The film Does This Make You Uncomfortable? is an op-doc that sociologically examines Generation Z's current feelings toward feet and what that says not just about their generation, but society as a whole (focused on the U.S.). The piece alludes to topics such as conformity, fear of judgment, and self-consciousness, touching on the influence of social media on the generation's hyperawareness of perception.
The documentary genre has many subgenres, some including biographical, historical, and episodic. The general consensus of the genre is that, through its conventions, whether it's a ten-minute or 2-hour long film, the piece will focus on a specific part of our existence, illustrating a "snippet of life". Specifically, an op-doc (short for opinion documentary) is a short and opinionated documentary film that allows for the expression of a perspective on a particular topic. Through introductory research in class and the viewings of a range of documentaries, a more accurately representative understanding of the genre was formed that paved the way for all production choices, strongly informing the narrative structure of the documentary.
The research conducted to enter the world of documentaries was instrumental in understanding the versatile and personalized nature of the genre, further discussed in this blog, which describes the research process for creating the op-doc, with each documentary viewing giving insight into the myriad of ways to approach exploring the "snippet of life". The introduction of the New York Times op-doc I Think This Is the Closest to How the Footage Looked, being the first impression of what an op-doc was, was striking in its form of storytelling about such a universal yet isolating experience (grief), and dismantled preconceived ideas of what a documentary was limited to being: a straightforward and explicit showcase of a particular subject. The viewing of other NYT op-docs such as A New Wave also broke through this mold, reinforcing its themes through unique visual choices that strongly engage its viewers, expanding previous expectations regarding the cinematography of a documentary.
The attentive viewing and interaction with the documentary American Promise, by creators Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson, introduced an explicitly personal approach and served as a gateway, along with Banksy's documentary Exit Through the Gift Shop, into the different relationships the creators can have with their audience, with the chosen approach influencing the audience's connection to the messages the creators are trying to get across. This documentary also showcased that there are different ways to communicate the theme to the viewer (in this case implicitly, with production choices hinting at the larger theme being conveyed). This doc illustrated the extent to which one could allude to a bigger idea through choices such as title name and narrative development, both leading the audience closer to the bigger picture. Other pieces like Netflix's docu-series Abstract: The Art of Design, specifically S2 Ep 3 (Ruth Carter: Costume Design) expanded the range of expectations in terms of editing, still keeping a personal feel yet balancing it with large-scale production. The way all choices continuously engaged the audience and committed to showcasing the artistic process was eye-opening. All of the pieces viewed and studied truly broke previous expectations set for the genre and created space for experimentation and creative decisions taken in the documentary, Does This Make You Uncomfortable?
The documentary follows typical conventions of a documentary, basing the development of the narrative on interviews, lasting 13-minutes (shorter than full-length film), and creating a sense of realism through hand-held shots. While these are just some, the doc does implement some specific choices that aren't seen in all documentaries, largely inspired by docs researched such as Exit Through the Gift Shop. The nature of the topic and point of the documentary, being more investigative than conclusive as Gen Z teenagers try to understand and highlight their own generation's feelings about feet, made the ending of the documentary diverge from a defined POV, with interviewees giving their own insight. While the ending could've been better developed to leave the audience to question the topic being discussed, it differs from a typical documentary as the current reaction of feet in Gen Z is "undiagnosed", as there is no ONE specific reason for it. Furthermore, the implementation of interviews by the directors of the piece was also inspired by Banksy's documentary, needed as a transitional device between interviews to progress the doc.
The reasoning for all of these choices was ultimately to attempt to represent the different generational groups in an accurate way, specifically regarding their relationship to feet. The piece represents Gen Z as uncomfortable with feet, emphasized through interview clips where two people wouldn't hold a paper of feet, along with further reactions that reinforced the reaction. They are also represented as slightly dramatic in their reactions, with the contrast to other generational responses developing this. The older generations are represented as detached from the feelings shared by the Gen Z group. These representations lead to a bigger saying about the different generations, commenting on Gen Z's hyperawareness of appearance and perception as compared to the older generations. These representations also leave room for the questioning of situational differences between the generations, such as the development of social media. In addition to representing social groups, the documentary represents social issues such as Generation Z's social and personal insecurity. Displayed through the main interviews toward the end of the doc, Gen Z has a tendency to coverup more, shown through celebrities like Billie Eilish. Unrealistic expectations on appearance developed through social media were discussed as well, alluding to the layers of awareness that the generation feels responsible for in this modern-age, relating back to the more entertaining topic of feet, attracting the target audience toward a larger conversation.
These representations are essential to the audience's perception and consideration of the topic. The target audience of the documentary is people from Generation Z (people born from 1997 to 2012) of any gender. Gen Zers who would be interested in the doc include those who take the topic as a joke, as the documentary begins with a comedic tone and fast-paced editing, and considers the topic in a more unserious way. The specific editing style, including the use of instrumental music, is done to engage the Gen Z audience (who would probably consider the topic in an unserious way) and ultimately lead them to the bigger picture connections at the end of the documentary (being the POINT of the doc). Additionally, the documentary might get a stronger reaction from the Gen Zers on social media, which would most-likely be all of them, as it might be a root of the modern-day feelings of disgust with feet.
The documentary Does This Make You Uncomfortable? develops a comedic tone before shifting to a more thoughtful and reflective one through specific editing techniques, with all production choices attempting to attract the target audience toward a relevant conversation regarding not just Generation Z, but society as a whole about topics such as conformity and the effects of social norms on a group of people.
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