MONTAGE OF A GENRE: INTERSECTIONS OF BIOGRAPHY, DOCUMENTARY AND FICTION IN CELEBRITY DOCUMENTARIES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.52340/PUTK.2024.2346-8149.09.04Keywords:
Celebrity documentary, biography, celebrity confessional, parasocial relationshipAbstract
The latest fully authorized documentary, Montage of Heck (2015) by Brett Morgan, delves into the life of Kurt Cobain, presenting a unique form of storytelling that blends documentary and fiction. This film is notable for its emotional truth, which caters to the audience’s yearning for the romanticized image of the deceased idol. Montage of Heck stands out for its innovative integration
of multiple genres, creating a distinctly intimate viewing experience by merging biographic, documentary, and fictional elements.,
This innovative approach, which I term "biographic docufiction," represents a recent trend in celebrity documentaries. Despite its novelty, this subgenre has yet to be extensively examined in scholarly discussions. My analysis will contribute to this field by exploring the characteristics of biographic docufiction, focusing on its unique integration of biographic, documentary, and fictional practices within a single film. Additionally, I will examine how this cross-genre methodology impacts the audience, highlighting the film’s distinctive manner of storytelling and its effects on viewers. My approach focuses on analyzing film elements through the lens of cultural studies, emphasizing its structural and conceptual characteristics as well as the functional roles the film plays within its cultural context.
Full Text (PDF)
References
Alexander, Joffrey. “The Celebrity Icon.” Cultural Sociology. 4.3 (2010): 323-336. SAGE Journals. Web. 19 May 2019.
Brown, August. “At the 'Montage of Heck' premiere, fans get a new look at Kurt Cobain.”
Latimes.com. Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2015. Web. 19 May 2019.
Cobain: Montage of Heck. Dir. Brett Morgan. Perf. Courtney Love, Wendy O’ Conner, Don
Cobain. HBO documentary films, 2015. Film.
Coleman, Miriam. “‘90 Percent of ‘Montage of Heck’ is Bulls–t,’ Says Melvin’s Founder.’”
Vanityfair.com. Vanity Fair, 6 June 2015. Web. 19 May 2019.
Cross, Charles R.. Heavier Than Heaven: The Biography of Kurt Cobain. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2001. Print.
De Sousa, Ronald, and Adam Morton. “Emotional Truth.” Proceedings of the Aristotelian Society, Supplementary Volumes 76.1 (2002): 247–275. JSTOR. Web. 14 May 2019.
Fricke, David. “Brett Morgen on His Astonishing Cobain Film: ‘Kurt Isn’t Performing for Anyone.’” Rollinstone.com. RollingStone, 9 Apr. 2015. Web. 19 May 2019.
Fricke, David. “Searching for Kurt.” Rollinstone.com. RollingStone, 24 Apr. 2015. Web. 19 May 2019.
Goode, Ian. “Living with Fame: Geri and Living with Michael Jackson.” The Star and Celebrity Confessional. Ed. Sean Redmond. New York: Routledge, 2011. 68-81. Print.
Hirschberg, Lynn. “Strange Love: The Story of Kurt Cobain and Courtney Love.” Vanityfair.com. Vanity Fair, Sept. 1992. Web. 18 Mai 2019.
Ifeanyi, KC. “Inside HBO’s Quest for Emotional Truth.” Fastcompany.com. Fast Company, 05 Jul. 2015. Web. 18 Mai 2019.
Kurt Cobain: Journals. New York: Penguin Putnam Inc., 2002. Print.
Litter, J. “Making Fame Ordinary: Intimacy, Reflexivity and ‘Keeping It Real.’” Mediactive: Ideas, Knowledge, Culture. Ed. J. Rutherford. London: Lawrence & Wishart, 2003. 8-25. Print.
Love, Courtney. Interview by Barbara Walters. Barbara Walters Special 1995. Youtube.com. YoutTube, 2 Dec. 2010. Web. 22 May 2019.
Miller, Julie. “Brett Morgen Says His Kurt Cobain Documentary Is ‘The Best Achievement of My Career.’” Vanityfair.com. Vanity Fair, 27 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 Mai 2019.
Moser, Whet. “‘Live Fast, Die Young, Leave a Good-Looking Corpse’: Coined by a Chicago Writer.” Chicagomag.com. Arts & Culture, 23 Oct. 2012. Web. 19 May 2019. Nirvana. Nirvana Unplugged In New York. New York: Geffen Records, MTV Networks, 2007. DVD.
Painlevé, Jean. “The Castration of Documentary (1953).” The Documentary Film Reader: History, Theory, Criticism. Ed. Johnathan Kahana. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016. 434-438. Print.
Radford, Scott K., and Peter H., Bloch. “Grief, Commiseration, and Consumption Following the Death of a Celebrity.” Journal of Consumer Culture 12.2 (2012): 137-155. SAGE Journals. Web. 19 May 2019.
Redmond, Sean. Introduction. The Star and Celebrity Confessional. Ed. Sean Redmond. New York: Routledge, 2011. 1-6. Print.
Reilly, Phoebe. “Sundance 2015: Brett Morgen on Cobain, Courtney and ‘Montage of Heck.’” Vanityfair.com. Vanity Fair, 28 Jan. 2015. Web. 18 Mai 2019.
Published
How to Cite
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Online Journal of Humanities ETAGTSU
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
The peer-reviewd scientfic journal Online Journal of Humanities (OJH) CC BY-NC Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial Licence for its users. It is fully open-accessed and ready to use, reproduce, disseminate or display the article provided that the author is attributed as the original creator and that the reuse is restricted to non-commercial purposes (i.e. research or educational use).
