-enactors who believe that the war between the northern and southern states of America still exist Elvis Presley impersonators and fans who believe that Elvis Presley still lives people who take on another identity as scarecrows in the context of a local festival people who take on another identity as medieval knights.

This thesis examines the issue of depicting reality and truth in contemporary documentary. Documentaries are often considered to be a mirror to the real world, but this is not always the case. Filmmakers can manipulate their work in a manner that changes the story to be more interesting for viewers. This thesis introduces a documentary discourse, provides contexts of documentary history in the 20th Century and looks more closely at issues of depicting reality and truth. This is shown through textual and visual analysis of chosen contemporary documentaries made by Errol Morris and Michael Moore.

The work of documentary director Errol Morris can be approached in a variety of ways as it intersects and engages with many of the major themes of film and television scholarship - genre, authorship, and historical representation. But while his films and television episodes expose debates within film and documentary studies, they also call up major elements of postmodern debates within the historical discipline. Morris makes historical documentaries that do not simply render a (hi)story visually; he also attempts to draw viewers' attention to the conventions and construction of both visual media and of history. His work reveals both his keen awareness of postmodern historical debates, and a willingness to play, to confront basic assumptions, question boundaries, and to contribute to those debates. In 'Errol Morris and the Art of History', I argue that Morris is a visual historian; his films and television episodes draw as much from his understanding of historiographical debates as they do from his knowledge and artistic approach to visual media. All of Morris' work challenges the notion of objectivity in both documentary filmmaking and history; he attempts to illuminate the limits and conventions of visual depictions of history; he uses strategies to denaturalise historical and narrative construction, the naturalising tendencies of visual media, and the conventions of documentary practice; and he attempts to promote increased critical reflection. This thesis closely examines Morris' documentary films and television episodes to consider the structure and strategies that characterise his work, and situate it within contemporary film and historical debates. I explore Morris' methods and approach to documentary and history, showing how his work relates to postmodern history debates, to written and visual representations of history, and to documentary history and theory, including more recent factual forms like reality television.