Media Ethics: Issues and Cases 8th Edition by Philip Patterson, Lee Wilkins

Exercise 2

A Question of Role: Is a Documentary Filmmaker a Friend, a Journalist or An Entertainer?
NANCY MITCHELL
University of Nebraska-Lincoln
In 1998, independent filmmaker David Sutherland wrote, produced, directed and edited a story about a young Nebraska farm couple, Juanita and Darrel Buschkoetter and their three daughters. It is a riveting story of the family facing the dual hardships of trying to keep the family farm and the family intact. With more than 200 hours of film shot over three years, Sutherland painted a portrait of the impact of the economic struggles of family life.
Sutherland interviewed 40 families before picking the Buschkoetters. Sutherland showed the couple examples of his work so they knew what they were getting into. During filming, neither Sutherland nor his crew ever became friends with the family. However, he said he did develop a friendship after the project wrapped up.
The series won critical acclaim. The documentary was nominated for four Television Critics Association awards, including Program of the Year. The project also was included in many critics' list for Best of TV for 1998, including the Chicago Tribune, TV Guide and the Boston Globe. Steve Johnson, critic for the Chicago Tribune, called it: "One of the extraordinary television events of the decade. 'The Farmer's Wife' is a breathtaking piece of work, a harrowing intimate love story set against an unforgiving physical and cultural landscape."
David Bianculli, New York Daily News said: "Watching 'The Farmer's Wife' is time very well spent: This is an honest, haunting, unflinching instructive and intimate study of a family that seems doomed to fail, but refuses to give up easily." Ron Miller of The Oregonian, wrote, "Not until this week's 'The Farmer's Wife' has any filmmaker probed so deeply into the heart of an American family with such gut-wrenching results."
The film attracted 18 million PBS viewers when it first aired, making it one of the most watched series in PBS history. The six and one-half-hour documentary aired in three segments. The first segment introduced viewers to the Buschkoetters, who tell the story (without the intrusion of a narrator) of the troubles they face both in their marriage and the risk of losing the farm after years of drought.
The second segment chronicles family life and the relentless challenge to make ends meet and the danger of losing the farm. The loan officer, Hoy Bailey of the USDA, tells the Buschkoetters to ask all the creditors for an extension. In one scene Juanita drives at night to the office of one of the creditors, where she asks for a two-year extension. The creditor, Rich Kucera, listens to her and eventually agrees. The next scene finds Darrel in the kitchen of their home and Juanita arrives home to tell Darrel that Kucera has agreed, reluctantly, to extend their agreement. Darrel comments that he can't believe that Kucera was nice:
DARREL: "He wasn't even nasty?"
JUANITA: "No."
DARREL: "Richard, not nasty? That's a first.... I couldn't even imagine that guy being nice."
In the ensuing scene, Darrel calls Hoy Bailey. The loan officer tells Darrel that all of the extensions have been granted except for one for $100 and without that, they'll lose the farm in a buyout.
DARREL: "You mean $100 would cause a buyout?"
HOY: "Yep."
DARREL: "Don't you think that's a little bit ridiculous? I mean, if it had to be, I could go out and sweep a street and make $100 and eliminate a buyout."
The last episode depicts the resolution of their problems. Darrel harvests a bumper crop but suffers the stress of working his farm and another to make enough money to feed the family. After Darrel lashes out, Juanita takes their girls to her sister and leaves him, but they return after a week or so. Darrel seeks counseling and the couple seems to be saving their farm and their relationship.
Sutherland describes himself as "a portraitist," not an investigative reporter. He said he crafted the film in such a way as to let interactions tell the story without a narrator. Sutherland described the approach as "third person, close up." Sutherland said he had no agenda for the film but added that he was concerned about those being filmed trying to use him to promote their agenda.
In answer to the question of how far he would go to not interfere with the story he said: "If someone's life were in the balance, I'd have come up with the money." Sutherland said Darrel and Juanita's dream of saving the family farm was parallel with his own dreams of creating a documentary that was an intimate portrait with a social issue as a backdrop. To Sutherland, it was important to "talk to them [the subjects] from your heart and not taking advantage of them."
In the final episode, when Juanita left Darrel, Sutherland chose not to follow her even though Juanita gave him permission. Sutherland trusted the story could be told in another way at another time and he eventually captured a summary of the event after the family was reunited.
Response to the series and the publicity led to opportunities for the Buschkoetters. They testified before Congress on the plight of the family farm, traveled on publicity tours and gave speeches. Sutherland stated that the Buschkoetters' girls gained more self-esteem. Sutherland said the project "made me fall in love with America again. It was about people who tried their best. What more could you ask for?"
If you were the producer, would you have lent the Buschkoetters the $100 if doing so meant they wouldn't lose the farm? What does it do to the story if you lend the money? What does it do to the story if you don't lend the money? What does it do to the family?