Documentary of Derrida

Derrida is one of the founding philosophers of deconstruction. Watching his documentary was enlightening. He helped me view and think about things that would not have crossed my mind. For example on his concept of love, he poses the question of the difference between who and the what. He asks, “Is love the love of someone of something”? He asks do we love people because of the qualities they possess or who they are. I never truly thought of it like that. Because if you love someone for the qualities they have...do you really love them? Because if they no longer have those qualities would you love them anymore. Is that what it means to fall out of love with people? It showed that Love is such a complicated topic that it cannot be simply answered in one or a few words.

The irony in the project of trying to capture the true Derrida in a documentary film is that we only see the image of Derrida that he wants us to see. He states that he did things out of ordinary anyways. For example him actually getting dress up even though he isn’t going out. He states that the only reason he did that was because there were cameras around because he usually just stays in his pajamas all day if he is not going out.

The purpose behind documentary is to document reality. However; how are we able to really capture the reality of Derrida if we only see the images and scenes that the producers choose to show us. Even Derrida states that after editing the footage it does not even become a bibliography of his; but of the producers.