This was a mixed documentary as it incorporated a formal voice over, numerous amounts of archive footage, interviews with expertise and scientific reconstructions. The main theme in this documentary was the battle between Religion vs. Science, even more specifically Evolution vs. Intelligent Design teachings in school.
At the beginning of the documentary, it explained the theory of Charles Darwin’s evolution and the religious attacks on it and their explanation of how they think the world began. This was done to give the viewers some background information on the conflict these two subjects have had in the past. In the middle, this is when a conflict arises as it begins by showing a previous court trial of a man named John Scope who got arrested for teaching evolution in school and then it explained of a court case in recent years of parents suing a school board as they wanted to teach intelligent design in Biology therefore promoting religion in science. These two were the main focus for the middle narrative as it shows how both events are relevant yet at the same time opposite to each other; this could have been done to remain unbiased to the viewer. At the end the conflict is settled as the judge rules intelligent design “no more scientific than creationism”, this ending slightly leans more to the scientific side of the argument however it also has opposite views to keep the documentary neutral.
The most frequent camera shot used in this documentary was a shot of the road which could have been done by using a steadicam in a car. This shot could represent the on going struggle between religion and science and how this debate will continue for many years, the road could connote time passing and how both issues have progressed over the years. Also when introducing a person, they film the subject from far away then change the camera from deep focus to shallow focus to show this persons importance so the viewer keeps their attention on him. They also use low angles of religious extremists, this could be done to show the power that the person holds and to make the viewer feel vulnerable and weak to them. They also use an extreme close up on a pair of dice to show the significance of the dice to the metaphorical concept they are making.
When the interviewers are being interviewed, relevant mise-en-scene is placed in the background e.g. When the science lecturer was being interviewed, there was a picture of blood cells, these blood cells could connote science. At the beginning of the documentary an American flag is shown which then cuts to an image of a cross, this could have been done to show the religious connotations that American upholds. When interviewees are being interviewed, it is done mainly in their own homes as this is portrayed as their comfort zone to make the documentary feel less formal. Various cutaways are used to coincide with the subject matter e.g. when they’re talking about Darwin’s theory of evolution, they show footage of his book “The origin of species” being printed off in vast amounts.
Throughout the documentary, there is a dark and gothic music bed played, this could have been done to blend in with the theme of religion. Natural sound is used from interviews and the background within the setting e.g. the trains behind them. Although interviews were used within the documentary, it consisted mainly of a voice over narrating the conflicts between the two issues. There is also a juxtaposition within the music as it cuts from having a low key music bed to playing an upbeat anti evolutionary song, both of these types of sound have suggestions of a religious undertone but in completely different ways.
Editing is used rather unconventionally within this documentary in one cut, they turned the archive footage black and white and slowed down the action possibly to evoke the significance in the scene for the viewer. When explaining a theory, they try to clarify a point by reversing the action as they reverse dice to show the chance of probability, this was done so that the viewer fully understands the concept they are presenting because continuing with the documentary.
This documentary relied mainly on archive footage, as the basis of the documentary was about a court case that was several years ago. They use few clips of President Bush’s speeches when he mentions God and religion, this could have been used to relate to the audience as the majority would recognise him and the stereotypes that belong to America. They also use photos of the John Scope case in court when the judge gives the verdict of him, this was shown as this relates strictly to the modern case. Graphics were kept at a minimum for this documentary, a basic clear font was used to introduce the name and the occupation of the person being interviewed and this same font was also used to introduce a new setting as no establishing shots were used. At the beginning the documentary is introduced by blue streams of light to introduce the viewer however this quickly contrasts when the background changes to black to show the name of the documentary, this could have been done to intrigue the audience into continuing to watch.
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