A Terrible Secret
...r own decisions on the topic. However, the makers of A Terrible Secret have effectively used the absence of a narrator to manipulate their audience. The audience, captivated by this story, are oblivious to the subtlety, and feel as though they are making their own decision on the subject. The makers of A Terrible Secret have used imagery to their advantage. Flowers are used throughout the documentary in a symbolic manner. Jan states in the documentary that when they were in the brothel, all the girls where given Japanese flower names. Because of this, Jan disliked being given flowers from her daughters “Don’t give me flowers for my Birthday or anything”, is what Jan says to Eileen and Carol. Further on in the documentary, the makers show Jan receiving flowers from her daughters, after she has told them her secret. Throughout A Terrible Secret, pink flower petals are shown, gradually becoming a full flower. This effectively shows that Jan, before she tells her secret to her daughters, doesn’t feel whole as a person, then eventually becomes at ease with herself after sharing her secret. Different camera shots are used for different effects on the audience. The makers of A Terrible Secret have chosen many close-ups of objects throughout the documentary. One of the most effective close-ups is of a Dutch newspaper article about the rapes. To create the emotions of empathy and reality, the camera scans across the headline and this effective technique makes the audience feel as though they are actually reading the article along with Jan’s daughter. Another very successful camera shot is when Eileen is being interviewed; the camera has her in focus as well as a painting of a little girl running down a hallway towards a pool of light. The ...