Get Back: Documentaries, Non-Fiction, and Stories
You may or may not be aware that next month, director Peter Jackson’s (of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit” movies fame) re-edit of The Beatles’ last movie, “Let It Be,” hits Disney+ in the form of a 3-part special called “Get Back.” Last week we were treated to the first trailer for the movie/mini-series (see above).
As noted at the beginning of the trailer, over 57 hours of footage was filmed in January 1969. The idea back then was to film The Beatles rehearse songs for a new album and, potentially, a live performance. You can read about the history of the project elsewhere, but the short version is that the project was shelved for almost a year until someone had the courage to edit all that film into an hour-and-a-half movie. Released in 1970, “Let It Be” was the last project released by The Beatles, though by then the band was practically no more. “Let It Be” is often characterized as a documentary about the breakup of The Beatles, largely because of some sequences where the band gets into verbal spats and there appears to be some tension between them.
Peter Jackson’s re-edit (titled “Get Back”–the name originally given to the project in 1969) isn’t supposed to re-write this history but certainly appears to give more context. From the trailer we see the band having fun, joking with each other, and enjoying making music. There was tension, and I don’t think there’s any doubt they were on the verge of calling it a day. However, the reasons for this are, I think, many, and few of them had anything to do with how much they enjoyed making music together. But that’s a discussion for another time.
Having said all that, let me get to the point of this post.
I’ve seen the original “Let It Be” movie, and while it’s of interest, I think its appeal is limited by the fact that there’s really not much to it. “Let It Be” essentially consists of three sections:
- Here are The Beatles in Twickenham film studios sitting around talking and playing their instruments.
- Here are The Beatles in a recording studio sitting around talking and playing their instruments. Oh look, there’s Yoko. And there’s Linda. Hello Billy Preston!
- Here are The Beatles on a rooftop playing to the people below. Here comes the police to shut everything down. Oh dear.
What’s missing? That’s right: a story. “But this isn’t fiction,” you might object. It doesn’t matter. Whether you are creating a documentary, a memoir, or a biography, you need to tell a story.
And from the trailer to “Get Back,” it looks as if that’s what Peter Jackson has done. How can I tell? Look at these snippets from the trailer:
“The Beatles have less than three weeks to write and record a new album.”
George: “Isn’t what we’ve recorded good enough?”
John: “No!”
“They will film a concert of the new songs for a TV show and documentary.”
“They haven’t played live for an audience in three years…”
[We see a calendar with the dates for the show marked…
… then “George quits”…
… then the dates are cancelled.]
Paul: “The best bit of us always has been and always will be… when our back’s against the wall”
Do you see what Jackson has done? He’s taken a series of events and given them a story structure. There’s an almost impossible objective (write and record an album in three weeks), added pressure (filming a concert), and roadblocks (nothing they’ve recorded is good enough, they haven’t played before an audience in 3 years, and George quits halfway through). But all is not lost! Paul reminds them that they’re at their best when their backs are against the wall. The Beatles are the heroes of this story where they must band together, fight the odds, and come up with the goods in time.
For my writer friends, I think there’s a great lesson here. No matter what you’re writing, even if it’s non-fiction, if you want it to connect with an audience, tell a story. The tension doesn’t have to be edge-of-the-seat and the stakes don’t need to be life-or-death. But think in terms of narrative structure, not a sequence of events, and you could have your readers turning pages over the most mundane aspect of your (or your subject’s) life. Even if you’re not a Beatles fan, doesn’t Jackson’s trailer at least pique your interest more, perhaps, than a trailer that says “See the Beatles do stuff before they split up!”?
I hope that’s helpful.
I hadn’t seen the original so was unaware of the storyline (or lack thereof!). But it does show, even in a documentary, that there needs to be purpose as you’ve so clearly outlined.
It’s not something one often thinks about when watching or reading non-fiction. And you may get away with non-fiction that doesn’t have a strong storyline… but I’d wager the better non-fiction does. “Let It Be”/”Get Back” is a good example of this.