First Person — Season 1, Episode 7: The Parrot
Documentary, News • 23 min • 2 seasons, 19 episodes • ★ 8.3/10
Episode synopsis
This documentary is about an unusual murder mystery. Jane Gill is found murdered in her bedroom. Next to the body the police find Max, an African parrot with a highly developed ability to speak, and a vocabulary of 450 words. Max repeated the line "Richard. No, no, no..." over and over again. Gary Grasp is charged with the murder, and his only hope to escape the gas chamber is Max and his testimony.
About First Person
First Person was an American TV series produced and directed by Errol Morris. The show engaged a varied group of individuals from civil advocates to criminals. Interviews were conducted with "The Interrotron", a device similar to a teleprompter: Errol and his subject each sit facing a camera. The image of each person's face is then projected onto a two-way mirror positioned in front of the lens of the other's camera. Instead of looking at a blank lens, then, both Morris and his subject are looking directly at a human face. Morris believes that the machine encourages monologue in the interview process, while also encouraging the interviewees to "express themselves to camera".