Lucy Walker's Film Wasteland '

Lucy Walker’s documentary Wasteland (2010) is an artist’s biopic of Vik Muniz with a strong underlying theme of perspective. Walker’s contention, in a way similar to Dziga Vertov’s while he lived, is to change the reader’s perspective on the ideas and issues presented in the documentary by using a colourful variety of documentary techniques. This changing of perspectives was integral to Dziga Vertov’s work, as it led to his ultimate goal of seeking film truth or cinéma vérité. In seeking this film truth, he walked the said path to a fresh perception of the world through his documentary making. He was a Soviet film director in the first half of the 20th century so he saw the world through the lens of that particular facticity and seeking film
Lucy Walker, in her documentary Wasteland, explores the idea of gaining new perspective, much in the way of Dziga Vertov, by using documentary to change the perspective of the viewers in relation to the Brazilian catadores (or garbage pickers) . The goal of Dziga Vertov, as indicated by the quote from ‘Kinoks-Revolution’, was to find a greater truth beyond the apparent truth, which is exactly what Lucy Walker is aiming to achieve by changing the perspective around the catadores at Jardim Gramacho. She does this by presenting an alternate view to the expectations about the picker. She creates empathy with them by showing them leading normal human lives to make the viewers feel a sense of relating to the catadores. Techniques often used to further this contention include the use of interview and direct-to-camera talk. An example of this is an interview with Jardim Gramacho’s unofficial librarian, Zumbi. Zumbi passionately talks about his son, asserting that he doesn’t want his son to be a picker like him; instead he wants him to be a lawyer or a