Without Media, We Are Just in a Bubble

Documentary filmmakers can greatly benefit from the use of blogs. vlogs, and other social media content by being able to place their project directly in front of the screens of people who are interested in the project. For example, if you produced a documentary on pine trees, you can effectively link trailers, blogs, etc. to websites, Facebook groups, and blogs that are dedicated to the issues involving pine trees. This allows you to get your project out to the target audience in a extremely effective, efficient, and cheap manner. Before this sort of technology was available, a filmmaker had to buy t.v time, newspaper ads, and radio spots to advertise their project. This was very costly and it didn't guarantee that the target audience was reached. On the other hand, web-based media--if executed correctly--can reach the right people and allow the filmmaker to conceptualize what kind of effect the project will have on the audience.

In the case of "Deliver us from Evil", the filmmaker did not utilize web-based media effectively. The website was very one-note and didn't provide a much interactive content. I thought it would have been interesting if in the section of controversial points, the director would have stated her how she obtained those facts and what her sources were (if they weren't confidential). Instead, the site just listed the disputed facts, reprinted a Huffington Post article written by the director, and discussed the premise of the movie. There were no photographs, no space to comment, and links to any further information. Like I said, completely one-note. The only thing I found interesting was that a diocese in Netherlands realized that Father O'Grady was volunteering in their parish after watching the documentary on Netherlands Public Television.

I feel that this sort of film and topic should have been made available to a lot more people around the world. I think it could have been effectively accomplished with the use of web-based media outlets. I understand that the church presumably had somewhat of a lock-down on how this film was distributed, but I think a good way to have avoided the church's grasp would have been to reach out via the internet--the church wouldn't be able to censure that.