Carleton Marlon Riggs Black Gay Activist and Documentary Filmmaker Discussion

Marlon Rigg’s Tongues Untied is known for its experimental approach to the use of first-person testimony in documentary filmmaking. The question asks you to describe a moment of two from Tongues Untied when people comment on their personal experience. How do the moments you’ve chosen exemplify the film’s use of interviews? In other words, what makes Riggs’ approach to the interviews different from that of an ordinary documentary film?

Be as precise as you can in your description. Describe not only what happens but how it happens. Who is speaking? How is the shot composed? Does the filmmaker cut away to other shots while someone is speaking? In writing your description, use complete, grammatically correct sentences.