MovieChat Forums > Salesman (2021) Discussion > Keep in mind, a cameraman was always pre...

Keep in mind, a cameraman was always present

posted 13 years ago by jwalsh67
8 replies | jump to latest

'Salesman' was an intriguing, often intense film that benefited preponderantly from its true-to-life form. Neither the salespeople nor the customers were actors. I have to ask myself, however, did the presence of the film crew interfere with anything? Were we really seeing people in their unadulterated, natural state? For example, we got to ride in the car with one of the salesmen. He started singing "If I Were a Rich Man" and lamented out loud about his situation. It was easy to forget that a man operating a clumsy camera was in his face riding shotgun. Also, when people were being pushed by the salesmen to make a purchase, sure, it may have felt like we were eavesdropping on a private, pivotal circumstance, but truth be told, the living room was housing a film crew (as skeletal as it may have been). The same was true when we saw the disgruntled men in the tiny motel rooms. Half the room was being occupied by one or more of the Maysles. When a salesman knocked on a door and was let in, it was hardly as instantaneous as it appeared that the conversation began. The people had to agree to let both the salesman and the cameraman/crew inside, things had to get set up, and it had to be explained to these potential customers that a film was being made. This was NOT 'Candid Camera'. I'm not saying that the film didn't work--it did. It made the point better than any acted film could have. It just has to be taken with a tiny grain of salt for the aforementioned reasons.

He who conquers himself is mightier than he who conquers a city.

[–] flern 13 years ago

Fantastic point! Amazingly, you are probably the first person to make this realization in the more than 40 years since this documentary was first seen, and you taking the time out to share your unique and fantastic insight will no doubt change the way this film is viewed from now on with a whole new perspective based on your keen observation.

[–] jwalsh67 13 years ago

Flern, thank you for your reply. I will give you the benefit of the doubt and assume that you were not being sarcastic. :)

He who conquers himself is mightier than he who conquers a city.

[–] jac91604 12 years ago

I don't think he was being sarcastic jwalsh, that was a great post.

It is interesting that they seem to forget or don't care about the cameras.

[–] LTUM 12 years ago

i think flern was being sarcastic. smart@ss is more like it

but i thought the same thing as you while i watched it. i thought, how can this be fly on the wall when it was all laid out and they knew the camera was there. that fact alone had to influence the responses, words.

in this respect i feel cheated a bit. but i do like the slice of life feel, and the time capsule element of seeing daily life in 1968. but i can't say it doesn't leave a loose end in the back of my mind.

incidently this is the same thing i always think with any 'reality' TV show these days, and which is why i don't like them that much. seems disingenuous.

i for one am not fan of the huge reality craze that swept over the country after survivor in 2000 (i recall the whole movement's evolution very clearly)

btw, for anyone interested, there is a similar doc about JFK where they follow him around with a camera. it's good too

"Cos... f__k's sake, who'd wanna keep trying to shoot a nice guy like me?" ---XXXX

[–] TermlnatriX 10 years ago

Documentarians can follow their subjects for an entire YEAR just for the subjects to get comfortable and finally forget about the camera. It's a known technique. As far as the sales themselves - the people get to know they're gonna be filmed and so they either agree or disagree to let the crew in? So I wouldn't know, but I don't know how that can be staged - those guys just sell while the people listen and respond while being filmed. They may have basic directions like "dont look into camera" when you respond, other than that all of that seems to be raw.

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[–] GuyOnTheLeft 10 years ago

Your point is a good one as concerns people who get used to documentarians following them around. It runs into trouble with the people who are being called on, however. I'm not sure how scrupulous they were back then about getting permissions, so some of the people who just said "no" right off the bat may have been relatively candid (though even then, it might make them more likely to give the cold shoulder, when seeing the camera). When they are receiving the pitch, though, it's hard to imagine they are reacting the same as if it was a regular sales call with no camera crew.

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[–] Eponymous-too 10 years ago

I was surprised by the number of women that agreed to go on camera with their hair in curlers. They couldn't have had much notice. My mother wouldn't let anyone see her while curlers were in her hair.

"My name is Paikea Apirana, and I come from a long line of chiefs stretching all the way back to the Whale Rider."

[–] raymondunc 9 years ago

Not that I liked it or even necessarily noticed much, but girls would wear curlers to school if they had a big event that evening or had mothers who didn't care how humiliated their child was. But this was more of an event than what you saw in the film.

Women routinely wore curlers to the grocery store or just outside for any reason. It was nothing to see a woman in curlers in her home. Most everyday women couldn't afford a beauty parlor so they 'fixed' their own hair. They didn't want to lose any curl, nor did they want to chance the wind or child messing up their hair as they would not the have time to do it again. Hair dryers were pretty much a luxury in most circles. Also keep in mind hair was, on average, worn much longer back than compared to what you see today.

Now, a woman would not want to be seen in curlers, assuming they still wear them. But I don't think the women wearing curlers in the film were out of place at all.

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