The audience for our Doc will be very important. It's a razor's edge that were walking with the medical issue as our topic. Cassandra with her experience of having trouble with the healthcare system will probably want to focus on what she went through. John meanwhile will want to do the same thing dealing with the homeless people. But we need to be very careful not to just focus it in one direction. If we only go in those directions the documentary will fail. Not because it isn't about an issue, or covered well. But because it won't be relatable to a large audience. We need not to only specify this, but also generalize it enough so that it covers the whole healthcare industry and not just the problems Cassandra or Jonathan have seen. So hopefully the audience will be just about anybody. I think anyone who's been to a doctor would like to watch this. Time after time you get referred a million times, then you have to deal with insurance and HMO's and it becomes a tangled mess. I think the most important part is that it is enjoyable for everyone to watch. This should not just be some preachy film about the evils of the healthcare system. The healthcare system does ALOT of good. I think it'd be a shame if this came out onesided against it because it wouldn't be a solid portrayal of the truth. BUt there will be problems and this doc should address those problems and not take on the healthcare industry for sake of a grudge. In the end the audience will be anyone who enjoys a good film. As long as it's entertaining and educational we shouldn't exclude any viewers except a few insurance CEO's. But like I said we run the risk of ostracizing people by being preachy and too negative. It's gotta be a fair, clean look at the problems and if we do that, the audience can be anyone because I'd imagine everyone has been to a doctor in their life.
5 comments:
you make a great point in your post. if you decide to go the health care route, its important to attack this subject not for the sake of creating a grudge, but rather for simply telling whatever story it is you want to tell. as i was reminded earlier, its ok to make your doc with a certain bias (look at blue vinyl), but its important to equally show both sides of the story. good luick on coming to a decision, but at least you know that if you decide to do the health care topic, youre already approaching it with the right attitude.
it will be essential to decide where you all stand as a group. i think there's quite a bit of ground between being preachy and not taking a side. as matt pointed to Blue Vinyl...so will i. she was definately entertaining, but also very much on a mission. this is definately a topic with an agenda. you all will need to decide what your mission is and go after it relentlessly.
The health care issue is going to be tricky. if you guys decide to go this route do you intend to incorporate pharm. companies, insurance and physicians? how broad or how specific are you willing to be. There just seems to be so much there that i could see you guys getting lost in it all. i am anxious to see how this pans out.
I completely agree with you in that the healthcare topic is great, but that there are two sides to it. Healthcare has done a lot of good as well and I think that you all will run in to major problems if you don't do more research, and/or choose a different topic. I think its a great project if you all can agree on it.
it sounds like you are struggling really where to go with the doc. As far as the Cassandra situation I think it is a great starting point. It is personal, then go from there to show how it isn't just Cassandra. Many people struggle to obtain the healthcare they want. Dig deep into the issues. I think that it would be interesting to see how insurance actually affects standards of healthcare. Is it the difference between living and dying? I hope not. When your insurance runs out, are you cured? Especially psychological problems. I think that part of healthcare in particular is such a gray area. How do you know when they are "cured?"
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