Week 1. Screening 2.

Knuckle (2011) Directed by Ian Palmer

Ian Palmers (sole) film is shot from the perspective of the embedded journalists. Embedded in that he maintains the trust of the documentaries participants over an 12 year period and does not contradict the informational status quo presented by them. When the director is informed he is not allowed to film a fight the resultant frustration and dissapointment are evidence of his attachment to the thrill of the fighting, demonstrating his perspective of the boxing. Aside from some light commentary towards the end of the film on the perpetuation of the fueds he mostly stands aside and lets the participants direct the content (the content directing the content). The trust between subject and documentarian is in evidence when he is asked to return repeatedly by the participants. They have forged a mutually beneficial relationship, he is allowed acces to his content and the content is allowed access to their medium. In this regard it is fitting that in the first scenes of the documentary it is the central characters who explain the premise to the “shades” and thus the viewer. The documentary participants are allowed to represent their views unobstructed and the result is that their portrayal in the documentary is self constructed. This self construction of image allows for a social commentary, the director shying away from any political arguments or views on the unfolding illicit activities. Initially the footage was not intended to become a film rather the participants had intended that the footage would be for their own use. In this regard the filming of the bareknuckle fights helps to prolong the fighting as the videos are used to both revel in their victories and goad their opponents into more fights. The creation of content further generating content, an unusual example of the documentary subjects behaviour being altered by the presence of a camera.