States of Fear

States of Fear provoked an extraordinary response when it was shown in Ireland. Uniquely, it forced a public apology from the Government on behalf of the State to the tens of thousands of victims of the country´s industrial schools. The documentary charts the appalling scale of abuse to which tens of thousands of Irish children had been subjected in these institutions. Removed from their families by the State, they were handed over to be cared for by Catholic religious orders. They were detained in these schools until the age of 16, and many were starved, consistently beaten, sexually abused and raped by some of their caregivers. In order to chart this dark chapter of Irish life in the twentieth century, States of Fear took an unusual approach. Given its emotive and highly controversial subject material, its style is spare and lean. Its aim is to allow the story to be told as clearly as possible, creating a rational as opposed to an emotional response. The question is: does this spareness of style work? Is it effective in creating the space to allow an audience to reflect upon the nature of their distinctly unpleasant history, as opposed to feeling a sense of powerless and perhaps not very coherent outrage? Are there types of subjects when it is appropriate to limit many of the visual and aural techniques of documentary making in order to emphasize the clarity of the story?