LOUIS THEROUX ‘MOST HATED FAMILY IN AMERICA’ DOCUMENTARY ANALYSIS

This documentary is a reportage/investigative reporting documentary. The mode of address for this documentary would mainly be adults interested in current affairs. The type of audience that this documentary is aimed at is quite clear as the topic of the documentary and language used throughout would not really be suitable for young people anyway. This extract is about a family in America who have extreme religious convictions. They believe that being homosexual is a sin and against the Gods commandments. In this section of the documentary they are about to crash a funeral and display their views to the mourners by shouting and holding signs. Louis Theroux is communicating to the audience he is present throughout the whole documentary and he also narrates. In this extract he interviews Shirley Phelps, a pastor’s daughter; however he does this in a more informal way, during he car journey, rather than just sitting down and asking rehearsed questions. I think that in interviewing his way, it enables him to find out more than he would if they had a formal sit down interview. The documentary is filmed on location in America. The camera follows the people around as they do what they would usually do, and Louis Theroux is with them throughout. In a way this could be seen as a behind the scenes documentary as we get to see how these people live there lives and as Louis Theroux gets involved. This clip starts with Louis Theroux driving for a second, and then cuts to him getting out of the car. This is because it isn’t necessary for the audience to witness the whole car journey, but we are aware he drove there. There is some calm music in he background, this connotes that it is a quiet neighbourhood. However when he arrives at the house, the music stops and when Shirley Phelps’ opinions are expressed it is relevant that the music was ironic. This documentary is not supporting the extreme views of the ‘Evil Angels’ it is supporting the fact that it is a free country and that homosexuality is not wrong. We see the signs that these people use during their protests. These represent he views of the ‘Evil Angels’ and have offensive phrases written across them. In showing the audience things like these, they don’t even have to narrate what they are to get the point across. The visuals are strong enough. This clip is very powerful even without any drastic music or props, this is done so that the audience can concentrate on the severe believes of the ‘Evil Angels’ rather than be distracted.