Resilient: Norfolk's race against the rising seas

Abstract

Resilient is told in the expository mode of documentary filmmaking. The characters' stories are woven together through the use of talking-head characters who provide voice-of-authority commentary with their first-hand stories and expert testimony, as well as an omniscient narrator that provides additional context and information. The film presents a problem/solution structure (Nichols 22) supported by evidentiary editing. Resilient presents the problem of flooding due to climate change-induced sea level rise and introduces solutions. Norfolk's infrastructure adaptation projects aim to protect the city in the short-term while the city can solve the long-term issue of living along rising sea levels. The characters' stories serve to ultimately further the argument, which is in line with key characteristics of the expository mode (Nichols 121). Two relevant films I watched as research for my own had similar approaches to storytelling. "Sinking Cities: Miami" and "Climate Crisis: Flooding" also used the expository mode of documentary. The stories were also told through talking-head experts who provided voice-of-authority expert testimony, as well as an omniscient narrator. The characters' stories provided first-hand experience and knowledge that supported the films' problem/solution storylines.