Ethics of documentaries

What is the definition of ethics:

The discipline of dealing with what is good and bad, with moral duty and obligation. A standard of principles determined by an individual.

Documentary makers do have a set of morals referred to as the code of ethics. These are a set of principles to keep their integrity intact. A couple of examples of these codes include: The director must not interfere with the subject's life path, subjects may not be paid for their use in the film, and all parties involved in the film must be given the opportunity to represent themself.

The Jink is renowned for serious controversy in ethics when it was found the director hid evidence against Robert Durst. However many people found outside the film world that they violated the world. Robert Durst was convicted and arrested due to this documentary. Documentary is often very biased and always aims to create an emotion. The subjects themselves give the right to film them, therefore it is not unethical.

'The person behind the camera is just as important as the person in front of the camera. A subject-filmmaker relationship is crucial. Unlike fiction films where every inch of it is manipulated and crafted to whatever the director wants, documentary films are open-ended and inconclusive and more in touch with society, and document the present world; the good and the bad, and how we can change the world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEuMExQoj74&t=424s

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