You Are What You See: A clash of fact and fiction in the short film OP=OP

Abstract

This research paper aims to take a closer look at the crossover between documentary and fiction film because interesting meanings derive from their synthesis. The Dutch short film OP=OP (Sophie Dros, 2013) deals with the subject of people with an eating disorder, which is dealt with in reality TV programs and documentaries in many forms nowadays. This fiction film integrates documentary conventions and refers to the ‘real’ world to appear realistic at first. This influences the viewer’s expectations and their interpretations. The central question for this research is: How does OP=OP embed conventions of documentary film to comment on the representation of eating disorders? Instead of being a clear “mockumentary”, OP=OP reveals its truth in the surprising end sequence of the film by breaking with the conventional documentary style. The comment the film attempts to make derives from this stylistic break. By examining how OP=OP uses cinematic techniques used in documentary and fiction film, this research will show that this short fiction film is reflexive on it own style and content and therefore comments on the representation of eating disorders. Because of that OP=OP goes beyond the form of “mockumentary” filmmaking in making its statement.