“We don’t have to carry the shame”: Autobiographical documentary filmmaking as a collective healing artifact for child abuse survivors

Abstract

Sitting at the intersection between autobiographical documentary theory and child abuse-related trauma theory, this thesis explores the wellbeing outcomes and impacts for child abuse survivors who create and view autobiographical documentaries that represent discourses about child abuse, intergenerational trauma, and healing. Adopting an anti-pathologising approach to trauma, this thesis explores and amplifies the historically silenced voices of child abuse survivors. Life is given to the underrepresented experiential accounts of autobiographical documentarians, with a focus on an uncharted community of practitioners: survivor-filmmakers. Further elevating survivor narratives, I position myself as a survivor-researcher, embracing an autoethnographic approach wherein my ‘presence’ remains integral to the research (Ellis et al., 2000; Bochner et al., 2016; Bochner, 2022; 2016). As a secondary research focus, this thesis seeks to understand what affordances survivor-researchers may bring to research projects that explore the experiences of child abuse survivors.

A tripartite model for analysis of audio-visual texts frames the exploration, spanning three domains: production, text, and (potential) audience reception (Thompson, 1990). Trauma-and-violence-informed interviews were conducted to investigate the experiences of four survivor-filmmakers: Gwen van de Pas (Groomed, 2021); Tracey Arcabasso Smith (Relative, 2022); Jasmín Mara López (Silent Beauty, 2022); and Ginene Humphrey (Dandelions, TBC). Audio-visual methods of textual analysis, critical discourse analysis (Fairclough, 1992a; 1992b; 1998; 2001), and affect analysis (Rose, 2016; Tait, 2016; Plantinga & Tan, 2007) were applied to identify affordances and examine the discursive functionality of the documentaries. Interviews with wellbeing professionals were conducted to investigate the potential therapeutic value of the texts for survivor-viewers. Interview transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis (Braun et al., 2022a; 2022b; 2019).

Synthesising the findings across the three domains, the research reveals how autobiographical documentary filmmaking and viewing can function as therapeutic healing tools, affording survivor-filmmakers and survivor-viewers the ability to re/process, challenge and let go of shame – a central aspect of the survivor experience, perpetuated and reinforced by victim-blaming culture. The filmmaking process functions as a ‘platform of vulnerability’ for survivor-filmmakers, a double-edged sword where traumatic stress and retraumatisation can be evoked, and where shame can be challenged. Challenging shame occurs through therapeutically impacting other survivors, experiencing survivorship, and re/processing in a myriad of ways, which engagement with representational strategies helps afford (including reenactments to represent traumatic memories and the child self, animation to represent, connect with and re-parent the inner-child, and using ocean imagery and sound as a mode of cultural memory). Post-release, autobiographical documentaries about abuse and healing may function as ‘collective healing artefacts,’ taking on an immortal life of their own that leads to ongoing therapeutic impact for survivors. The concept ‘vicarious therapy’ is coined to encapsulate how survivor-viewers may vicariously experience therapeutic impact, such as gaining a sense of survivorship, and re/processing possibilities of traumatic growth. This occurs through the intertwined processes of witnessing and feeling survivors – the elicitation of memories and affect(s) – and how autobiographical documentary representations can speak survivors’ shared language of shame. In other words, they can authentically represent aspects of the survivor experience.

Contrasting individualistic healing approaches that dominate mainstream therapeutic practice, the findings magnify the value of collective approaches to heal abuse related trauma and shame. Autobiographical documentary filmmaking, and cinematherapy utilising autobiographical documentaries, may function as tools of collective healing. Findings suggest the need to move towards shame-sensitive approaches to autobiographical documentary filmmaking, building on the trauma-informed guidelines created by the Documentary Accountability Working Group (2022).