Response to Hampe Questions

From Raquel's blog:
How do you feel about documentaries that are are re-created, what do you think gets lost in not capturing the real moment?

My response:
Considering that the situation might not have allowed for it to be properly documented (time period, etc.), or that an important event could not have been anticipated by a potential documentarian (sudden catastrophe, etc.), I think that re-enactments can be beneficial, for sure, but that there will inevitably be some problems with it. This isn't to say that the project would be doomed from the start, but there will almost definitely be different interpretations of the event(s) and possibly very important aspects of the event(s) that would be lost due to the re-creation of it. Actors and miniatures can only accomplish so much. To reference some of the earlier readings, the "immediacy" of original footage would likely be lost and the media itself would probably be more apparent as a result.