As a filmic device used in the context of non-fiction documentaries, reenactments act out past events. These staged constructions complicate the way in which information is understood by manipulating imagery to convey a certain point of view. Documentaries offer their own representation of the world we live in. Simply by constructing the film, through their nonfiction texts, the director conveys a vision, which he/she creates vis-a-vis the formal qualities of the documentary. In this light, documentaries are able to feature representations of our past histories.1 In Standard Operating Procedure (2008), documentary filmmaker Errol Morris stitches together the truth behind Abu Ghraib, and the treatment of detainees in an American prison based in Iraq. Morris relies on photographs and testimonials in order to recreate events in his narrative that trigger multiple responses. Standard Operating Procedure’s central premise lies within the taking, and sequentially, the release of photos that were shot by military officers of guards mistreating or humiliating prisoners. Interwoven are interviews with the guards, higher officials, and the military prosecutor, as well as reenactments of different events. Morris’ use of reenactments in his documentaries, provides his audience access to levels of information they would not otherwise have. Yet, reenactments in Standard Operating Procedure (S.O.P.)2 also draw attention to themselves by appearing dreamlike in their construction. Coupled with additional manipulated information, such as interviews with the Interrotron, S.O.P. pushes the audience to question the authenticity and possible reenactment of the facts to seek a deeper truth of what really happened at Abu Ghraib. S.O.P. allows viewers to engage with the reenactment of a “having-been-thereness” mentality noted by Nichols in his book “Introduction to Documentary Film,” prevents them from returning to the moment in history again.3 Before examining how the reconstruction of events conveys a documentary’s telling of a point of view, it is crucial to understand what S.O.P. presents. At the onset of the film, Morris graphically
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