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The event often becomes more true-to-life, however, as time passes. As the camera becomes an active participant in the occurrences the power of this apporach to evoke emotions in the viewer is realized.13 Initially cinema verité documentaries tended to be poorly executed due, in all probability, to the fact that the camera person did not know 14 Another problem with where or when his or her next move wou1d be. cinema verite is the difficulty of transmitting "real time" into "film time". It is difficult to condense "real time" and retain all the most representative elements so that the viewer sees the process as the camera saw it in filming or taping.15 Problem Statement Little research has been carried out to explore how an entertainment context affects the basic principles of persuasion and instruction in a documentary. These principles undergo an alteration in order to comply with the expectations of entertainment. In addition, few, if any, studies have attempted to specify how cinema verite and the narrated documentary differentially incorporate these principles. As a result, there is only Speculation as to the effectiveness of either approach in serving the purpose of documentary to inform and persuade. 13Bluem, op. cit., p. 125. 14 15 Tyrell, op. cit., p. 28. Rosenthal, op. cit., p. 384. The purpose of this study was to construct a model which (1) speci- fies how the principles of persuasion and instruction are affected by the entertainment context which documentary must address, and (2) which demonstrates how the approaches of cinema verité and narrated documentary incorporate these principles differentially. Using the model, two separate documentaries of the same subject matter were produced, one cinema verité, one narrated, to illustrate specified differences. An evaluation design tested the predictions of the model for different effects of material constructed by the two approaches to documentary. Because the model used in designing the two documentaries was based on principles of persuasion, instruction and entertainment, the review of research focuses on identification of these principles. CHAPTER II LITERATURE REVIEW Part I: Persuasion, Instruction, and Entertainment Persuasion, Instruction and Entertainment principles applicable to the distinction of narrated and cinema verite documentary. Persuasion Persuasion may be defined as communication which influences behavior with audible and visible symbolic cues,1 by intensifying,2 or changing the receiver's attitudes, beliefs, physical behavior,3 or values,4 so as to produce sympathy and support for the communicator and message.5 Three techniques discovered in the review of literature on persua- sion seemed particularly relevant to the design of documentary: 1Thomas M. Scheidel, Persuasive Speaking, Scott, Foresman & Co., 1967, p. l. 2Erwin P. Bettinghaus, Persuasive Communication, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980, p. 6. 3 4Herbert W. Simons, Persuasion: Understanding, Practice and Analysis, Addison-Wesley, 1976, p. 21. 5Wayne c. Minnick, The Art of Persuasion, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968, 1957, p. 21. Ibid., p. l. credibility, emotional appeal, and audience involvement. Credibility is a persuasive technique. The fact that the communi- cator is credible in one area may be to his or her advantage when communi- cating in another area. An example of this principle which is often employed in commercial advertising would be the success of using a football player to support a personal hygiene product.6 An emotional appeal involves the emotional state of the listener 7 When it is stimulated, Bluem8 feels conditions for per- or observer. suasion will be enhanced. This is because in an emotional state the audience is more vulnerable, less rational and more open to persuasion. Involving the audience directly in the persuasion process by direct participation may help alleviate any initial resistance, according to Karl'ins and Abelson.9 Exposure through direct contact with the experience is apt to be less distracting to the observer and they would be persuaded more easily. Instruction Instruction may be defined as an information-processing system,10 in which the subject's environment is manipulated so as to produce 6Marvin Karlins and Herbert I. Abelson, Persuasion: How Opinions and Attitudes are Changed. Springer Publishing Company, 1970, p. 111} 7Thomas M. Scheidel, Persuasive Speaking, Cott, Foresman & Co., 1967, p. 11. 8William A. Bluem, Documentary in American Television (New York: Hastings House, 1965). gKarbis and Abelson, op cit., p. 62. 1oStanford C. Ericksen, "The Zigzag Curve of Learning," in Instruction: Some Contemporary Viewpoints, Ed., Laurence Siegel, Chandler Publishing Co., 1967, p. 144. 10 11 12 behavior changes, which come about as a result of experience. Three techniques found in the review of literature on instruction seemed particularly relevant to the design of documentary: use of cer- tain words to evoke familiar concepts, increased comprehensibility and increased sense stimulus. Freud stressed the importance of words' capability of triggering a certain feeling or thought:'3 Through the use of such words, feelings or thoughts can be evoked which will help the observer relate more easily to what is being said and remember facts presented. Lionel C. Barrow suggests a theory for instructional television.14 Television's instructional value is measured by the amount of activity it can initiate in the receiver of the message.. Two concepts involved in the theory are those of potency and comprehensibility. Potency is the medium's strength in attracting and holding attention. Comprehensi- bility is the degree to which the message makes sense to the receiver. Two of Barrow's principles deemed relevant to documentary follow. With potency held constant, effectiveness will increase as compre- hensibility increases. A clear and concise statement of facts will aid 11Stephen M. Corey, "Definition of Instructional Design," in Instructional Design: Readings, Ed., M. David Merrill, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971, p. 6. 12Robert A. Weisgerber, Ed., Instructional Process and Media Innovation, Rand-McNally & Co., 1968, p. 3. 13Ernest R. Hilgard, Theories of Learning, Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 1948, 1956, p. 273. 14Lione1 C. Barrow, Jr., "Proposed Theory for the Effect of Educa- tional Television," in The Impact of Educational Television, ed. Wilbur Schramm, University of IlTinois Press, 1960, p.7243. 11 comprehension, and thus be more effective in instruction. Involving increased sense stimulus will increase both potency and comprehensibility. The more senses affected at any one time, the easier it will be to pay attention, understand and thus be informed. Entertainment Entertainment involves passive participation and constitutes means of escape, companionship or diversion.15 Several concepts discovered in the entertainment litera- ture were deemed particularly relevant in the design of documentary. These were the incorporation of real-life characters, provision of com- panionship, a chance to experience the outside world, drama as a copy of real-life, and a strong contrast in characters. One of three elements of drama presented by Millett and Bentley16 was impersonification, which involves making characters resemble those of real or possibly real characters. This they considered a necessary element of drama. As mentioned in the definition, entertainment can provide com- panionship--it is someone or something to which one can listen and with which one can empathize. 15Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, Ph.D. and Stefar Reinhard Melnick, M.A., Entertainment: A Cross-Cultural Examination, Hastings House, 1979, p. xiii. 16Gerald Eades Bentley and Fred B. Millett. The Art of the Drama. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., 1935. 12 One main purpose of drama as entertainment,17 is to offer the audience the opportunity to experience the outside world which is usually accomplished by having characters resemble those of the real world. In this manner inherent human curiosity is satisfied. Cicero said drama is, "a copy of life, a mirror of custom, a re- 18 flection of truth". The more real the message environment is, the more effective it will be. Among other techniques a strong contrast between characters especially attracts the audience's attention.19 Part II: Descriptive Model Based on the principles discussed above, a model was developed to (1) specify how the principles of persuasion and instruction are affected by the entertainment concept which documentary must address, and (2) which demonstrates how the approaches to cinema verité and narrated documentary apply these principles differently. The model is pre- sented in Figure 3. The three principles of instruction--comprehensibility, potency and manipulation of the learner's environment--are more applicable in an entertainment context to a narrated approach to documentary. A narrator can state facts clearly, present familiar concepts and speak in a manner 17Thomas Baldwin and C. Lewis. "Violence in Television: The Industry Looks at Itself," Report #5, Violence in Media, Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1971. 1 18Allardyce Niccoll, M. A., The Theory of Drama, Benjamin Blom, 931, p. 24. 19 Baldwin and Lewis, op. cit. 13 .xcmu:oe:ooo on :omocoom wu_:o> mEo:.o o:m ooumccm: :* ooppoom o:m u:os:*mu:ou:o co m:o.umuoooxo a: oovmpooe :oeuoocum:w o:m :oemmomco: co mopowo:pco .cmooom u:o.: coumccm: m :mgu .m:o.uo:o «cos :moaom :3... «Zoo: ~35 £222. ooomtm: use :. :mzu :oueo moo: :o_um::oo:. 9.222 3 E: 5.8.... e: 3 motor. coo: opooo: .pmooam pm:o*»mc m :mgu ospmmomco: moo: m. pmooam .m:o.uo:o :< .n .Acoumccm: oa oomoooo mm“ :opumscou:. oumo¢:=:soo o—o_o c*o:u :* mucoaxo .:ou~o ago: .o>.nm:m:o: «co: m. :o.» .8225 up ass 25.5 :5: < .N .ooomomco: a—pmmm .:o.umou.m mama as» :_ :ooo mam::o: oow>mg .couomcmgo as» so» Foo» o» opom mm mm: soc» omomooa oo:o_oom ogu zoom xgumoso co xzumosxw oooooca ape: :mo m.:u u:o*umou*m so: :o n.: mo:mumcmo:o .pmvoz .m ogom_u :o—>m:oa n.:o:oum*p ago: on o:m oo>po>:_ ago: oeoooa :mo apps» coso: cooomcmgo on» msmco :_ .~ : om:m:o o» coumowcos oo:o.oom ugh .m:o_»::::ou:* coumccm: -aoo mo :o.u:ou:. camcoavpm: .m o: "oo_—-ou-o:cu ago: no o».co> meo:*u .— .oo:m:o o» :ooo ago: on .augu mm cop>mgoo .mco:oummp o:. coumo.::::oo as» so» zoo u o» oo:opo:m use nope: zonm¢=m¢ua no muaamuzuma $2.38 2.. oz; -.m:o:o:::oo mommmco:_ “mooso oo_o> :oumccm:\x :ovuco: ooo_> :. anomcm> .uooamo: avg» :* oou.:*_ no :oou commocu:pv mopoawum om:on commoco:~ .m -o::um:. no op:.o:.:o oc—gu oz» mo on: use .:o¢»m:.omep co m:.x:':u so: so .ooeoumooom m. m.: gooocgu u:o::o:_>:m m.co:oam.— oo:o_oom ogu sows: o» o:.x:.:u eo m ouop=:*:ms ap:o :mo u:os:_mucou:u .u o:.. use on: :mo coamccm: m omomoo: u:o: ommoco:_ ——_3 aa—ppavm:o:o:::ou .N .Au:ouo: co moo: -:o:.>:o a.:o:cmo— oompoop:mz .n 19>.uoommo ommoco:. ppm: :cou :. :o_:3 .oocoo .au.—_n*m:o:ocosoo mommoco:w m*:h xu:ouoa .~ -soso: »__mmo moo: mag» o:m coumccm: .mcouomcmso oc.—-—mo: o—osomo: :o_:: ago so ooumom a_cmo—o on _F.: moomu .