Documentary Project - Icarus and Tech Writing
The documentary Icarus follows the story of Bryan Fogel on his quest to test the use of performance enhancing drugs on himself, and to show how easy it is to beat the systems in place to test athletes for these drugs. The story is a basic three act structure. In act 1 Bryan is setting up the story by discussing his dreams of becoming a professional cyclist, while also talking about the doping scandal that has plagues the pro cycling world since Lance Armstrong was busted for doping. He introduces new characters that will help him on his doping regimen and who will also help beat the doping tests. He begins his journey as he starts his doping program and training for the hardest amateur cycling race in the world.
The story takes a turn in act 2 when we find out that the Russian scientist who has agreed to help him beat doping tests is also the central figure in what is called the biggest doping scandal in the history of sports. Grigory Rodchenkov, the Russian scientist, has been accused of aiding the Russian Olympic team of doping since the 1980's, and most notably during the Sochi Olympic games. This makes it difficult for Bryan and Rodchenkov to perform their experiment as Rodchenkov is under heavy scrutiny from the World Anti Doping Agency. They must perform their experiment in secret, all while Rodchenkov and the Russians are fighting the investigation into the doping scandal.
In act 3 we find Rodchenkov fearing for his life and he confesses to Bryan that the Russians have been doping for a long time, and that the Russian Government did in fact pull off a major operation during the Sochi Olympics to aid their doping athletes in passing their drug testing. Rodchenkov testifies to the United States officials and is put into protective custody. The WADA investigation claims that they have irrefutable evidence against Russia and they ban Russian athletes from participating in upcoming Olympic games. Meanwhile the Russian government still denies the allegations.
This film also goes into great detail about how the Russians pulled off the scandal in Sochi. There is great detail given by Rodchenkov on the meticulous way in which the Russians would enter the testing lab in the Olympic village at precise times to switch out the Russian athletes urine samples. From a technical writing standpoint I thought this part of the film was great because of how precise Rodchenkov was in his recounting of the events.
The story takes a turn in act 2 when we find out that the Russian scientist who has agreed to help him beat doping tests is also the central figure in what is called the biggest doping scandal in the history of sports. Grigory Rodchenkov, the Russian scientist, has been accused of aiding the Russian Olympic team of doping since the 1980's, and most notably during the Sochi Olympic games. This makes it difficult for Bryan and Rodchenkov to perform their experiment as Rodchenkov is under heavy scrutiny from the World Anti Doping Agency. They must perform their experiment in secret, all while Rodchenkov and the Russians are fighting the investigation into the doping scandal.
In act 3 we find Rodchenkov fearing for his life and he confesses to Bryan that the Russians have been doping for a long time, and that the Russian Government did in fact pull off a major operation during the Sochi Olympics to aid their doping athletes in passing their drug testing. Rodchenkov testifies to the United States officials and is put into protective custody. The WADA investigation claims that they have irrefutable evidence against Russia and they ban Russian athletes from participating in upcoming Olympic games. Meanwhile the Russian government still denies the allegations.
This film also goes into great detail about how the Russians pulled off the scandal in Sochi. There is great detail given by Rodchenkov on the meticulous way in which the Russians would enter the testing lab in the Olympic village at precise times to switch out the Russian athletes urine samples. From a technical writing standpoint I thought this part of the film was great because of how precise Rodchenkov was in his recounting of the events.
Nicely summarized! Your 3-Act breakdown makes sense and renders clear the storytelling structure as a valuable heuristic for clarity.
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