I also just want to add that, no matter how petty this concern may seem, I imagine those women’s stories are always going to come across differently when a man is behind the camera. I just can’t imagine a scenario in which a woman who has been abused and stalked and terrorized by a man in her life isn’t going to be more than a bit leery of men in general. And we see everyday through a feminist lens how the very presence of a man can change the course of a dialogue – or even a monologue. Although it sounds like Wiseman probably has good intentions, I’d be curious to know how the film might have been handled differently had it been in the hands of a female director – or had it been sparked by a movement created by the women, such as the one in the doc Ames mentions.

I saw the director (Olivia Klaus) speak at a screening and she explained that she originally intended to just create a standard doc. What happened instead is that she got caught up in the movement the women started and the doc has now become part of it as well. Maybe that brings up other issues about the “objectivity” of the film and director and whether that matters. The audience cheered at the end of the doc and many of us filled out postcards to be sent to the prisoners. Additionally, people involved with the doc have stated that they have seen useful reactions after the doc was shown in certain towns.

My synopsis doesn’t begin to convey the experience of seeing this film or the many issues that it brings up; highly recommended if you get a chance. It’s currently being screened on campuses, at festivals, and by legislative and legal groups; or you can get the DVD (though not through NetFlix yet).

It’s a delicate problem. Not allowing parents to consent for their kids to be videotaped would create all kinds of problems, particularly in research. Parents have to make decisions for their kids that the kids, upon becoming adults, might not agree with, the vast majority in good faith-or at least I believe that’s the case. Having said that, I agree with Ms M. As a parent, you are the guardian of your child’s privacy, and we give that precious possession away all too easily these days. Research is one thing; any clown with a camera is something else. Although I wouldn’t put Wiseman in that category at all.

Would you feel differently if the people who appeared on camera had signed consents beforehand? I would be shocked if they hadn’t. That doesn’t preclude regretting having done so later, of course, but it does mean that the women in the film had some control over their appearance and that of their children.

I’m reading a novel called “Atlas of Unknowns” by Tania James in which the morality of documentary filmmaking comes up, although not in the context of domestic violence. I recommend the book.

And yes, I have a similar problem when people post all about their kids all over the internet. That information is out there, and no child will appreciate that coming back to slap them in the face when they are an adult.