— acouomcmzo moumcoocoo:v msmco :cooo: .p »u_—.a—m:o:ocoaou .p =u9 auuaam< mmaa—uz—«a mo mzcmhm oununao: 14 which provides for visual accompaniment to aural presentation of infor- mation. The three principles of persuasion--behavior change, producing sympathy or support for the communicator and the deliberate intention . of the communicator to change the listener's behavior--are more applic- able in an entertainment context to a cinema verité approach to documen- tary. Interviewees can provide a more true-to-life atmosphere, highly credible sources of communication and a more emotional appeal. Part III: Hypotheses Based on the descriptive model developed, two hypotheses were advanced regarding the differential effects of narrated and cinema verite documentary styles: Hypothesis 1: A cinema verite approach will have more persuasive appeal than a news/narrated documentary approach. Rationale: a) Cinema verite is more true-to-life: no narrator interrup- tions. The audience can become more involved and be more easily persuaded. b) A highly credible source of communication is more persuasive. More often experts in their field will be communicating information (as Opposed to a narrator). c) An emotional appeal is more persuasive than a rational appeal. People most affected by the problem will be relaying informa- tion more often than in the narrated version. These people may prove more emotional than a narrator would appear. Audience involvement was the first of the persuasion techniques utilized in the cinema verité production design. As Tyrell (1972) felt, involving the audience directly with the message communication will 15 help alleviate initial resistance. Audience involvement was achieved in the cinema verite version by having no narrator. The audience was able to get a sort of "Peeping Tom" feeling in that they could inter- pret what was happening on their own. Using a credible source is another persuasion technique cited. This technique was taken into consideration in producing the cinema verite documentary by having someone knowledgeable in his/her field communicate facts and opinions. By contrast this information was presented by the narrator in the narrated version. Emotional appeal is the third persuasion technique used in the pro- duction design of the cinema verite version. This was done by having sources who were directly involved with the problem presented communicate the same feelings that are communicated by a narrator in the narrated version. Hypothesis II: The narrated/news approach to documentary will be more instructive than the ciname verite approach. Rationale: a) Facts will be clearly stated by the narrator and thus be more easily remembered. b) Comprehensibility (degree to which message makes sense to receiver) will increase because narrator can use line of thinking to which audience is accustomed. c) Increased sense stimulus (increased variety in video por- tion with narrator voice-overs) increases comprehensibility and potency. The first instruction technique utilized in the production design of the nar ated documentary was an increase in comprehensibility through the 16 narrator's stating clearly and concisely, facts that were presented in a more sporatic manner in the cinema verite version. The second instruction principle, that of using certain words to remind viewers of familiar concepts, was incorporated into the design of the narrated documentary. The narrator had more opportunity to use this technique because she was aware ahead of time just who her audience would be. Students (the audience) have a certain way of viewing things based on their past and present experiences and those of their peers. The narrator was able to take advantage of her knowledge of this way of viewing things. The third instruction principle employed in the design of the narrated documentary was increased sense stimulus. This was achieved through visual information accompanying the narrator's oral presentation. As a result, comprehensibility, the degree to which the message makes sense to the receiver,should be augmented. Five concepts of drama as entertainment--incorporation of real-life characters, a provision of companionship, revealing the outside world, a copy of real life and a strong contrast of characters--were incorpor- ated in the design of one or both of the documentaries produced. Regarding real-life characters, and a copy of real life, in docu- mentary, events and characters not only resemble those in real life, they §:g_those in real life. In order to have the documentary get its point across, it should tell a true story. As far as provision of companionship is concerned, both a narrator and an interviewee could be considered a companior, depending on whether 17 the narrator is evoking familiar concepts or whether the interviewee is using emotional appeal. Documentary can be considered a form of drama because it reveals the outside world to the audience and conflict of some sort is often- times the main topic. Also, various means of resolving this conflict are usually presented, if not carried out. Characters (individuals) who have psychological drives similar to those of the audience are very often incorporated in documentaries in order to better relate to the audience, as in drama. A strong contrast between characters can better be presented with no interruption of a neutral character such as a narrator. Summary Three instruction techniques—-use of certain words to evoke familiar concepts, clear and concise statement of facts, and increased sense stimulus; and three persuasion techniques--credibility, emotional appeal and audience involvement--revea1ed in the review of appropriate literature, were found to be particularly relevant in the design of the narrated and cinema verite approach to documentary. A model was developed which specified how the principles of per- suasion and instruction were affected by the entertainment concept and which demonstrated how these principles could be applied in cinema verite and narrated documentary. Hypotheses were advanced based on the model. These hypotheses stated that a narrated documentary should have more instructional 18 effectiveness than a cinema verite documentary and that a cinema verité documentary should have more persuasive appeal than a narrated docu- mentary. CHAPTER III METHOD Part I: Production Design Two documentaries, one narrated and one cinema verité (non-narrated) were designed and produced. The theme of the two versions of the documen- tary was unemployment. Specific content was drawn from a case study of an unemployed auto worker. Larry Austin was laid off from Motor Wheel of Lansing in the Spring of 1981. When interviewed, he and his family had been living on unemploy- ment compensation for approximately one year. At the time of taping, Larry had applied for-welfare (AFDC) because his unemployment was due to terminate in seven weeks. Main points covered in the documentaries were: 1. Investigation of responsibility for Larry's condition, and 2. Investigation of the consequences of being unemployed. The entire cinema verite documentary was compiled before editing was begun on the narrated documentary. All copy in the narrated version was based on dialogue in the cinema verité version. Although all documentaries are characterized by designs which seek both to inform and to persuade, the distinction between the forms of narrated and cinema verité seems to be a difference in balance between 19 20 these characteristics. As shown in the model, narrated documentary seems to be produced with more reliance on principles of instruction whereas cinema verite seems to rely more on principles of persuasion. Each version of the documentary was developed based on this distinction. Principles of Instruction Principles of instruction applied in the narrated approach to documentary were as follows: 1. Facts were clearly stated by the narrator. 2. A line of thinking to which the audience was accustomed was used by the narrator. 3. Complementary sense stimuli were developed through use of variety of video with explanatory narrator "voice-overs". Examples of how these principles were applied in the design of the narrated version are provided below. In each case, material from the cinema verité version is provided to demonstrate the attempt to keep actual content the same, while designing variation in form. Example 1: Statement of Facts Cinema Verité version: Larry: "Well, I sold the canoe, sellin' my car because it'll help eliminate some debts, uh ... (later in documentary) . I've got my house up for sale ... (later in documen- tary) ... we're gonna move into my rental house." 21 Narrated version: Narrator: "Larry, after being on unemployment for about a year, found he had to sell all the things he'd worked so hard to get, such as his canoe, his car and even his house." In comparing the way information was presented in each version of the documentary, the fact that Larry had to sell three belongings (canoe, car and house) was stated more clearly and concisely by the narrator than by Larry. The second principle of instruction was applied in producing the narrated documentary by having the narrator refer to phenomena with which the viewers (freshmen college students) were presumably familiar--student Health insurance and medical benefits provided by their parents. Example II: Familiar Concepts Cinema Verite version: Larry: "I have to worry 'bout feedin' him, his medical care and her--our care, you know. Our Blue Cross expires in June." Kathy: (wife of Larry) "The only thing that we can do is hope that we can get Medicaid through welfare." Narrated version: Narrator: "Being completely responsible for himself and his family, Larry could not count on parents' medical plan or inex- pensive Student health insurance." By mentioning student insurance and parents' medical plan, the narrator used a line of thinking with which the audience was familiar. 22 Most freshmen college students could be assumed to benefit from either Student health insurance or retention of the medical plan of their parents. Being in college, they were not very likely to be recipients of Medicaid. By mentioning familiar concepts, comprehensibility is increased. In comparing the manner in which information was presented in each version, the subject of health insurance was presented as a more familiar concept to the audience by the narrator than it was by Larry. The third principle of instruction was applied in producing the narrated documentary by presenting data both visually and with oral "voice-over". Example III: Visual/Oral Reinforcement Cinema Verité version: Video Audio Larry (talking head) Larry: And if we want to renew it (Blue Cross) it costs us $175.00 a month for three of us. Narrated version: we Au_di_o. Character Generator: Narrator: His income on welfare was Income = $300.00/month to be less than $300.00 per Blue Cross = $175.00/month month or $75.00 per week Remainder to live on: for three people. = $125.00/month 23 The narrator presented facts orally in a manner that was easily matched with visual information, increasing viewer comprehensi- bility through increased sense stimulus. In comparing the manner in which information was presented in each version of the documentary, the cost of Larry's health insurance was presented more thoroughly by the narrator than by Larry because of visual accompaniment to an aural explanation. Each example shows how the design characteristics which distinguish the narrated form from the cinema verité form of organizing and presenting content represent the two hypotheses of this study. Hypothesis I predicted that a narrated form would have more instruc- tive effect about the content of the documentary. The examples provided above demonstrate how design principles predict support of this hypothesis. Principles of Persuasion Principles of persuasion applied in the development of the cinema verité version were as follows: 1. No narrator interruptions in presentation of information. 2. Use of personal experience as a credible source of communication. 3. Reliance on emotional appeal. Examples of how these principles were applied in the design of the cinema verité version are provided below. In each case, material from the narrated version is also provided to demonstrate that the content remains the same in both versions. 