Hollywood trend fails to captivates viewers
There’s a buzz in the air surrounding the recent so-called “documentary,” “Sirius.” It attempts to establish the existence of alien life, predictably covered up by a government conspiracy, but it tries too hard to be seen as a work of nonfiction. It’s a premise we should all find familiar because it’s a replica of nearly every other alien or supernatural conspiracy documentary. It attempts to the hide the Hollywood-style narrative and masquerade itself as a legitimate factual documentary.
It’s not necessarily a bad way to frame a film, especially one that’s created simply for fame and profit. “Sirius,” not unlike fan favorites “Paranormal Activity” or the “The Blair Witch Project,” is loaded with buzz words sure to entertain viewers and tug on any intellectual heartstrings and wallets. Even then, the film’s small marketing campaign speaks to the filmmakers’ desire to do everything it can to conjure up the kind of intrigue the film needs to be a commercial success.
Films like these rely on obscure vocabulary, ramblings and pseudoscience, the ugly stepsisters of intellectualism and the scientific method, which are not a legitimate foundation for a piece of fiction.
Unlike previous films, “Sirius” rambles on and on, appearing to take the cinematic malarkey to an unprecedented level — even for Hollywood.
But let’s be real, we all know that real life isn’t accurately translated to film, and even when it is, it’s bastardized. No great scientific happening or discovery was first disclosed through the commercial release of a documentary, and likely never will be.