“Ex Libris: The New York Public Library” Libraries are pillars of democracy. Presented by master Frederick Wiseman

*Information at the time of article publication in May 2019.

“Ex Libris: The New York Public Library” synopsis

A dream destination for librarians around the world, one of New York's most famous tourist spots, and one of the world's largest temples of knowledge. Behind the scenes, you can see why this library is the most famous in the world.

Director Frederick Wiseman is a master documentary film director who has been recording parts of modern society in various places, mainly in the United States, since the 1960s. This time, he chose the New York Public Library, known as one of the world's leading libraries. Operated on an annual budget of over 30 billion yen, it is one of the world's largest "temples of knowledge," consisting of four central libraries and 92 branch libraries.

The running time of ``Ex Libris: The New York Public Library'' is about 3 hours and 25 minutes, just because of the content related to one library. However, once you watch this film, you will understand why it has become so long. Here, I would like to consider the reasons for this, how this film depicts a huge library through director Wiseman's methods, and what emerges from this.

Index

• Frederick Wiseman's eyes
• The existence of a “library” that expands its field
• Libraries become “pillars of democracy”

Frederick Wiseman's eyes

When tackling this kind of subject matter, many documentarians tend to focus on interviews, introducing the grandeur of architecture, its glorious history, and the challenges facing the present and future. However, director Wiseman is not like that, and consistently focuses on ``what is going on there'' and ``sees'' it like a spectator.

“Ex Libris: The New York Public Library” (c)2017 EX LIBRIS Films LLC – All Rights Reserved

Of course, there is the calculation of when, where, and what to photograph. However, in most scenes, Wiseman does not use narration or music to reinforce the meaning of the scene. There is no dramatic atmosphere created by elaborate lighting or composition, and the footage is captured in a very The Natural way. Therefore, the audience feels as if they are also present at the scene and sharing the same moment. A certain kind of asceticism reproduces a reality there. Therefore, the audience actively discovers "meaning" through the images.

“Ex Libris: The New York Public Library” preview

This type of technique was seen in a more radical form in the experimental documentary work shot with a fixed camera by his contemporary, American filmmaker Stan Brakhage. Even the audio is cut out, and the audience who watches Brakhage's footage as it is shown by the camera is free to take whatever they want from it. The approach of ``making the audience think'', which is common to this work, may seem passive, but it can also be said to have a provocative quality.

The existence of a “library” that expands its field