24 The first principle of persuasion was applied in the production of the cinema verite documentary in the beginning portions. Larry, the laid-off worker, and Kathy, his wife, were alternately revealing their reactions to and feelings about Larry's situation. With no narrator interruption, the viewer gets a feeling of a "peeping Tom" in that no outside presence (other than the camera) is evident and these people are revealing their thoughts as they come to them naturally. Example IV: No Narrator Interruption Cinema Verité version: Larry: "If I go back to school, take six more months of math and go back down there and they tell me "no" all over again, what was the point? Christmas was kind of bleak this year. 'Course we had a new baby and we wanted Christmas to be really special and I just decided that, after the holidays, after I got through partying, after Christmas and New Year's, that I was going to look for a job. And I--my brother-in-law works at Olds and he's got three or four houses that he rents out so I'm kind of interested in Real Estate." Narrated version: Larry: "If I go back to school, take six more months of math and go back down there and they tell me "no” all over again, what was the point?" Narrator: "But Larry wasn't discouraged by this. He kept trying." Larry: "And I--my brother-in-law works at Olds and he's got three or four houses that he rents out so I'm kind of interested in Real Estate." 25 As a result, those seeing the cinema verite approach should be able to empathize more easily with Larry and feel more sympathy for him. In comparing the manner in which information was presented in each docu- mentary, Larry's reactions and feelings about his situation were pre- sented more flowingly by Larry in the cinema verite version than they were by combining Larry and the narrator to present the same information in the narrated version. The second principle of persuasion was applied in producing the cinema verite version by having Dan, a 20-year employee of Motor Wheel of Lansing, express his dissatisfaction with the way management handled every-day work flow. Example V: Personal Experience as Source of Information Cinema Verité version: Dan: "And the management should have a schedule or have the fore- sight to try to, uh, line those up, 'cause every time you set the job, it costs them money and the end result is jobs." Narrated version: Narrator: “Management didn't plan ahead." Those seeing the cinema verité version should more readily agree that management lacks foresight in planning than those seeing the narrated version. In comparing the manner in which opinions were expressed in each version of the documentary, Dan's experience as an every-day employee for 20 years lent to his credibility in delivery of information in a way the narrator's could not. The narrator's statement was only based on what others had told her--second-hand information. 26 Dan's statement backed his opinion with information that could only come from on-the-job exposure to such events. Because of Dan's ability to back opinions with truths, his statement was to be more convincing than the narrator's statement. The third principle of persuasion was applied in producing the cinema verite documentary by having Larry talk about the consequences of being laid off: trying to get another job. Example VI: Emotional Appeal Cinema Verite version: Larry tells how he is going about re-entering the work force via Real Estate. Larry: "I'm, you know, drivin' my gas, I'm ... you know. I'm doin' everything on my own. I'm not gettin' paid for it." Narrated version: Narrator: "He's even willing to put what little money he does have into buying his own gas while not being paid a cent." In comparing the manner in which facts were expressed in each ver- sion of the documentary, the subject of Larry's paying for his own gas while working on Real Estate was delivered in a more emotional manner by Larry than by the narrator. Larry was proud of himself for paying for his own gas. He felt it was an accomplishment to be commended and this feeling showed through in his delivery. The narrator's statement may have been one of commendation, but it lacked the emotion contained in Larry's statement and should, thus, be less persuasive. 27 Hypothesis II predicted that a cinema verité form would be more effective in the persuasive appeal of the theme of the documentary. Again, the examples provided above demonstrate how design principles pre- dict support for this hypothesis. Scripts for each version are provided in Appendix C. Part II: Evaluation Design A. Instrumentation Questionnaires were constructed to test the effectivensss of each documentary in informing and persuading its viewers. The application of persuasion and instruction principles developed in the model and used in constructing each documentary was tested via questions which referred directly to information given by the narrator in the narrated version and by the interviewees in the cinema verité version. Following are examples of items which correspond in the documen- tary principles applied in the design of each version of the documentary. Example I: Statement of Facts Question #1 on questionnaire: 1. What did Larry, the laid-off worker, have to sell in order to support his family? (a) his car (b) his boat (canoe) (c) his camper (d) his house There were three correct answers to this question; his boat (canoe), his car and his house. The more correct answers chosen by the respondent, the higher his or her score for this question. Thus, the narrator's ability to instruct was tested against Larry's ability to instruct. It was expected that viewers who saw the narrated approach would have a 28 higher number of correct answers than those who saw the cinema verite version because the narrator gave the information in more concise statements. Example 11: Familiar Concepts Question #3 on qgestionnaire: 3. What type of health insurance did Larry find he had to rely on for his family? (a) Student Insurance (b) Blue Cross (c) Medicaid (d) None of these There is one correct answer to this question: Medicaid. Again, instructive effect was measured by quantity of correct answers in this question. It was expected that the narrated version would cause its viewers to give more correct answers because of the narrator's communi- cating to the audience by referring to concepts with which they were familiar. Example III: Visual/Oral Reinforcement Question #2 on the questionnaire: 2. How much would Blue Cross cost per month for Larry and his family? (a) $300.00 (b) $175.00 (c) $100.00 (d) $67.00 There was one correct answer to this question: $175.00. The docu- mentary approach which produced more correct answers to this question would have more instructive effect. It was expected that the narrated version would cause its viewers to give more correct answers because the visual accompaniment added sense stimulus to the narrator's statement making the information more comprehendible. 29 Example IV: No Narrator Interruption: Question #26 on the questionnaire: 26. To what degree do you think Larry is to blame for his own situa- tion? (a) completely (b) mostly (c) some (d) a little (e) not at all Answers were scored on a scale from 1-5 (1 being 'a'--comp1etely and 5 being 'e'—-not at all). The higher the score, the more convinced the respondent was to sym- pathize with Larry. The mean score of answers to this question for those seeing the cinema verite version was expected to be significantly higher than the mean score of answers to this question for those seeing the narrated version. More viewer involvement with the subjects (resulting from less narrator interruption) was expected to cause this outcome. Example V: Personal Experience as Information Source Question #17 on the questionnaire: 17. Do you think management did an adequate job in planning ahead for small cars? (a) Yes (b) No Answer (b) received a higher score than answer (a). The higher the score the more convinced the respondent was of manage- ment's inability to plan ahead. The mean score of answers to this ques- tion for those seeing the cinema verité was expected to be significantly higher than the mean score of answers to this question for those seeing the narrated version. A more experienced source of communication (Dan) was 3O expected to cause viewers to agree more often than a less experienced source (the narrator). Example VI: Emotional Appeal Question #11 on the questionnaire: 11. Do you think Larry will succeed in real Estate? (a) Yes, he is making a conscientious effort to do well. (b) No, he does not seem to be working very hard at it. Answer (a) receives a higher score than answer (b). The higher the score the more convinced the respondent was of Larry's ability to succeed in real estate. The mean score of answers to this question for those seeing the cinema verité version was expected to be significantly higher than the mean score of answers to this question for those seeing the narrated version. Larry's emotional appeal (pride in his efforts) was expected to evoke more viewer agreement than the narrator's statement. B. Subjects--Sample Both documentaries were shown to Freshman students at Michigan State University. The cinema verite approach was seen by 62 students and the narrated approach was seen by 42. Although these subjects and their back- ground did not necessarily reflect those of the general population, it was assumed that the two test groups were similar in past experience and demographics. The population from which the subjects were chosen was enrollment in the Freshman American Thought and Language (ATL) classes at Michigan State University in the spring of 1983. 31 In order to obtain the sample, a list of ATL professors was ob- tained from the Department secretary. These professors were contacted and asked if they would be willing to have their class participate in the experiment. The classes whose professors agreed to participate were used as experimental groups. Three classes viewed each version of the documentary. The classes ranged in size from 13 to 29 students. The first three classes chosen saw the cinema verite version and the next three classes chosen saw the narrated version. C. Procedures Students were introduced to the subject of the documentary by a brief synopsis of who it was about before seeing the documentary. Students were told to listen carefully to the documentary so that they could answer questions as honestly and correctly as possible. The docu- mentaries were shown on television monitors set up in front of the stu- dents at the head of the class. Viewing took place during their normal class period. Students viewed the documentary assigned to them (approxi- mately 14 minutes in duration). After the viewing, questionnaires were administered which dealt with facts given and opinions expressed in the documentary. Students were asked not to write in the left-hand column as this space was to be used for coding. After completing the questionnaires, students handed them to the administrator and left the room. Both groups saw the documentary either in late morning or early afternoon of one day. Both groups saw the questionnaire for the first time only after seeing the documentary. 32 0. Analysis Each questionnaire consisted of items measuring instructive and persuasive effectiveness. Twelve items were used to measure instructive effectiveness. These were objective questions for which there was one or more correct answers. Sixteen items were used to measure persuasive effectiveness. These were subjective questions for which there was no correct answer, although a limited number of choices was presented. Questions #22 and #23 were disregarded in the calculations because answers to these questions were considered superfluous. Persuasiveness was also measured by several open-ended questions for which students gave their own reasons supporting previous answers to limited response persuasion questions. These questions were not included when calculating means. Those individual questions having no answer on individual question- naires were not calculated in determining the mean answer for that individual question. All answers were coded and tabulated. Mean answers were found for each question. These means were standardized in order to calculate the four total means: 1. Instruction questions for those seeing the cinema verité version. 