We are Legion The Story of the Hacktevists (2012 Brian Knappenberger)

We are Legion The Story of the Hacktevists is as basic as documentary gets, it doesn't break convention, it sticks to simple interviews and representations of the world as it is, not challenging any of the documentary form. It is a simple I talk about them to you that follows the Expository mode all as defined by Bill Nichols in Introduction to Documentary (2001) and the interviews themselves are not particularly probing however the film itself is good, revolutionary and interesting simply because of the subject which itself has a revolutionary, poetic and ground breaking feel. The film however shows very well that the I in Nichols' sentence, representing the film maker can be there without an actual presence or even narration. The film makers view of the "hacktevists" and the way he represents them gives the audience an idea of what the film makers believe in, in this case that the hacktevists are being mistreated and unfairly prosecuted. The ethic of the documentary is somewhat questionable, whilst they clearly represent their subjects fairly and in a way they would wish, the fact that the film promotes illegal activity is clearly a morally questionable thing. However if you take the film makers personal views into account and remember that they support the actions of the hacktevists removes any real ethical debate the film makers may have had.

One of the disadvantages of the film is that there isn't really a character focused on enough to gain an emotional connection with or identify with. However again the "cause" is the thing the audience can identify with, and the issue itself is the main focus of the film, not characters ie. social actors in the documentary it only uses said social actors to make its points about the revolutionary "hacktevism", they are not well rounded characters, they are just part of an argument not "real" people.

The revolutionary, poetic and interesting subject makes up for the conventional treatment of the form and shows that if you have an interesting enough subject the classic documentary forms still work wonders to capture and interest an audience.

Bibliography

1. We are Legion: The Story of the Hacktevists (2012) Brian Knappenberger, USA,  Luminant Media


2. Nichols. (2001). Why are ethical issues central to documentary film making . In: Introduction to documentary. usa: Indiana University Press. p1-19.

3. Nichols B. (2001). How do documentaries differ from other types of film. In: Introduction to documentary. usa: Indiana University Press. p20-41.