For decades, documentary filmmaking has acted as a crucial source of journalism, educating the masses about world crises with compelling interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. However, after the death of an Afghani man going by the pseudonym “Justin Bieber” in Matthew Heineman’s Oscar-nominated documentary Retrograde, detailing the last months before the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2020, the ethics of documentary filmmaking are once again under fire.
Unlike the code of ethics used in journalism, documentary filmmaking has a much less defined concept of ethics, with filmmakers often electing to forgo certain journalistic ethical standards to make a more compelling film. The release last month of a Washington Post article detailing the murder of “Justin Bieber,” an Afghani participant in Heineman’s film, as well as revealing that “as many as eight other Afghans whose faces are shown in ‘Retrograde’ remain in hiding”, many are questioning why Heineman and his team did not due more to conceal the identities of Afghani participants.
According to the Post, Retrograde producer Caitlyn McNally decided to show close-up, clear depictions of Afghani participants’ faces “despite warnings from at least five people before Retrograde’s December 2022 debut on the National Geographic Channel and Hulu.” In a strong pushback against recent criticism of the film, both McNally and Heineman argued in a joint statement that “any attempt to blame Retrograde because the film showed faces of individuals in war zones — as has long been standard in ethical conflict reporting — would be deeply wrong.”
However, wide public backlash still resulted in the film being removed from Disney + and Hulu last month, as public outcry continues to rage over allegations that the identities of Afghani participants in Retrograde were not adequately protected.
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