Documentary Part 1

Being Elmo: A Puppetters Journey

Bibliography: Being Elmo: A Puppetters Journey. Dir. Constance Marks. Perf. Kevin Clash. Sesame Workshop, 2011. Netflix.

Summary: This film follows the life story of the puppetteer of one of the most recognized and loved puppet in the world, Elmo. It takes a look behind the camera and shows where the magic comes from, in this case its Kevin Clash. Its a heartwarming tale that celebrates the world of puppets and the effect it has had on children, the laughter and happieness that people like Kevin Clash were able to capture in something as insignifigant as a sock with a pair of eyes attached to it. The film touches on various points in Kevin Clash's life that brought him to Elmo. Everything from the love and support provided by his parents, to the ambition and strong will he had to pursue his dream is used in this film to provide inspiration for any. It draws on how puppetering changed Clash's perspective towards human behavior. They constantly go back to the point that a puppeteers goal is to create life within their puppet. In Elmo, Clash managed to embody both a living soul, and all the love and innocence that every child embraces.

Rhetorical Devices:
Pathos/Ethos: Much of this story draws on emotion. The beginning starts off with Clash describing how he had wanted to go to disney world as a child but couldnt because his family couldnt afford it. This gains the audiences sympathy as its established that he had to work for everything he gained in his life. The entire film is based on emotion, hope, and celebration. When Jim Hendricks dies, they show a clip of all of his puppeteer friends singing a song in his honor, He wanted his funeral to be a happy occasion.
Juxtaposition: Even though his family was of poor roots, he showed ambition and potential. It was even mentioned in the documentary how in his school year book he was voted most likely to be a millionare.
Suspense: In the film its described how Clash was offered an opportunity to join Jim Hendricks (his hero) in working on the film Dark Crystal. The audience becomes engrossed in this story, and excited for the new opportunity. The suspense thats created makes the signifigance of the loss he felt when he had to say no all the more evident.
"Parallelism": They come back to various points earlier mentioned in the film. Such as when he finally gets to go to Disney World. The moment is made all the more sentimental when its described how he was becoming friends with his life long hero, Jim Hendricks, and they took a photo together. It makes the impact all the greater when Jim Hendricks dies.