Listening Journal: Dressy Girls

The documentary I listened to was Called Dressy Girls. It was produced and narrated by Lena Eckert-Erdheim. The total length of the documentary was 8 minutes and 10 seconds.

This documentary was taking a look at how and why some girls dress the way they do. Lena chose to interview several girls who dress in a provocative way, asking them what their reasoning was behind dressing the way they do. She also compared many of the things they wore to fashion advice aimed at teen girls in Seventeen Magazine.

This documentary was very interesting and a real eye-opener. It was presented in such a way, that it really showed what some girls would go through to get attention, and this was done through Lena’s excellent choice of soundbites. The soundbites were also complimented by Lena’s narration of parts of Seventeen Magazine, where the fashion advice mirrored what the girls were wearing.

The sound quality was good with everything being clear and concise. However, there was no use of nat sound, only soundbites, and I think that with a documentary such as this one the use of nat sound would not have only been easy, but also enhanced the piece very much. The sound of the girls in high school, at the mall, or runway sounds could have all been used to enhance the documentary.

The narrator’s voice was very suitable, however, her tone was sometimes very sarcastic, and it seemed that she was portraying too much of her own opinion. However, her voice was good for the narration because it went well with the story and she sounded young which would appeal to the target audience. The writing quality was not too sophisticated; however, it got the message across clearly. For example, Lena would often compare what the girls said with something written in Seventeen Magazine, and this was a good way to get her point across about girls following the trend. Her writing was simple and to the point, which was what made it effective.

Also, the writing included comparisons between what the narrator was wearing and what the other girls were wearing. This was interesting and effective because it further emphasized her point to the the listener that some girls only think about dressing to impress boys, while others do not really care about it.

The documentary was just the right length. It began strongly by having a lot of soundbites by some girls telling what they were wearing, and all of the sounds overlapped. However, I felt like the ending could have been stronger had the narrator not concluded it using her own voice. I think it would have been better had she used a nat sound or soundbite.