2. Instruction questions for those seeing the narrated version. 3. Persuasion questions for those seeing the cinema verite version. 4. Persuasion questions for those seeing the narrated version. After figuring the four total means, the mean for "narrated-per- suasion" was compared with the mean for "cinema verite-persuasion" and the "narrated-instruction" mean was compared with the "cinema verite- 33 instruction" mean. A t-test was used to identify the significance of differences. Merl Two documentaries--one narrated and one non-narrated (cinema verité)--were produced dealing with the same subject matter-~unemployment. The cinema verité version was produced based on the three main principles of persuasion and the narrated documentary was produced based on the three main principles of instruction. Examples of how each of the instruc- tion principles was applied in the narrated version and how each of the persuasion principles was applied in the cinema verité version were pre- sented. For each example, the manner in which the same information was presented in the gthg:_version was also included. This was done to show that the same content was in each documentary version. As each example was given, how it represented the principle at hand was explained. Questionnaires were developed to test the ability of the narrated version to better instruct when the instruction principles have been incorporated in its production and the ability of the cinema verité ver- sion to better persuade when the persuasion principles have been incor- porated in its production. Questions testing each principle separately were included on the questionnaire. The subjects were drawn from enroll- ment in American Thought and Language courses at Michigan State University. Forty-two students viewed the narrated Version and sixty-two viewed the cinema verité version. Students were given a brief synopsis of the con- tent of the documentary before seeing it and were handed questionnaires after the viewing at which time they completed them. 34 The questionnaire contained items measuring both instructive and persuasive effectiveness. Total means for both instructive effective- ness and persuasive effectiveness were figured for both the narrated version and the cinema verité version, after standardizing the means for each item. A t-test was used to find the significance of differences. CHAPTER IV RESULTS The researcher was curious as to the instructive and persuasive effectiveness of various approaches to documentary. Considering that all documentaries contain visual stimulus, it was assumed that the major difference in effectiveness would result from differences in the source of communication. This study was conducted to test whether the source of communication caused different levels of persuasive and instructive effectiveness in documentary. It was found that there was no significant difference between the mean of responses to instructive questions in the narrated version and the mean of responses to instructive questions in the cinema verité version. Likewise, it was found that there was no significant difference between the mean of responses to persuasive questions in the narrated version and the mean of responses to persuasive questions in the cinema verité version. The first hypothesis stated: The cinema verite approach will have more persuasive appeal than the news/narrated documentary approach. As is shown below, the t-test for significant differences resulted in no significant difference between the mean of responses to persuasion 35 36 questions in the cinema verité version and the mean of responses to persuasion questions in the narrated version. t = 13.5451 - 3.42021 = .ngi = .6773 .2670 + .2771 16 16 At 15 degrees of freedom and .05 level of significance, for a one-tail test, t should be at least 1.753 to reject the null hypothesis. It was not. We, therefore, cannot reject the null hypothesis which says a cinema verité approach wilnggt have more persuasive appeal than a narrated documentary. Thus, there is not a significant difference between each version's ability to persuade. The hypothesis that a cinema verité approach would have more persuasive appeal than a narrated documentary approach was not supported. The second hypothesis stated: The narrated/news approach to documentary will be more instructive than the cinema verite approach. As is shown below, the t-test for significant differences resulted in no significant difference between the mean of answers to instruction questions in the cinema verité version and the mean of answers to instruction questions in the narrated version. 2.0267 - 2.18221 .1555 t = 1 = fi—gg—g = .6567 v/.3598 + .3133 ° 8 "‘T2“ 12 At 11 degrees of freedom and .05 level of significance, for a one- tail test, t should be at least 1.796 to reject the null hypothesis. 37 It was not. We, therefore, cannot reject the null hypothesis which says the narrated approach to documentary will ggt_be more instructive than the cinema verite approach. Thus, there was not a significant difference between each version's ability to instruct. The hypothesis that the narrated approach to documentary would be more instructive than the cinema verite approach was not supported. Tables Al—A5 in Appendix A provides a listing of the standard— ized mean, the standard deviation and the variance in each of the four categories: narrated-instructive, cinema verite-instructive, narrated- persuasive and cinema verite-persuasive. There were several demographic variables that could possibly have confounded the results. These were taken into consideration before showing the documentaries and questions covering these aspects were included on the questionnaire. The variables were: sex, the town where respondents went to high school, whether someone in the respondent's family had been laid-off in the past two years and the respondent's perception of Michigan's economic status in comparison to that of other states. It was thought that the sex of the respondent might affect his or her responses. Perhaps females were more willing to show empathy than were males. There was, however, only a difference of 5 percentage points between the percentage of males seeing the cinema verité version and the percentage of males seeing the narrated version. The difference was not significant enough to account for a bias (see Table 1). It was also assumed that the place where the respondent was raised might affect his or her views. The largest difference calculated here was the 8% difference in the amount of people Coming from rural areas: 38 Table 1. Number and Percentage of Male and Female Viewers Seeing Each Documentary Approach Cinema Verité Narrated Sex Number Percentage Number Percentage Male 34 .55 21 .50 Female 28 .45 21 .50 Total 62 42 the cinema verité audience contained 8% more people from rural areas than did the narrated documentary audience. If there had been a large difference in the percentage of respondents from "auto factory" cities such as Detroit or Flint, it was assumed that this would be related to the effect of the documentary. People coming from an area with a de- prived economy resulting from lower automobile sales, might have been more willing to sympathize with someone who was affected by poor auto- mobile sales such as Larry. A difference in percentage of .006 was found between Detroit/Flint residents in the narrated documentary audience vs. Detroit/Flint residents in the cinema verité audience. This difference was not significant enough to support such an assumption (see Table 2). If there had been a large difference in the percentage of respond- ents who had someone in their family who had been laid-off in the past two years, it was assumed that this might be related to the effect of the documentary. People experiencing a lay-off in their family might have 'been more willing to sympathize with someone who was laid-off himself. The cinema verité audience had .012 more respondents who had someone in 39 Table 2, High Schools Attended by Viewers of Each Documentary Approach Cinema Verité Narrated Number Percentage Number Percentage Went to High School in: Detroit 1 .016 2 .047 Detroit suburb 2 .032 2 .047 Outlying Detroit suburb 17 .274 10 .238 Flint 1 .016 l .023 Jackson, Lansing or Grand Rapids 4 .064 3 .071 Rural area or Small town 21 .339 11 .261 Out-of-State 8 .129 4 .095 Mid-sized town 8 .129 6 .142 Total 62 39 their family laid-off in the past two years. The difference was not sig- nificant enough to account for a bias (see Table 3). If there had been a large difference in the percentage of respondents who felt Michigan's economy was the worst or among the worst in the country, it was assumed that this might bias the results. There was only a .001 difference in the percentage of respondents who viewed Michigan's economy in this way. The difference was not significant enough to account for a bias (see Table 4). 40 Table 3. Number and Percentage of Viewers Having a Family Member Laid- off in Past Two Years Cinema Verite Narrated Number Percentage Number Percentage Anyone laid-off in your family in past two years? Yes 17 .274 11 .262 No 44 .71 30 .71 Who was laid off? Father 8 .471 5 .454 Mother - --- 1 .09 Sibling 3 .176 4 .36 Other 6 .352 1 .09 Total 62 42 Table 4. Viewers' Opinions of Michigan's Economy Cinema Verité Narrated Number Percentage Number Percentage How bad is Michigan's economy? The worst 13 .209 ll .26 Among the worst 40 .645 25 .595 Pretty bad 2 .03 4 .095 About the same as others 3 .048 1 .02 Not as bad as most 3 .048 - --- Total 62 42 41 Summer In comparing responses to persuasion and instruction questions in the two documentary versions via a t-test for significant differ- ences, it was found that neither hypothesis could be supported. Thus, a cinema verité approach will not necessarily have more persuasive appeal than a news/narrated documentary approach and the narrated/news approach to documentary will not necessarily be more instructive than the cinema verité approach. Possible confounding variables were accounted for and no significant differences were shown between the two samples of respondents. CHAPTER V DISCUSSION As the main functions of documentary are to persuade and to inform, it is important to measure the ability of certain approaches to documentary to carry out these functions. It has often been argued that the ability to persuade or inform correlates directly with the way the message is constructed. In relationship to documentary, differ- ences in form might be expected to result in differences in effect. The main purpose of this study was to test this argument via two approaches to documentary. The form of cinema verité was expected to be more effective in persuasive appeal and the form of narrated documentary was expected to be more effective in instruction about content developed. Since it was found that the two approaches had equal ability to persuade and to inform, the form in which the message or content was presented did not seem to affect either the amount of information extracted or the degree to which the respondent was persuaded. This study should indicate that viewers can extract and retain as much information from people involved in the content portrayed in the documentary as they can from a narrator. The narrator's ability to state facts more clearly and concisely, to use a line of thinking to which the audience is accustomed, and to present material orally in a manner that can be reinforced by matching it with visual stimulus did not signifi- cantly increase the audience's ability to retain and reiterate information. 