Analyzing the Secret Drone War Documentary

1. Documentary: The Secret Drone War(BBC Panorama, 2012) Rick Instrell Deep Learning 12 June 2016, Edinburgh Version 1.1

2. Key Aspects of Media Literacy

3. Key Aspects Analysis: Content

4. Key Aspects Analysis: Context

5. Text ↔ context integration TEXTS Categories Language Narrative Representations construct mode of address & preferred meanings used by/ decoded by applying cultural knowledge create/ encode AUDIENCE differential decoders with needs user-generated content MEDIA INSTITUTIONS with purposes feedback MONEY SOCIETY Institutions, relationships & culture (lived cultures + texts) in specific times and places influence influence

6. Defining documentary Born in Deanston near Stirling, John Grierson (1898-1972) defined documentary as “the creative treatment of actuality”. Grierson was the founder of the British documentary movement of the 1930s, and started the GPO Film Unit which was responsible for classics such as Night Mail. After WWII he started the Canadian documentary movement. He hosted a popular STV documentary series This Wonderful World from 1957-1967. Grierson’s politics were left-wing and he wished to use film to educate citizens in an understanding of democratic society.

7. Creative treatment of actuality Grierson’s definition neatly sums up the questions which always arise in making and analysing documentaries: What is actuality? Is your reality the same as my reality? If we see an event what do we not see? (manifest content and latent content) Can actuality/reality be represented accurately? Are reconstructions or fakery acceptable? What is involved in creative treatment? (medium, form, genre, selection (presence/absence), portrayal, narrative, technical codes, cultural codes, editing, sound, ideologies, institutional constraints, …) Given all the ‘creative treatment’, is there any actuality left? Is reality television documentary? Q. How has the ‘actuality’ of The Secret Drone War been ‘creatively’ treated?

8. John Reith Born in Stonehaven, John Reith was the first Director-General of the BBC from 1922-1938. Reith summarised the BBC's purpose in three words: inform, educate, entertain; this remains part of the organisation's mission statement to this day.It has also been adopted by public broadcasters throughout the world. His goal was to broadcast, "All that is best in every department of human knowledge, endeavour and achievement.... The preservation of a high moral tone is obviously of paramount importance.” Reith was right-wing in politics and very prudish. In the early years of the BBC its administrators were middle class and demonstrated daily that they knew what was best for listeners and later on the viewers This paternalism persisted after Reith left. In the 1950s this was derided by critics as the "Auntie knows best" syndrome. Hence BBC’s nickname of "Auntie".

9. Socially useful media Reith and Grierson were influential in thinking about ‘socially useful media’ i.e. media that educates rather then merely entertaining. Q. BBC’s Panorama can be seen to be an outcome of Reith and Grierson’s vision of socially useful media. How does The Secret Drone War express these ideals?

10. Institution: PSB in the UK In the UK, BBC channels carry no paid-for advertising and is funded through the license fee. This is supplemented through income from programme sales worldwide and advertising and subscription revenue on its channels outside the UK. Note: that is likely that the BBC will be regulated by Ofcom from 2017. Regulated by BBC Trust Regulated by Ofcom

11. Institution: BBC worldwide “The BBC has a weekly global audience of 308 million people. This represents the combined measured reach of international BBC content – both news and entertainment – for the year 2014/15 and is the first time this figure has ever been measured in this way. In 2013 Tony Hall, Director General of the BBC, set a target of 500m for the BBC’s global reach for 2022 […] One in every 16 adults around the world uses BBC News.”BBC Media Centre, 21/05/2015

12. Institution: BBC World News BBC is not just a UK broadcaster but broadcasts worldwide and Panorama programmes may be seen on its 24h channel BBC World News. The BBC values its reputation for quality, accuracy and impartiality. See rate card for cost of screening 30s ad on BBC World News in various regions of the world. It also has a digital rate card for advertising on its online services.

13. Institution: BBC remit In considering the institutional contexts of the documentary we need to consider: external controls and constraints e.g. BBC is a public service broadcaster and the BBC Charter sets out its public service purposes and establishes the BBC's independence from the Government. The Panorama series has a long history of controversy with regard to its scrutiny of UK government policies and actions. internal controls and constraints e.g. producers of the Panorama series will agree to programmes which may be made in-house (i.e. by the BBC Panorama team) or by indies (independent production companies). Programmes will have to fulfil the BBC’s remit and the BBC’s editorial guidelines.

