is a somewhat surprising one, but, even if it were true, it ignores, of course, the fact that any footage posted has also been edited by propagandists. We do not know what footage the professional would have returned with because we do not know how closely the propagandist's work matches what actually happened—that is part of what makes it propaganda.
The famous film Triumph of the Will, made by "Hitler's film director" Leni Riefenstahl to document the 1936 Nazi party Congress, was so powerful that arrangements were made by the party to have it seen throughout the country. In fact, after the Germans took Austria, arrangements were made to have it seen by that population as well. Riefenstahl's technique was so innovative that approaches she introduced are still in use by directors such as Steven Spielberg today: for example, having her subjects stationary while cameras moved on dollies. But the film is studied today as a powerful example of propaganda, not documentary film making, and it would hardly be cited as a definitive source for all that did or did not happen in Nuremburg during the relevant time period.[1]
Consider the powerful impact footage can have when it is edited in a particular way compared to how footage of the exact same event would have appeared if it had been edited differently, such as placing the shot in a broader context and thus sharply diluting its force—and therefore its usefulness to the group.
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- ↑ See the discussion in, for example, Jurgen Trimborn and Edna McCown, Leni Riefenstahl: A Life, London, UK: Faber and Faber, January 2008.