42 43 On the other hand, the results of the study also showed that a narrator can be just as persuasive as can the subjects who are directly involved in the content presented. The predicted advantage of using the emotional appeal of people directly affected by an issue to communi- cate information and feelings, to present information without narrator interruption, and to provide credibility through actual experience did not significantly increase the degree to which the audience was persuaded. It would appear that documentarists interested in persuading and informing their audience may accomplish both just as effectively with either a narrated or cinema verité form for the message. The results expected from this study based on the literature review and the model developed that a narrated documentary approach would be more instructive than a cinema verite approach and that a cinema verité documentary approach would have more persuasive appeal than a narrated approach were not attained. Following are some possible influencing factors in these results. This study was conducted with Freshman college students as respond- ents. It should not be assumed that these subjects represent the general population. Hence, results obtained and conclusions drawn from this study cannot necessarily be generalized to a general viewing public. College students are more advantaged than the general populace in that they have a higher degree of education. Their opinions and prejudices may not reflect those of the rest of the country. This study was limited to a state college in Michigan. Michigan's economy was one of the hardest hit by the failing automobile industry. Because of the subject matter of the documentary, responses of residents 44 of Michigan may not be comparable to those of residents of states less dependent on the auto industry for a healthy economy. It would be interesting and, perhaps, more meaningful to have such a study conducted in cities, towns and rural areas through a cable or network television station in states throughout the nation to better reach a general population. As far as the design of the two versions of documentary is con- cerned, there were stronger differences that could have been incorporated in applying the persuasive principles in the production of the cinema verite version. First of all, the emotional appeal presented by Larry, the laid-off worker, could have been stronger. The researcher could have questioned him about his situation until he became very upset and blatant- ly showed more emotions such as crying or yelling. This would have pre- sented a strong contrast to the narrator's calm, rational presentation of the same information. Also, credible sources or sources who had accumulated experience were not expressing opinions as much as they were stating facts. There was a reluctance on the part of these sources to be very subjective about this topic; probably a direct correlation with their will to retain their jobs! Hence, it was difficult to test the principle of a credible source having more persuasive appeal. The researcher is satisfied with the manner in which the other four principles were applied in the design of each documentary version. 45 Summary Based on literature and analysis it seemed that documentarists felt that a narrator was needed to better explain what was happening to make the production more comprehensible. It has also seemed that docu- mentarists felt that interviewees could be more persuasive than a narrator. The conclusion that may be drawn based on this study is that documentarists need not continue to deem it necessary to have a narrator to be more instructive nor to have more directly-involved subjects communicating to be more persuasive. BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHY Bluem, A. William. Documentary in American Television. New York: Hastings House, 1965. Rosenthal, Alan. Documentary Conscience. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1980. Schramm, Wilbur. Process and Effects of Mass Communication. Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1955. Tyrell, Robert. The Work of the Television. Focal Press Limited, 1972. Entertainment Research Baldwin, Thomas and C. Lewis. "Violence in Television: The Industry Looks at Itself," Report #5, Violence in Media. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1971. Bentley, Gerald Eades and Fred B. Millett. The Art of the Drama. Appleton-Century Co., Inc., 1935. Cooper, Charles W. Preface to Drama. The Rand Press Co., 1955. Fischer, Heinz—Dietrich, PhD., and Stefan Reinhard Melnick, M.A., Eds. Entertainment: A Cross-Cultural Examination. New York: Hastings House, Publishers, Inc., 1979. Marx, Milton. The Enjoyment of Drama. New York: Appleton-Century— Crofts, Inc., 1961. Niccoll, Allardyce, M. A. The Theory of Drama. New York: Benjamin Blom, ‘1931. Instruction Research Hilgard, Ernest R. Theories of Learning. Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1948, 1956. Jones, 0. Charles. Learnin . New York, Chicago: Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1967. 46 47 Kingsley, Howard L. The Nature and Condition of Learning. New York: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1946. Merrill, M. David. Ed. Instructional Design: Readings. Englewood Cliffs, N. 0.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1971. Schramm, Wilbur, Ed. The Impact of Educational Television. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1960. Siegel, Laurence, Ed. Instruction: Some Contemporary Viewpoints. Chandler Publishing Co., 1967. Weisgerber, Robert A., Ed. Instructional Process and Media Innovation. Rand-McNally & Co., 1968. Persuasion Research Abelson, Herbert 1., and Marvin Karbis. Persuasion: How Opinions and Attitudes are Changed. New York: Springer Publishing Company, 1970. Bettinghaus, Erwin P. Persuasive Communication. Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. Minnick, Wayne C. The Art of Persuasion. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1968, 1957. Scheidel, Thomas M. Persuasive Speaking. Glenview, Illinois: Scott, Foresman & Co., 1967. Simons, Herbert W. Persuasion: Understanding, Practice and Analysis. Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Inc., 1976. APPENDICES APPENDIX A RAW DATA AND CODING 48 Table A-1. Means and standardized means of responses to instruction questions for those seeing the narrated version of documentary. Question Mean Standardized Number Response Mean Response 1 2.3415 2.3415 2 1.0000 3.0000 3 .5952 1.7856 5 .8095 2.4285 6 .9756 2.9218 7 .8049 2.4147 8 .8049 2.4147 9 .8723 1.3085 13 .5714 1.7412 15 .5714 1.7412 18 1.0000 1.5000 19 .8810 2.6430 49 Table A-2. Means and standardized means of responses to instruction questions for those seeing the cinema verite version of documentary. Question Mean Standardized Number Response Mean Response 1 2.3443 2.3443 2 .9672 2.9016 3 .3770 1.1310 5 .8689 2.6067 6 .8000 2.4000 7 .7541 2.2623 8 .5455 1.6265 9 1.0877 1.6316 13 .5763 1.7289 15 .5333 1.5999 18 .8475 1.2713 19 .9355 2.8065 50 Table A-3. Means and standardized means of responses to persuasion questions for those seeing the narrated version of documentary. Question Mean Standardized Number Responses , Mean Responses 4 2.9523 3.5428 10 .8333 4.9998 11 1.5000 3.0000 12 1.6905 3.3810 14 1.7143 3.4286 16 1.6486 3.2972 17 1.8333 3.6666 20 1.8781 3.7562 21 1.9512 3.9024 24 3.0477 3.0477 25 2.8095 2.8095 26 3.1905 3.1905 27 2.3810 2.8572 28 2.5122 3.0146 29 2.2895 3.4343 30 2.2632 3.3948 51 Table 8-4. Means and standardized means of responses to persuasion questions for those seeing the cinema verite version of documentary. ~ Question Mean Standardized Number Responses Mean Responses 4 2.4590 2.9508 10 .8361 5.0166 11 1.4098 2.8196 12 1.7213 3.4426 14 1.6500 3.3000 16 1.6379 3.2758 17 1.8833 3.7666 20 1.7833 3.5666 21 1.8500 3.7000 24 3.3387 3.3387 25 2.9836 2.9836 26 3.3871 3.3871 27 2.5161 3.0193 28 2.5484 3.0581 29 2.2069 3.3104 30 2.5254 3.7881 52 Table A-5. Means, standard deviations and variances for instruction and persuasion questions. Cinema Verité Narrated Standard Standard Mean Deviation Variance Mean Deviation Variance Instruction Questions 2.0267 0.5998 0.3598 2.1822 0.5595 0.3133 Persuasion Questions 3.5451 0.5167 0.2670 3.4202 0.5264 0.2771 53 CODING Item Code 0 l = Cinema Verite 2 = Narrated l 0 = C 4 = NA 1 = l of a, b & d 2 = 2 of a, b & d 3 = 3 of a, b & d 2 0 = a, c, or d NA = 3 l = b 3 0 = a, b or d l = c 4 l = a 2 = b 3 = c 4 = d 5 0 = a 3 = NA 1 = b 6 0 = b 3 = NA 1 = a 7 0 = a, c or d 3 = NA 1 = 8 O = a, or d l = c, b 3 = NA 9 O = a 3 = NA 1 = 1 of b & c 2 = both b & c 10 0 = a 3 = NA 1 = b 11 l = b 3 = NA 2 = a 12 1 = a 0 = NA 2 = b 12 How a? 1 = Been prepared 4 = Attitude 2 = School 5 = Work better at factory 3 = Minimum wage 6 = Change jobs early continued 54 Coding--continued Item Code 13 O = a 3 = NA 1 = b 14 l = b 3 = NA 2 = a 14 Why a? l = Not qualified 2 = Family 3 = No jobs available 4 = Unemployment compensation terminated 14 Why b? l = Not sufficient effort 2 = Gone back to school 3 = Relocate 4 = Real Estate 15 0 = a, c, d or none 3 = NA 1 = b 16 O = Neither, both 1 = b 2 = a 16 Why a? 1 = Victim 2 = Empathy 3 = Family 4 = Sacrifice, hopeless 16 Why b? 1 = Attitude, own fault 2 = He/wife could work 3 = Been prepared 4 = Fact of life 17 1 = a 3 = NA 2 = 18 O = c 3 = NA 1 = 1 of a 8 b 2 = both a & b 19 0 = a l = b 20 1 = a O = neither 2 = b 20 Why a? 1 = Responsible for self 2 = Burden off society 3 = Should live off job 4 = Always better to work continued 55 Coding--continued Item 0 O D. (D 20 Why b? Not enough money Not what he's used to Nun—l -21 b 0 = both a N—J 24 U‘l-DOON-H II II II II II OJU'OQID m-wa—I II II II II II DJU'OQCD 26 (”ACTON—l II II II II II fDCLOO'Q’ 27 II II II II CLOUD) 28 29 II II II ll 0 30 II II II ll 0 31 NA Female (a) Male (b) N—‘O com—Io (JON—'0 DOOM—JO thfl continued Coding--continued Item 33 34 34 Why a? 35 Subject Code ('5 Q. 56 NA Detroit Suburb bordering Detroit Outlying suburb of Detroit Flint Jackson, Lansing or Grand Rapids Rural area or small town Out of state Mid-size town 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 0 = NA 1 = a 2 = b 0 = NA 1 = Father 2 = Mother 3 = Sibling 4 = Other relative 0 = NA 1 = a 2 = b 3 = c 4 = d 5 = e 001-042 = 2 Narrated 043-104 = 1 Cinema Verité 57 CODING--continued A. 1. Code "3" answers to items #5-11, l3, l4, 17 as "No answer" and do not compute in the means. . Code "0” answers to items #12, 16, 20, 25, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 34a, 34b, as "no answer" and do not compute in the means. . Disregard answers to questions #22 and #23. Answers to these questions are superfluous and their means need not be included in the grand mean. . Independent Variables . Cinema Verite--Those directly involved in or affected by the situation are communicating information and/or expressing opinions. . Narrated--A narrator is communicating information and/or expressing opinions. . Dependent Variables . The amount of information extracted (number of correctly-answered Instruction/Information questions) [1-3, 5-9, 13, 15, 18, 19]. . The degree to which subjects are persuaded to agree with Persuasion questions [4, 10-12, 14, 16-17, 20, 21, 24-30]. STANDARDIZATION Total means for instruction, or persuasion questions were calculated from individual question means. Individual question means were standardized before calculating the total mean. These total means were compared by Student's t-test for significant differences. 