Point of Order

Emile de Antonio's film Point of Order is a compilation film in that it uses found footage that has already been shot. I feel as if de Antonio utilizes the performative mode of documentary film making in Point of Order because he uses a mix of various documentary modes. The expository mode is used since he presents a logical argument in trying to show that McCarthy and his men are guilty. However, there are no voice overs used except during the introductions, but still it is the actual characters' voices. Due to the fact that there is no voice overs or commentary and that nothing is staged, de Antonio's work also represents the observational mode. The content filmed though is historical and is not rough or amateur looking. Since aspects of the expository mode and observational mode are both used, I feel that the best way to categorize Point of Order is by placing it in the performative mode. Plus, the film raises questions about knowledge. For example, McCarthy claims that he has a list of over 130 people involve with the government, military, or politics that are communist. The question is though, "Does McCarthy really know and have a list of all these communist or is he just trying to gain power by accusing people in the government?" Later, we find out that there really is no list and that McCarthy is simply lying about the entire matter.

I thought it was interesting how de Antonio was able to take 200 hours worth of film, condense it down to 97 minutes, and rearrange the clips to prove his point and show the wrong doings of McCarthy and McCarthy's workers like Roy Cohn. De Antonio never comes out directly and expresses his view point on the matter. Instead, he uses a montage in which he puts a bunch of clips together in order to construct a film that makes the viewer think a certain way.