The One With a Voice
In Marco Williams documentary piece titled, “Banished” he explored three communities that were “struggling to reconcile their past” (Williams). Williams is known for working with documentaries that are solution-oriented and focus on reconciliation for African American individuals and families who are not given the opportunity to voice their own feelings and thoughts. Williams own experiences facing racial discrimination allows him to share these type of experiences with his subjects he is documenting. William’s voice within his works develops from his location, giving him a reason to want to advocate for others because of his understanding of what they are going through.
However, it takes a lot of strength and bravery on Williams part in working on these films because of the various individuals he is working with. For example, when Williams was talking to a Clans member on the man’s property . Williams posed a question to the man which was, “If I were to move over there beyond your property, would I be accepted?” The man provided a response a long the lines of, “No, no you wouldn’t be because I want to preserve my community cultural” (Williams). This part of the documentary shows both the location of Williams, and also an example of Williams facing discrimination himself while doing his own work. The member is saying that if a man of color were to enter HIS community, it would be “ruining” the communities cultural. In addition, while in conversation with this member Williams questions him by saying, “burning any crosses lately” because of a photo collage William observed. This question shows that William was able to pose an activist based documentary question even while being faced with these discriminatory comments while filming.
Coles writes in “Doing Documentary Work, “––doing documentary work is a journey, and is a little more, too, a passage across boundaries… a passage that can become. quest, Evan a pilgrimage, a movement toward the sacred truth enshrined not only on tablets of stone but in the living hearts of those others whom we can hear, see, and get to understand… we hope to be confirmed in our own humanity–– the creature on this earth whose very nature it is to make just that kid of connection with others during the brief stay we are permitted here” (Coles 145).
This passage connects to the work of Williams because it discussed the idea of documenters connecting to the ones they are observing while documenting. Coles sums up the documentaries responsibility as a way to share stories while also informing the audience. To conclude, Williams as a documenter strives to give justice for the individuals he is documenting because wants to be able to give them that “voice” that they were not be able to have on their own.