14. Institution: BBC Trust The Trust is the governing body of the BBC They set the BBC’s strategy, approve how and where the licence fee is spent, and review the performance of all of the BBC’s services, both public service and commercial. It makes decisions in the best interests of licence fee payers and protects the independence of the BBC (e.g. from Government interference). Critics may say that they cave in to government pressure especially at a time of Charter renewal e.g. from 2020 the BBC is to meet the cost of free licenses to over-75s costing one-fifth of its income. Q. Everyone in the UK who watches or records TV programmes at the same as they are shown on TV needs to be covered by a TV licence. This includes TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and DVD/VHS recorders. Is it right that we have to pay a license fee for the BBC (£145.50 in 2016)?

15. Institution: external controls The BBC Charter (2006-2016) gives the BBC a number of public purposes e.g. 1. Sustaining citizenship and civil society 2. Promoting education and learning 3. Stimulating creativity and cultural excellence 4. Representing the UK, its nations, regions and communities 5. Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK. Q. Which of these purposes are being met by programmes such as The Secret Drone War?

16. Institution: building global understanding Bringing the UK to the world and the world to the UK. What the BBC will do to meet this purpose: 1. Build a global understanding of international issues: (a) Provide international news broadcasting of the highest quality.“The BBC’s journalism for international audiences should share the same values as its journalism for UK audiences: accuracy, impartiality and independence. International audiences should value BBC news and current affairs for providing reliable and unbiased information of relevance, range and depth.” (b) Enable audiences and individuals to participate in the global debate onsignificant international issues “The BBC should inform conversation and debate with impartial and accurate coverage and through discussion.” 2. Enhance UK audiences’ awareness and understanding of international issues. “The BBC should provide high quality coverage of global issues in its news and current affairs and other output for the UK. Coverage should serve all audiences and ensure a breadth of perspective.” 3. Broaden UK audiences’ experience of and exposure to different cultures fromaround the world. Q. Does The Secret Drone War show “accuracy, impartiality and independence”?

17. Institution: Compliance News and current affairs must be treated with due impartiality, giving due weight to events, opinion and main strands of argument. ‘Due impartiality’ means that equal weight need not be given to individuals who reject democratic values. The approach and tone of news stories must always reflect the BBC’s editorial values, including our commitment to impartiality. Reporters may provide professional judgements, rooted in evidence, but may not express personal views in BBC output. Q. How does The Secret Drone War try to achieve impartiality?

18. Institution: constraints As well as compliance there are other constraints: Deadline: filming will usually be completed in 10-14 days on a limited budget Length: 28.5 min Verification and safety in hostile environments: in unstable conflict zones it is often difficult to verify whether certain claims are true; also journalists and their team can be captured or killed so need to ensure that they have protection from local police or military BBC Academy: “The BBC has a special responsibility to its global audience when reporting conflict. Millions of people across the world rely on BBC News for accurate accounts of major events such as wars, terror acts, sieges and emergencies. BBC audiences expect trustworthy information, insightful context, impartial analysis and a wide range of viewpoints to help them make sense of what is happening. […] Reporting from battlefields and conflict zones can be highly unpredictable and dangerous. That's why BBC journalists have to complete extensive safety courses and hostile environment risk assessments before travelling.”

19. Institution: Panorama Panorama is a BBC TV current affairs documentary programme. First broadcast in 1953, it is the world's longest-running current affairs television programme. Panorama has been presented by many well known BBC presenters but now has no regular presenter. It used to be 60 minutes long but it is now usually 30 minutes to allow more programmes to be produced. It has to balance the public service duties of the BBC to provide both entertaining programming that appeals to a mass audience, and serious journalism that might have a narrower audience. Currently it averages 2m viewers compared to Eastenders’ average around 6m. Currently it is usually broadcast on BBC1 on Mondays at 8.30pm following Eastenders. BBC1 schedulers uses ‘hammocking’ so that on Monday evening Panorama is placed in between Eastenders at 8pm and the 9pm drama. The programme also airs worldwide through BBC World News on digital services, satellite and cable in many countries. Q1. What do you think are the assumptions underlying BBC’s ‘hammocking’ of Panorama? Do they reflect how people watch tv today? Q2. At its best Panorama gives a voice and a sense of human dignity to the voiceless and speaks ‘truth to power’. Is this achieved in The Secret Drone War? How?

