Documentary
Documentary
A Documentary (/ˌdɒkjʊˈmɛntəri/; from Latin documentum, meaning "lesson, proof") is a type of film or television program that presents a factual report on a particular subject. Documentaries are often used in the fields of education and journalism to provide an in-depth look at topics ranging from historical events to natural phenomena.
Etymology
The term "documentary" was first used in 1926 by Scottish filmmaker John Grierson during the review of Robert Flaherty's film Nanook of the North. Grierson's principles of documentary were that cinema's potential for observing life could be exploited in a new art form; that the "original" actor and "original" scene are better guides than their fiction counterparts to interpreting the modern world; and that materials "thus taken from the raw" can be more real than the acted article.
Types of Documentaries
There are several different types of documentaries, including:
- Expository: These documentaries aim to inform or educate the viewer about a specific topic or issue. They often use a narrator to guide the audience through the film.
- Observational: These documentaries aim to simply observe the world around them, often without any narration or commentary.
- Participatory: In these documentaries, the filmmaker actively engages with the subject matter, often becoming a part of the story themselves.
- Performative: These documentaries often involve the filmmaker's personal involvement or engagement with the subject matter.
- Poetic: These documentaries focus more on experiences, images and showing the audience the world through a different set of eyes.
Related Terms
- Cinéma vérité: A style of documentary filmmaking that emphasizes truth and reality.
- Mockumentary: A type of film or television show in which fictional events are presented in documentary style to create a parody.
- Docudrama: A genre of radio and television programming, feature film, and staged theatre, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events.
- Documentary Film: A non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education, or maintaining a historical record".
External links
- Medical encyclopedia article on Documentary
- Wikipedia's article - Documentary
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