An expository documentary is a type of documentary which puts forward a particular point of view about a subject matter where a commentator speaks directly to the audience. The narrator usually comments on what is happening in the film which is intended to strengthen the point of view being expressed. There are two types of voiceover, these include “the voice of God” which is where we hear the voice of the commentator but don’t see him. The other voiceover is “the voice of authority” which is when we can see and hear the commentator speaking.
This is a news report on the wildfires happening in Maui in Hawaii. It includes a voiceover by the news reporter as commentator and several interviews with residents, including the mayor, about police blocking the roads as they believed the powerlines were being energised. We hear recordings being played from Hawaiin electric, telling the police that the powerlines were not energised. The police however denied this statement. There are interviews with people who experienced the fires.
The clip starts of with a voice of authority explaining the situation. It then changes to a wide shot of all the destruction that happend in the wildfires (the “voice of God” is used during this particular clip) this directs us to have sympathy with the victims and to blame the police. The clip then changes to an interview with a woman who tried to escape from the wildfires, while rescuing her neighbours who got into her car. This allows us to experience it from her point of view. There is a short video of people trying to escape from the wildfires and who had to go in the sea because of traffic jams. The news reporter puts forward a strong view that more should have been done to warn the people of Maui and that the authorities are to blame.