20. Changing logos In its early years Panorama was described as a ‘window on the world’. The frequent change of logo and time-slot suggests that programmers have a problem with Panorama. Current programmes may start with the logo or may use a discreet #bbcpanorama (1 hour documentary Living with Dementia: Chris's Story) or even ‘bury’ the logo in hi-tech visuals (Medicine's Big Breakthrough: Editing Your Genes). Q. What meanings do the logos suggest about the Panorama programme? How has the programme ‘brand identity’ been maintained across the different versions?

21. Institution: Reporter Jane Corbin is a renowned expert on the al-Qaeda network and Islamist threat. She has made over 100 documentaries including Chasing Saddam’s Weapons (2003) in which she gained exclusive access to UN inspectors and the secret US unit which searched in vain for WMDs (weapons of mass destruction) before and after the Iraq war (2003-2011). Jane Corbin speaking in 2008

22. Categories: purpose and tone Q1. What are the purposes of The Secret Drone War? Q2. What is the tone of the documentary? How does the documentary create that tone?

23. Categories: Genre Documentary genre uses a set of conventions which connote ‘realism’ (the documentary ‘look’): Usually serious subject matter and tone Archive footage and photographs ‘Talking heads’ Jiggly camerawork Location shooting and sound Voiceover narration (‘voice-of-God’) Witness address to camera or reporter Real people in real locations (may use actors in re-enactments) Documentary editing which makes an argument as well as telling a story.

24. Documentary conventions 1 Serious subject matter Real people in real locations Voiceover narration (‘voice-of-God’) Narrator: “America says its drones are destroying al-Qaeda, protecting Western lives.”

25. Documentary conventions 2 Archive footage Talking heads (BBC reporter Jane Corbin) Witness address to reporter

26. Documentary conventions 3 Location shooting and ‘jiggly’ camerawork in anti-drone demonstration Documentary editing which makes an argument as well as telling a story: Rafiq ur Rahman: “We’re fed up with America and the rest of the world. This is unjust. We are poor deprived people and instead of shedding blood they should build schools and educate our children.” Corbin (voiceover): “Are drone strikes really making the world any safer?”

27. Language: Cultural codes Series title frame Series title sequence Q. Analyse the images and audio of the Panorama title sequence.

28. Language: Cultural codes Episode title frame Q. Analyse the images and audio of The Secret Drone War title sequence.

29. Media language: technical codes One of the codes used is the profile used to film the subject: Full face: Jane Corbin is facing the camera directly and speaking to the audience as she is an ‘objective’ reporter. Witnesses may filmed in three-quarter profile: Or in profile:

30. Language: lighting, framing, anchorage The least powerful in the film are often given a sense of dignity by careful lighting and beautiful framing using the ‘rule of thirds’ and dramatic ‘Rembrandt lighting’: The captions also name the witnesses which conveys a sense of individual identity. The captions anchor the carefully composed images and this combination of image and words may give the viewer a sense of outrage at the use of drones against such dignified people. Military jargon such as ‘collateral damage’ dehumanises innocent people such as these and desensitizes the user of such terms.

31. Language: Anchoring images by audio Electronic helicopter-like throb underscores Jane Corbin’s narration: “The tribal areas of Pakistan. A no-man’s land that Westerners rarely get to. Britain’s 7/7 bombers trained here.” “It’s home to al-Qaeda and a dangerous brew of militants. Pakistan’s army fought a bitter war here in South Waziristan. Below are ruined compounds once the militants’ stronghold.” The unsettling throb of the music cue gives us a sense of danger.. Jane Corbin’s voice is calm and measured as she describes the context for the viewer– she sounds reliable and authoritative. So it gives the viewer both contextual information, a feeling of threat and an impression of the reliability of the narrator.

32. Language: direct address to camera Jane Corbin is the only one who addresses the camera directly as she is an ‘objective’ reporter. All the witnesses interviewed are shown in profile or three-quarter profile to indicate the ‘subjective’ nature of their statements. Archive tv footage of President Obama addressing the camera (and US nation) directly is shown with Corbin’s reflection on her laptop screen to emphasise that Obama is just one witness like the others and Corbin is assessing his truthfulness.

