Questions to Keep in Mind As You View Investigative Documentaries

1. What is the rhetorical situation or context of the film? When and why was it made? Who seems to be its targeted audience?
2. What is the film maker's THESIS or central, most important claim? What is he or she mainly saying to us, trying to make us believe?
3. WHO is the script writer, director, and producer of the film you are watching? Is there any evidence, in the film (or the box it comes in), of that person's qualifications, credentials, biases? What is her or his ETHOS? Is she or he well-informed?
   
4. Are the issues taken up in the film a matter of policy, evaluation, or substantiation?
5. How is the film's argument PUT TOGETHER? What is its STRUCTURE? If you had to divide it into parts, what would be their headings?
6. What SUPPORTING claims does the film make?
7. Examine the film's LOGOS: how are the film's claims being supported? What kinds of evidence or reasoning are provided? What are some examples of evidence offered?
8. Are any appeals to PATHOS offered in the film?
9. What, if any, is the strategy for negotiating differences in the film? Does the film maker acknowledge and refute other, opposing views?
10. What, if any, are the film's hidden or enabling assumptions? (This is always a somewhat difficult question; consult CTW for help.)
11. If you were to seek additional evidence for, or challenges to, the argument made in the film, where would you look? What sources would you consult?
    
12. How does the film use VISUAL RHETORIC (images, color, shapes, etc.) to enhance pathos, ethos, or logos? What cultural meanings are embedded in the shapes, camera angles, color schemes etc?

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