307 Messages
•
7.1K Points
Angela Davis in The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
The documentary film The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011) consists of unearthed archive footage overlayed with contemporary voiceovers. Angela Davis features prominently both in the archive footage and as one of the voiceover narrators. IMDb credits her as "Self (voice)", which is confusing as it implies she does not appear on screen. Adding the attribute "(archive footage)" would also be inaccurate and confusing, though, as it would imply that she was not involved in the production, which she was.
What is the best way to accurately reflect both her physical appearance in the film through archive footage as well as her contemporary contributions through voiceover narration, without overemphasizing one at the expense of covering up the other?
(I'm using Angela Davis as a specific example, but I'm sure this applies to other cast members of the documentary, not to mention there are probably other similar cases on IMDb of this issue.)
For more information, see Wikipedia link.
(Note that the image featured prominently on the film's poster is an archival photo/still frame of Angela Davis. This makes it even more strange to see her credited on IMDb as merely a "voice" on the soundtrack.)
jay_spirit
957 Messages
•
28.7K Points
27 days ago
IMDb used to have an attribute called "(and archive footage)." When that existed, you could have added these two attributes for Angela Davis: "(voice) (and archive footage)."
Now you'll have to add "(voice) (archive footage)," which could be confusing. It could imply that the voice work is archive footage—even though the correct usage for that would be "(voice) (archive sound)."
But that's the best you can do now. Add two attributes: "(voice) (archive footage)."
1