58 CODING--continued INSTRUCTION Question #1 Represents the maximum distribution of all answers to instruction #2 #3 #5 #6 #7 #8 #9 #13 #15 #18 #19 questions. Its mean was used as the standard. Hence, expected means of answers with smaller distributions had to be adjusted to the standard "instruction" mean. Expected standardized mean was 1.5. Expected mean is .5. Expected standardized mean is 1.5. Expected mean, .5, was multiplied by 3 to get 1.5. The mean from question 2 was multiplied by 3 in order to standardize it. Same as #2. Same as #2. Same as #2. Same as #2. Same as #2. Expected mean is 1. Expected standardized mean is 1.5. Expected mean, 1, was multiplied by 1.5 to get 1.5. The mean from question 9 was multiplied by 1.5 to standardize it. Same as #3. Same as #3. Same as #9. Same as #3. 59 CODING--continued PERSUASION Question #24 Represents the maximum distribution of answers to pgrsuasion #4 #10 #11 #12 #14 #16 #17 #20 #21 #25 questions. Its mean was used as the standard mean. Hence, expected means of answers with smaller distributions must be adjusted to the standard "persuasion" mean. Expected standardized mean was 3. Expected mean is 2.5. Expected standardized mean is 3. Expected mean, 2.5, was multiplied by 1.2 in order to standardize it. The mean from question #4 was multiplied by 1.2 in order to standardize it. Expected mean is .5. Expected standardized mean is 3. Multiply .5 x 6 in order to standardize it. The mean from question #10 was multiplied by 6 to standardize it. Expected mean is 1.5. Expected standardized mean is 3. Multiply 1.5 x 2 in order to standardize it. The mean from question #11 must be multiplied by 2 to standardize it. Same as #11. Same as #11. Same as #11. Same as #11. Same as #11. Same as #11. Same as #24 60 CODING--continued Question #25 Same as #24. #26 Same as #24. #27 Same as #4. #28 Same as #4. #29 Expected mean is 2. Expected standardized mean is 3. Multiply 2 x 1.5 in order to standardize it. Mean for question #29 must be multiplied by 1.5 to standardize it. #30 Same as #29. Question 12 How a? Find frequencies of 1-6 for C.V. Find frequencies of 1-6 for narrated. 14 Why a? Find frequencies of 1-4 answers for C.V. Find frequencies of 1-4 answers for narrated. 14 Why b? Find frequencies of 1-4 answers for C.V. Find frequencies of 1-4 answers for narrated. 16 Why a? Find frequencies of l-4 answers for C.V. Find frequencies of 1-4 answers for narrated. 16 Why b? Find frequencies of 1-4 answers for narrated. Find frequencies of 1-4 answers for C.V. 20 Why a? Find frequencies of l-4 answers for C.V. Find frequencies of 1-4 answers for narrated. 20 Why b? Find frequencies of 1-2 answers for C.V. Find frequencies of 1-2 answers for narrated. 61 CODING--continued Sum all means from questions (Instruction) 1-3, 5-9, 13, 15, 18, 19 for the narrated version. Find mean of means and variance of means. Sum all means from questions 1-3, 5-9, 13, 15, 18, 19 for the cinema verite version. Find means of means and variance of means. Calculate whether there is a significant difference between total means with a t-test. Sum all means from questions (Persuasion) 4, 10-12, 14, 16, 20-21, 24-28 for the narrated version. Find mean of means (grand mean) and variance of means. Sum all means from questions 4, 10-12, l4, 16, 20-21, 24-28 for the cinema verité version. Find mean of means (grand mean) and variance of means. Calculate whether there is a significant difference between total means with a t-test. APPENDIX B QUESTIONNAIRE Please DO NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACE ......CZéE;_. 3. (6. 10. 62 What did Larry, the laid-off worker, have to sell in order to support his family? (Choose all correct answers) a) his car 5) his boat (canoe) c) his camper d) his house How much would Blue Cross cost per month for Larry 5 his family? a) $300.00 5) $175.00 c) $100.00 a) $67.00 What type of health insurance did Larry find he had to rely on for hie family? a) Student insurance b) Blue Cross c) Medicaid d) none of these In your opinion, howwell-qualified was Larry to find another job? a) very well-qualified b) qualified enough c) not very well- qualified d) not qualified at all Did Larry agree with what the man at the Department of Social Services had to say about minimum wage vs. ADC (welfare)? a) Yes b) No Did Larry pay for his own gas while working on his Real Estate job? a) Yes b) No From where was Larry laid-off? a) Oldsmobile b) Motor Wheel c) Chevrolet d) Owens-Illinois How long do set-up procedures take at the factory? a) 1 hour b) 3 hours c) 1/2 of a work shift d) 20 minutes What sometimes happens after re-setting the machines? (Choose all correct answers) a) They break down b) They're not used c) They re-set them to original position Have unions helped recently to promone the quality of work in factories? a) Yes b) No 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 63 -2- Do you think Larry will succeed in Real Estate? a) Yes. he is making a conscienteous effort to do well. b) No, he does not seem to be working very hard at it. Is there something Larry could have done to avoid the conse- quences of being laid-off? a) Yes What? b) No Was Larry being paid for his Real Estate work? a) Yes b) No Did Larry have to live on either minimum wage or ADC (welfare) or could he have got a better job?n a) He had to live on minimum wage or ADC. Why? b) He could have got a better job. How? Who claims minimum wage would be more than ADC (welfare) most of the time? a) Larry b) Leonard den Router, the man from the Department of Social Services c) Jean Coin. the union rep d) None of these Do you feel sorry for Larry? a) Yes Why? b) No Why not? Do you think management did an adequate job in planning ahead for small cars? a) Yes b) No Why is it important to plan ahead for each shift? a) More orders can be filled and fewer jobs are lost. b) The workers will be better informed as to what to do. c) The workers won't feel like they are wasting time. Does Larry think he could live better on minimum wage or welfare (ADC)? a) Minimum wage b) welfare (ADC) Is it reasonable to-expect Larry to support his family on minimum wage? a) Yes Why? b) No Why not? 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 64 -3- Do you think Larry had reason to feel ungualified for many jobs? a) Yes, go to # 22 b) No, go to # 23 Why? a) After 8 years in a factory, he is not left with many qualifications. b) He has nor had enough schooling. c) Both of these d) Other Why not? a) He could get a job anyway - and live on that income. 5) His schooling would be sufficient for a lot jobs. c) Both of these d) Other To what degree do you think management is to blame for Larry's situation? - a) completely b) mostly c) some d) a little e) not at all To what degree do you think the union is to blame for Larry's Situation? a) completely b) mostly c) some d) a little e) not at all To what degree do you think Larry is to blame for his own situation? a) completely b) mostly c) some d) a little e) not at all How fair is it that Larry had to sell his leisure vehicle(s) in order to get money to live on? a) very fair - He should have known it was coming. b) fair enough - At least he had something to sell. c) not very fair - It must have been rough after working so hard to be able to afford them d) not fair at all - Ee deserved to keep them no matter what. Bow fair is it that Larry had to sell his home and move his family to a smaller rental property that he owned? a) very fair - He should have expected it. b) fair enough - At least he had the rental house to move into. c) not very fair : To change his lifestyle like that must have been hard. d) not fair at all - He deserved to keep both houses. Who is the most to blame for Larry's situation? a) Larry b) Management c) The union 31. 32, 33. “O 35. 65 -4- Who is the least to blame for Larry' situation? a) Larry b) Management c) The union What is your sex? a) Female b) Male What is the name of your high school? What city is your high school in? Has anyone in your family (other than students) been laid-off from his or her job in the past Z-years? a) Yes Who? 5) No how does Michigan's unemployment situation moare to that in other states? Michigan's is... a) The worst b) Among the worst c) Pretty bad d) About the same as others e) Nor as bad as most APPENDIX C SCRIPTS 66‘ CIXEKA VERITE' VIDEO AUDIO TIME Larry's House Natural Sound 00:00 4329 Kathy feeding baby, Larry watches Natural Sound 5:00- 11:39 Larry walking in snow Natural Sound 18:00- 25:15 Larry in Livingroom Larry: I agent 8% years in a 25:16- 1:03:22 Kathy and baby Larry factory and I'm out on the st- reet with a z-month old baby and, uh. I'm 'bout ready to run out of unemployment and I've gone down and asked for welfare and food stamps and they tell me that I have to sell every- thing I own to get 'em. 1355 they have Haitians and Cubans comin' in the country; the minu- te they hit shore. 'bwam”, they get the check, clothes, place to live. Where's the Jus- tice? You know. I have to sell everything I worked almost, you know, X number of years to get; houses, cars, boats. 0k. there's some of those things I don't need, like that fishin' boat. 'n stuff. VIDEO Larry cont'd. CG: "Unemployed" Super over Kathy & Larry listening, 67 AUDIO TIME But I worked hard to get it. Now I have to sell it in order to feed my child? lot fair, not fair at all e Kathy with baby Larry listening Kathy Larry Kathy feeding baby Larry No Sound 1:03:23- 1:12:14 Kathy: Jhen he first got laid 1:12:15- 1:“1319 off I got pretty upset about it and then I- he could bump back in at that time and so, he did. He bumped back in and went to work as a forklifter, but then right- eeee after that he was laid off again, so... It was pretty scary. I knew we had our Blue Cross still then, so I knew the baby would be covered through that. And he'd get unemployment, so... It wasn't quite as scary as it is now.myoggknow. I Larry: Well. I sold the canoe, 1sh1320- 2:19:10 sellin' my car because it'll help eliminate some debts, uh... I have to worry 'bout feedin' him, his medical care and her- our care, you know. Our Blue Cross expires in June. And if VIDEO Larry cont'd. 68 AUDIO TIES we want to renew it, it costs us $175.00 a month for 3 of us. Just no way, you know: can't pay that. So what would I do if we had an emergency - if one of us gets in an accident or something? I guess I'll Just have to hope for the best. Turn to the govern- ment, whoever else can aid, you know. Kathy & Larry Kathy: The only thing we can do 2:19:11- wide shot 2:27:00 is hope that we can get Medicaid through welfare, you know, to cover. take care of him (baby), at least. Larry's former Larry: I've got my house up for 2:27:01- house h:h1:02 Food stamp window Larry walking up to rental house sale. Uh, we've since applied for welfare. We're gonna find out Pri- day whether or not we're gonna get it. We've already received some food stamps, uh... They're a real thrill to take into the store. too. Uh, we are... I went to the barber yesterday and gave him the honour of getting my last 35.00. 133g; geeee_move into my rental house. It's not much of a house. It's VIDEO Larry cont'd. Larry's former house Olds plant Larry Close-up of baby, zoom-out to Kathy 69 iiAUDIo TIME 500 square feet. Uh, one bed- room. And we have a little baby boy and it's gonna by cozy there, but, uh, the payments there are 3200.00 less a month and we can get by over there but we're not gettin' by on our current house. The payments are... They aren't that big. If I was workin', that'd be no problem at all. But they're Jist, Jist too big when you're not working. I tried to get into Oldsmobile on the ap- prenticeship down there. Q9. 