33. Narrative: synopsis 0-1 min: prologue: gist of story. 1-7 min: evidence of civilian deaths and injuries due to drone strike in Waziristan. 7-10 min: US and UK drone strikes done with permission of a number of national governments; Pakistan has not given permission. 10-14 min Anti-drone protests by led opposition leader Imran Khan and UK civil rights lawyer Clive Stafford-Smith. 14-16 min: US government justification for the controlled use of drone strikes. 16-18 min: Defiant Taleban militants know that drones make people anti-Government, anti-Army and anti-US. People want peace and can’t understand why drones are used to kill civilians as well as militants. 18-22 min: Army helping but people afraid to congregate because of strikes like the one which struck a tribal gathering at Dhatta Khel killing 50. 22- 26 min: Evidence of Pakistan government tacit approval of CIA-led US drone strikes despite their condemnation because they kill enemies of the state. Police block anti-drone protest because of the publicity it is receiving worldwide. 26-28 min Epilogue: Opposition politician Khan: need to win hearts and minds – there is no military solution. Bereaved son: “This is unjust. We are poor deprived people and instead of shedding blood they should build schools and educate our children” Reporter: Corbin: Are drone strikes really making the world any safer?

34. Narrative: argumentative form A common structure for documentary is rhetorical or argumentative form with the typical structure: Introduction to situation Discussion of facts Solution(s) Summary epilogue Often features a refrain (recurring phrase) e.g. why did this happen? e.g. current actions are counterproductive. Tries to convince us Its purpose is to convince us that its argument is valid by Use of verifiable evidence Use of several people advancing its argument Appealing to our emotions. Q1. What repeated refrains do hear in The Secret Drone War? Q2. How does try to engage the audience and convince them of its argument? Q3. Does The Secret Drone War follow the argumentative form?

35. Narrative codes Enigmatic code (Q/A that keep audience involved): Q. Why does USA use drone strikes which kill innocent civilians? A. Pakistan government allows US to use air space and is happy to let US kill its enemies whilst condemning air strikes. Q. Will victims be successful in legal actions? (unresolved) Action code (actions leading to further actions): e.g. protest -> action by police; bombings->death, mourning, injuries Semic code (connotations): e.g. coffins -> death and mourning; metal fences -> lack of freedom; police -> threat; musical connotations which underscore images. Referential code (cultural codes/knowledge): e.g. knowledge of politicians e.g. President Obama, former cricketer Imran Khan; cultural codes e.g. reporter Jane Corbin wearing a scarf in deference to local customs. Symbolic code (binary oppositions that motivate narrative arc): powerful v. powerless; drone warfare v. civilians; political elites v. people; violence v. peace; lies v. honesty. Q. Analyse how narrative codes and narrative structure are used to engage and impact the audience and create preferred meaning.

36. Representation Selection: selecting content which means that other content is absent. Portrayal: how the selected content is portrayed. Ideological discourses: The use of images and words to express an ideology/belief. Q1. The documentary lasts under 30 min. What aspects of drone warfare does it include and what does it ignore? Q2. Does it use stereotyped representations? Q3. What is the ideological position of the filmmakers? Q4. How does this representation compare with that of the fiction film Eye in the Sky?

37. Audience Q1. Who are the target audience for the documentary? Q2. What is the preferred meaning/reading for the documentary? Q3. What is the mode of address? i.e. how does the documentary speak to us and try to engage us? Q4. How does this compare to the coverage of drone strikes in newspapers like the Sun and the Daily Mail?

38. UK/US Press Coverage

39. Audience: Differential decoding Dominant decoding: agreeing with the preferred meaning of the documentary Negotiated decoding: agreeing with some of the meaning but with reservations Oppositional decoding: understanding the preferred meaning but disagreeing with it (e.g. rejecting its frame(s)) Aberrant decoding: a mistaken decoding due to lack of cultural competence. Q. How might these people react to the documentary?: typical readers of the Guardian typical readers of the Sun or Daily Mail react to the documentary people in UK military or security services.

40. ‘A window on the world’ In its early years Panorama was described as a ‘window on the world’. Q. Do you think this metaphor for the media is accurate?