Hoop dreams vs. Bowling for Columbine

1) List three major differences between the two documentaries.

Three major differences between these documentaries are the length, Bowling for Columbine was a much shorter documentary than Hoop Dreams. Secondly the viewing of the filmmaker, you only saw the filmmaker in Bowling for Columbine however they never showed up in Hoop Dreams. The filmmaker was not shown in Hoop Dreams because it is a more traditional documentary. Lastly these were two different types of documentaries. Hoop Dreams was focused on two boys and their basketball careers, whereas Bowling for Columbine is more focused on an object and an organisation. The object being guns and the organisation being the NRA (National Rifle Association) in the United States.

2) Hoop Dreams was an incredibly long film 2hrs 52mins, why do you think the filmmakers chose to include so much footage in their film?

I think the film makers wanted to include so much footage into their film because it was all relevant to the story they are telling. They are following the lives of these young boys for 4 years, therefore they would have immense amounts of footage. Obviously they edited the amount of footage they had, however they took the most relevant aspects and parts from their years of footage to create this film. I think the film was long, however while watching it didn't feel that long because it was very well edited and contained all the necessary points to make this a brilliant documentary.

3) Who was the narrator in the documentary Hoop Dreams. Why are we not made aware who the filmmaker is or what they look like throughout the documentary? 

The narrator in Hoop Dreams is Steve James (he is also the filmmaker). We are not made aware of who the filmmaker is because it isn't that important to the documentary. The documentary is following the lives of two boys, therefore the filmmaker had no purpose putting himself in the documentary because it is not relevant. By adding himself into the documentary they are creating more footage that will make the film unnecessarily longer.

4) What makes Hoop Dreams a more traditional Documentary?

Hoop dreams is more of a traditional documentary because it is much longer than most modern documentaries, and the filmmaker never makes an appearance in their film. Traditional documentaries tend to have these aspects whereas Bowling for Columbine shows the filmmaker and is a much shorter documentary. The aspects of Bowling for Columbine show more modern day documentary components.