2222 told me to go down to school. take some math classes and come back in 6 months and try it all over again... I thought it was a polite way of tellin' me I wasn't good enough for 'em. So I didn't you know, I thought, what the heck. If I go back to school, take 6 more months of math and go back down there and they tell me ”no" all over again, what was the point? Christmas was kind of bleak this year. Course we had a new baby and we wanted Christmas VIDEO Larry cont'd. Larry Larry walking outside Lana Wagner brokerage Larry Larry out in snow 70 5] Aunlo TI: to be really special and I Just decided that, after the hol- idays, after I got through party- ing, after Christmas and New Year's, that I was going to look for a Job. And I - my brother-in-law works at Olds and he's got 3 or u houses that he rents out so I'm kind of interested in Real Estate. And that's the first thing I've ever found in my life that I'm really interested in and I feel that I might be good at. So I persued it. I went to a few brokers around town and asked 'em. you know, if they would sponsor me. And then I went and took a class. I_geg leeky and passed the exam the first time and uh, got a license, so. You know. Real Estate, you're more or less your own boss. If you don't want to work hard at it, you're not gonna make any money. Well. I'm Just gettin' started. I'm ou know, drivin' my gas, I'm you know. I'm doin' everything on my own. I'm not gettin paid VIDEO Larry cont'd. Kathy & baby Larry: Zoom out to Kathy & baby Ingham Co. Dep't. of Social Services, Exterior. door, and interior Leonard den Router In office Application form 71 AUDIO 31113 for it. She's helping me a little bit as far as, you know, business cards and stuff like that. Kathy: I don't want to get a Job. 4:h1:03- 4:58:20 I don't want to leave my child, you know. I had to go through a lot to get him and I don't want to be zway from him... I'm not skilled. So I don't think I could make enough money to make it worth- while to leave home. Larry: But, at any rate, in 7 0:58:21- 5:09:12 weeks I have to feed him, and Real Estate or no Real Estate, I'll probably end up pumpin' gas, deliverin pizzas, whatever it takesleyggegnow. Natural Sound 5:09:13- 5:21:06 Leonard den Houter: If they have 5:21:07- 5:57:06 more equity in a trailor or a cam- per or a boat than $1,000.00 or other assets together with the trailor. camper or boat exceed 31,000.00 they would be eXpected to utilize the resource of their trailor first which would be to sell it. There are sage exceptions to that such as your home is ex- VIDEO Leonard den Houter cont'd. Leonard den Houter In office 72 AUDIO empt if you happen to own a home and live in the home and in that case we don't get into the equity that you have in the home. But, if you were to move out of the home and be living someplace else, then that would no longer be the home in which you're residing and we'd look at it in terms of the equity that's available. Larry and listener Larry: I'm gonna flat out lie to 5:57:07 6:02:02 'em. I'm gonna tell 'em I don't own a damn thing. Leonard den Houter Leonard den Houter: Minimum wage 6:02:03- and listener 6:06:25 in office would be more than ADC the vast majerity, if not all; of the tileeL Larry and Kathy Larry: You know, in, a, in, a 6:06:26- Wide Shot 6:25:09 guy in my position with a family, it's totally unfeasable to get a £3.00/hour Job. In my position I'd be better off to sit back on my laurels and draw welfare be- cause 33.00/hour, that don't pay nothin'. I might as well draw welfare and not work a lick. 73 VIDEO AUDIO PIKE Motor wheel natural Sound 6:25:10- factory exterior 6:22j01 Rotor Wheel Jean Coin: Uh, we had, uh, 6:29:02- factory exterior 6:03:27 (cont'd)/Jean Larry Assembly line Larry approximately 800 Jobs that was moved right out of Lansing. But they're seyin' they can man the plant at the, uh, current level of around 1100. And they're trying to prove it. Larry: And the proceedure's been 6:43:28- 7:25:26 the same in every plant: cut back the work force. Modernize where they can eliminate Jobs. You know, uh, take advantage of the situation as best they can. And to heck with who's workin' there. To heck if they have kids to feed. To heck if they have medical bills to keep up or anything. They don't care. They're a big corporate. rhey're a conglomerate. They don't care 'bout nothin' but tax write-offs and their liabilities and assets, period. They don't care who Larry Austin is. They don't care who Joe Blow is. They... Bankbook, period. Stockholders... that's the main thing. VIDEO Dan in yard Larry: Honda Sign Jean Coin Farm machinery & equipment Jean Assembly line 74 AUDIO TIRE Dan: Uh, overall I believe we've 7:25:27- 7:38:14 gone from about 2800 down to a figure of some where around 950. Anywhere from 900 to 950. Larry: Consequently we taught the 7:38:15- 7:50:19 Japanese our way of thinking and. bgy1 the Japanese are beatin' us at our own game. As far as lim- iting imports, that's not gonna stop it. we have to learn to lick our own_problees. Jean: I think management have 7:50:20- 8:19:02 probably done about as lousy a Job of keeping in tune with what's going on in the world as anything in the world. If our farming in- dustry would have done the same, we wouldn't have farmers today. the - they recggnized that they had to modernize - that they had to get rid of 20 people out in the field, and they did through modernization. eee_;_don't see where we've done that ae ell hezg. Dan: Like I said, it takes 3 or b 8:19:03- 8:“9:2“ hours, some of 'em, the change- over - you change them over and not run a piece. The 2nd or 3rd VIDEO Dan cont'd. Dan Jean & listener Exterior of Motor :‘meel Jean Union sign, ”Local 182" 75 AUDIO TIES shift will come in following you, change it to something else with- out running a piece, and then, and some cases change right back again. And that management should have a schedule or have the foresight to try to, uh, line eeeee up 'cause every time you set the Job, it costs them money and the end re- sult is Jobs. Jean: Ihose 800 lost their Jobs 8:h9:25- 9:10:27 simply because of-again-of the lack of modernization in that area. I think that if, uh, man- agement would take the erofits that certainly they were makin' in the good days and had put it back in- to their own industry here in the United States, we wouldn't be in the position we're in now. Dan: I mean if you haven't got 9:10:28 9:20:27 the orders, you certainly aren't gonna employ a full work force togproduce nothin'. Larry: I think, I do think our 9:20:28- 10:04:10 union is wrong in one reSpect, and that is letting our company- since I've been laid off I know of VIDEO Larry cont'd. Assembly line Larry-wide shot Zoom In to Larry Jean Assembly line 76 AUDIO SIZE many instances where our - our people in that shop have worked 10, 12 hours a day, Saturdays and Sundays, lots of overtime. Tow why they couldn't stop all that and work a flat no hours a week and get a few people back to work, IJ I don't know. But, I, like I said, our union leadership down there is - they're a big Joke. And I don't care who hears it. I hope they all hear what I got to say. I don't know about union leadership in other factories, but in our particular instance, they're Just a bunch of political bozos. Jean: That's probably one of the 10:00:11- 10:3h:21 saddest things that can happen to us. Our contract doesn't allow us to get a handle on, uh, excessive overtime. And while I don't like all the overtime that's going on, I. I don't think that I would feel comfortable working under a con- tract that would absolutely stop them from any overtime because I would, uh, personally I'd feel VIDVO Jean cont'd. 77 AUDIO TIME that we're gamblin' an awful Jean lot, thatI uh, we're gonna lose contracts if we don't fill 'em. Mike Hike: They'll take a darn guy that 10:34:22- Zoom in on Larry Assembly line Jean UAW Exterior 10-56:05 comes in there late every single day or will call in sick all the time or will take too much time off or will Just do whatever he wants or will stand right there in the aisle-way smokin' dope or drinkin' or whatever it might be and those guys'll get fired right on the spot and the union'll get 'eegback. Larry: Well, uh, as far as I'm 10:56:06 11:06:15 concerned the union I belong to, the union I belong to is, uh, worthless. Jean: Certainly the union has got 11:06:16- 11:31:20 to take s-uh-some blame. We, uh, we've placed restrictions where we shouldn't have, possibly, such as, uh, this is my Job and I don't have to do anything else or no one else can do it-restrictive types of things in that line we have placed on management. Larry: The guys that are on the 11:31:21- 11:b9:2h committee and the president of the local Jist-their main concern "IDEO Larry cont'd. Jean Larry Dan 78 AUDIO is their own goals, their own... This is my opinion of course. May be wrong, may be right. But the way I view 'em is mainly what they're lookin' out for is them- selves. Jean: Well, I've never been on welfare so I don't know how that operates but, uh, unemployment ain't gonna last forever. Once it's gone, it's... You're in troub- le. And welfare I never. I never applied so I don't know. I can't visualize settin' home Jist drawie: welfare. Larry: See, they don't care if you get into a Job that you might like, that you might excell in, that you might enJoy, that might be profitable. They don't care about any of that. They want you to get into a Job, period, to get off uneepleyment,_period. Dan: Well, uh, I'm always in the market for a Job, or a better Job. But 20 years is awful hard to Just give up and say, "I-I won't return to work." That's not ZINE 11:49:25- 12:10:10 12:10:11- 12:26:10 12:26:11- 12:43:07 79 "IDEO AUDIO TINE Dan cont'd. so. If they call me back, I'll ggo back there. Jean Jean: And when we get finished 12:“3:08- 12:53:17 with the modernization, we should be back up to around 1600, which still gives us 1200 laid off. Larry: Larry: Hopefully Motor Wheel'll 12:53:18- 13:04:04 0811 me back someday and, uh, you know, and then I can maybe work Real Estate on the side, work in the shop. I don't really want to go back to Motor wheel... Credits supered 13:0“:05- over Mike, Natural Sound 13:18:11 Kathy & Larry Fade to Beds Sound black 80 NARRATED VIDEO AEDIO TIES ”Unemployed” None ‘ 00:00- super 5:26 Zoom out from Flag Narrator: With the state of 5:22- 22:2 Michigan's economy as it is, to Motor dheel Bldg. in front of it is no wonder the number of Narrator Motor Wheel unemployment and welfare rec- ipients has so increased in the past few years. I talked with Larry Austin who was laid off from Motor wheel of Lansing, about a_year ago. Larry in Livingroom Larry: I Spent 8i years in a 22:25- 1:02:12 Kathy and baby Larry factory and I'm out in the st- reet with a 2:22223 old baby and, uh. I'm 'bout ready to run out of unemployment and I've gone down and asked for welfare and food stamps and they tell me that I have to sell every- thing I own to get 'em. 3229 EQey_have Haitians and Cubans comin' in the country: the min- ute they hit shore, 'bwam", they get the check, clothes, place to live. where's the Jus- VIDEO Larry cont'd. Larry listening 8] AIDIQ TIME tice? You know, I have to sell everything I worked almost, you know, X number of years to get: houses, cars, boats. Ok, there's some of those things I don't need, like that fishin' boat, 'n stuff. But I worked hard to get it. Now I have to sell it in order to feed my child? Not fair, not feir atgell. Narrator: Larry didn't ask to be 1:02:13- 1:10:06 laid off. He, his wife Kathy and their little baby had to accept the unavoidable consequen- ces s Narrator "over the Narrator: Kathy, you were preg- 1:10:07- shoulder" 1:15:00 of Kathy nant when Larry was first laid off. What was your first react- ion? How didgyou feel about it? Kathy with baby Kathy: When he first got laid 1:15:01- 1:06:22 Larry listening Kathy off I got pretty upset about it and then I-he could bump back in at that time and so, he did. He bumeed back in and went to work as a forklifter, but then right- eeee after that he was laid off again, so... It was pretty Scary. VIDEO Kathy cont'd. larrator in front of Larry's former house Cutaway of Larry & family in Livingroom CG: Income=S300/mo. Blue Cross=31Z§gmo. Remainder to live on=§125/mo. Kathy and Larry listening 82 ADDIO TIME I knew we had our Blue Cross still then, so I knew the baby would be covered through that. And he'd get unemployment, so... It wasn't quite as scary as it is now, ypu know. Narrator: As you can see. both 1:h6:23- 2:27:21 Kathy and Larry were upset about their situation. Larry, after being on unemployment for a year, found he had to sell all the things he'd worked so hard to get such as his canoe. his car and even his house. 