Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple This documentary was the story of the beginning, uprising and fall of the Peoples Temple. Peoples Temple was a religious organization formed by Jim Jones in Indiana in 1955. The church grew over the years and became a community or a family, where the members lived together, and worked together to provide for themselves all of their needs. In a sense it was a cultish commune, which was Jones' aspiration since he was an advocate for communism himself, and was frustrated with the hatred towards communism in the US. The group started out small in Indiana then grew larger as it moved west towards California and then eventually ended in with numbers of people over one thousand in Guyana, a country located in northern South America. A suspicious congressman came in to investigate the organizations suspicious flee to South America. Upon learning that some members of the group wanted to leave, the congressman and others will killed while trying to depart. The documentary explains the background and formation of the organization, and goes on to explain the migration of the church. It tells the story of the message and the hope that these people possessed. The controversy lies in the resulting fate of Peoples Temple. After the congressman was murdered Jones convinces members that they will not get away with what has happened at the only way to escape it and to be free is to kill themselves. On that day 909 men, women, and children committed a mass-suicide in the name of Jim Jones and Peoples temple. Several members were not present that day, several left the community before it got to that point, and very few escaped the day of the massacre. This documentary interviews those survivors in order to give the audience a moving, and intense perception of what really went on with Peoples Temple.
The editing involved still images with motion, cutaways of interviewees and video footage. Audio footage from Jones' sermons, smooth transitions, and text overlays. The raw footage of the people was not good quality because it was recordings from the 70's, however it made it seem more real that it was amateur footage. The shots from the interviews were quite impressive though, I noticed especially during the credits that the lighting just looked good, plain and simple. The music also played a huge part in making this documentary effective. It was a documentary about a mass suicide and a religious cult so the creepy and suspicious music was appropriate. Also, to create the vibes of happiness, joy, and peace that the members of the group felt, songs of happiness that were sung during sermons by the congregation were played throughout the movie. It was overall a very informative and interesting documentary. It took a very intriguing topic and answered every question I had on the subject in a creative and beautiful way. It provoked thought, emotion, and concern on the matter, and I really enjoyed the documentary.
The editing involved still images with motion, cutaways of interviewees and video footage. Audio footage from Jones' sermons, smooth transitions, and text overlays. The raw footage of the people was not good quality because it was recordings from the 70's, however it made it seem more real that it was amateur footage. The shots from the interviews were quite impressive though, I noticed especially during the credits that the lighting just looked good, plain and simple. The music also played a huge part in making this documentary effective. It was a documentary about a mass suicide and a religious cult so the creepy and suspicious music was appropriate. Also, to create the vibes of happiness, joy, and peace that the members of the group felt, songs of happiness that were sung during sermons by the congregation were played throughout the movie. It was overall a very informative and interesting documentary. It took a very intriguing topic and answered every question I had on the subject in a creative and beautiful way. It provoked thought, emotion, and concern on the matter, and I really enjoyed the documentary.