22125 completely_res- pcnsible for himself and his fam- ily, Larry could not count on parents' medical plan or inexpen- sive Student Health Insurance. 318 income on welfare was to be less than $300.00 per month, or 375.00 per week for 3 people. Blue Cross is 3175.00 per month for 3 people. As a result, his one and only hope for insurance would be Medicaid. Narrator: You may be wondering 3:06:12- 3:1“:25 whether Larry has tried to get VIDE Yarrator cont'd. Olds Plant Larry 83 AUDIO PIKE another Job. After 8 years in a factory, his qualifications are not numerous. Larry: I_£yeee to get into 3:1h:26- 3:“7809 Oldsmobile on the apprentice- ship down there. 52. 22%! told me to go down to school, take some classes and come back in 6 months and try it all over again... I thought it was a polite way of tellin' me I wasn't good enough for 'em. So I didn't you know, I thought. what the heck. If I go back to school, take 6 more months of math and go back down there and they tell me "no" all over again, what was thegpoint? Larry walking Narrator: But Larry wasn't 3:h7:10- outside 3:51:03 discouraged by this. He kept 13111118; Larry Larry: And I - my brother-in- 3:51:0h- :22:29 Larry walking outside law works at Olds and he's got 3 or b houses that he rents out so I'm kind of interested in Real Estate. And that's the first thing I've ever found in my life VIDEO Larry cont'd Lana Wagner brokerage Larry 84 AUDIO that I'm really interested in and I feel that I might be good at. $0 I pursued it. I went to a few brokers around town and asked 'em, you know, if they would sponsor me. And then I went and took a class. I got lucky and passed the exam the first time and uh, got a license, so. You know. Real Estate, you're more or less your own boss. If you don't want to work hard at it, you're not gonna make any money. well, I'm just gettin' started. Larry walking Narrator: He's even willing to 4:23:00- outside 4:32:08 put what little money he does have into buying his own gas while not being paid a cent. And as for his wife, Kathy... Wide shot: Kathy: I don't wnat to get a job. 4:32:09- zoom in to Kathy 4:50:05 I don't want to leave my child, VIDEO Kathy cont .ds Larry: Zoom out to Kathy & baby Narrator in front of Ingham Co. D.S .3 o Bldg. Leonard den Houter In office Application form 85 AUDIO TIME you know. I had to go through a lot to get him and I don't want to be away from him... I'm not skilled. So I don't think I could make enough money to make it worth- while to leave home. Larry: But, at any rate, in 7 4:50:06 5:00:03 weeks I have to feed him, and Real Estate or no Real Estate, I'll probably end up pumpin' gas, deliverin pizzas, whatever it ytgkes, you know. Karrator: Leonard den Houter, of 5:00:0h 5:10:19 the Department of Social Services was asked what belongings would have to be sold in order to re- ceive welfare. Leonard den Houter: If they have 5:10:20- 5:22:22 more equity in a trailor or a cam- per or a boat than $1,000.00 or other assets together with the trailor, camper or boat exceed 31,000.00 they would be expected to utilize the resource of their trailor first which would be to sell it. There are soee exceptions to that such as your home is ex- VIDEO Leonard den Houter cont'd. Leonard den Houter In office Narrator "over the shoulder" of Larry Farrator in front 86 .AVDIOII, TIME empt if you happen to own a home and live in the home and in that case we don't get into the equity that you have in the home. ButI if you were to move out of the home and be living someplace else, then that would no longer be the home in which you're residing and we'd look at it in terms of the equity that's available. Larry: I'm gonna flat out lie to 5:22:23- 5:57:29 'em. I'm gonna tell 'em I don't own a damn thiggg, Narrator: Although Mr. den Houter 5:58:00- Ingham Co. D.S.S. 6:07:23 Bldg. claims that minimum wage would be more than ADC most of the time, the man who may have to live on one of these, sees it differentIy. Wide shot of Larry: You know, in, a, in, a 6:07:2u- Larry & Kathy 6:26:22 guy in my position with a fam- ily, it's totally unfeasable to get a S3.00/hour Job. In my pos- ition I'd be better off to sit back on my laurels and draw wel- fare because 33.00/hour, that don't pay nothin'. I might as well draw welfare and not work a lick. 87 VIDEO AUDIO TIM; Motor Wheel sign: Yarrator: Motor wheel of Lansing 6:26:23- tilt and pan to 6:h2:08 workers is an average sized auto access- ories manufacturing firm. Just, how bad is the unemployment sit- uation there? I asked Jean Coin, union representative for Lansing's Motor Wheel. Motor Wheel factory Jean: Uh. we had, uh, approx- 6:h2:09- exterior 6:58:02 Narrator & Jean imately 800 Jobs that was moved right out of Lansing. But (cont'd)/Jean they're sayin' they can man the plant at the, uh, current level of around 1100. And they're trying_togprove it. Larry Larry: And the proceedure's been 6:58:03- 7:39:10 Assembly line Larry the same in every plant: cut back the work force. Modernize where they can eliminate Jobs. You know, uh, take advantage of the situation as best they can. And to heck with who's workin' there. To heck if they have kids to feed. To heck if they have medical bills to keep up or anything. They don't care. They're a big corporate. They're a conglomerate. They don't care VIDEO Larry cont'd. Dan in yard Assembly line Larry Isuzu truck Larry Jean farm equipment 88 AUDIO 'bout nothin' but tax write-offs and their liabilities and assets, period. They don't care who Larry Austin is. They don't care who Joe Blow is. They... Bankbook, period. Stockholders... that's thew thing. Dan: Uh, overall I believe we've gone from about 2800 down to a figure of some where around 950. Anywhere free_200 to 950. Narrator: This reduction in workers is a result of fewer orders. But why fewer orders? Management didn't_p;en ahead. Larry: Consequently we taught the Japenese our way of thinkin' and boy the Japanese are beatin' us at our own game. As far as limiting imports, that's not gonna stop it. We have to learn to lick our own IprobIee§3 Jean: I think management have probably done about as lousy a Job of keeping in tune with what's going on in the world as anything in the world. If our farmieg in- H H (11 7:39:15- 7:51:23 7:51:24- 8:00:26 8:00:27- 8:12:22 8:12:23- 8:41:14 VIDEO Jean cont'd. Jean Jean Flag: pan to Motor Wheel Bldg. (continue video from last byte) Assembly line 89 «AUDIQ TIME dustry would have done the same, we wouldn't have farmers today. They-they recognized that they had to modernize - that they had to get rid of 20 people out in the field, and they did through modern- ization. And I don't see where we've done that at gll_hereL Dan: I mean if you haven't got 8:h1:15- 8:“9:23 the orders, you certainly aren't gonna employ a full work force to produce nothin'. Jean: I think that if, uh, man- 8:“9:2a- 9:03:2h agement would take the profits that certainly they were makin' in the good days and had put it back into their own industry here in the United States, we wouldn't be in the position we're in now. Narrator: Dan explained that set- 9:03:25- 9:23:15 up proceedures take up, one-half of one shift's work time. Occasionally they will not even use that set-up and it must be reset for the next shift, which means no production for that shift. But, apparently, management is not VIDEO Narrator cont'd. Larry "Union business only" sign Jean Assembly line 90 AUDIO TIES the only one to blame for lay- offs. Nhat about unions? Larry: I think. I do think our 9:23:16- 10:07:03 union is wrong in one respect, and that is letting our company- since I've been laid off I know of many instances where our - our people in that shop have worked 10, 12 hours a day, Saturdays and Sundays, lots of overtime. Now why they couldn't stop all that and work a flat ho hours a week and get a few people back to work, I. I don't know. But, I, like I said, our union leadership down there is - they're a big Joke. And I don't care who hears it. I hape they all hear what I got to say. I don't know about union leadership in other factories, but in our particular instance, they're Just a bunch of political bozos. Jean: That's probably one of the 10:07:0u- 10:37:18 saddest things that can happen to us. Our contract doesn't allow us to get a handle on, uh, excessive overtime. And while I don't like 91 "I330 AUDIO TIRE ___ Jean cont'd. all the overtime that's going on, I, I don't think that I would feel comfortable working under a con- tract that would absolutely stop them from any overtime because I would, uh, personally I'd feel that we're gamblin' an awful Jean lot, thatI uh, we're gonna lose contracts if we don't fill 'em. Assembly line Narrator: Unions have not helped 10:37:19- 10:b6:11 the quality of work in factories which is indeed a cause of de- creased sales and increased lay- offs. Mike Mike: They'll take a darn guy 10:h6:12- . 11:07:15 that comes in there late every single day or will call in sick all the time or will take too much time off or will Just do whatever he wants or will stand right there in the aisle-way smokin' dope or drinkin' or whatever it might be and those guys'll get fired right on the spot and the union'll get 'em_§§ck. Inside union bldg. Larry: As far as I'm concerned, 11:07:16- 11:40:06 the union I belong to is, uh, 92 ‘VIDEO AUDIO TIME Larry cont'd. - Larry worthless. And as far as unions in general, I think they've reached their peak in our society. Dhey were good in the 00's. But now they need to mellow out a little bit1,IIguess we could say. Assembly line Jean: Certainly the union has got 11:40:06- 12:05:10 to take s-uh-some blame. He, uh, we've placed restrictions where we shouldn't have possibly such as, uh, this is my Job and I don't have to do anything or no one else can do it. and restrictive types of things in that line we have placed on mane ement.g, Larry Larry: The guys that are on the 12:05:11- 13:23:14 committee and the president of the local Jist-their main concern is their own goals, their own... This is my opinion of course. May be wrong, may be right. But the way I view 'em is mainly what they're lookin' out for is them- selves. Jean Jean: Well. I've never been on 12:23:15- welfare so I don't know how that 12:39.00 Operates but, uh, unemployment ain't gonna last forever. Once VIDEO Jean cont'd. Larry Jean Larry 93 I__AQQIO it's gone, it's... You're in trouble. And welfare I never applied so I don't know. I can't visualize settin' home Jist drawin' welfare. Larry: See, they don't care if you get into a Job that you might like, that you might excell in, that you might enjoy, that might be profitable. they don't care about any of that. ?hey want you to get into a Job, period, to get off unemployment,gperiod. Dan: Well, uh, I'm always in the market for a Job, or a better Job. But 20 years is awful hard to Just give up and say, "I-I won't return to work.” Ehat's not so. If they call me back. I'll go back there; Jean: And when we get finished with the modernization, we should be back up to around 1600, which still give§_gs 1200 laid off. Larry: Hopefully Motor Nheel'll call me back someday and, uh, you know, and then I can maybe work TI 1'13 12:39:01- 12:55:00 12:55:01- 13:11:27 13:11:28- 13:22:09 13:22:10- 13:32:26 94 VIDEO AUDIO IIhi Larry cont'd. Real Estate on the side, work in the shop. I don't really want to so back to Motor Jheel... In front of Iarrator: Larry is one man among 13:32:27- Larry's rental house 13,u5,75 many, but his situation seems to be representative of how the failing auto industry is affecting it's individual workers todayg» Credits over Larry and Mike & Kathy Yatural Sound 13:u5:26- in Livingroom 13:58:1u Iade to Black Tade Sound