Documentary as a Genre: Documentary is one of the earliest genres on the screen, as the desire to capture and represent reality through the medium of ‘moving pictures’ motivated the work of many of the earliest filmmakers, including the French Lumière brothers and the American inventor Thomas Edison. Subsequently, the development of television (literally: seeing over a distance) allowed audiences to view exotic people and places from the comfort of their own home, and rapid developments in lightweight, portable technology allowed documentary makers to access ever more remote places or to record unexpected events as they unfolded. Documentary has been used for a variety of purposes since its inception: as a form of entertainment, as state propaganda, as a means of archiving social histories, as a tool for political activism, and many others.
1 | What is the appeal of documentary? What different experiences do various documentary forms (eg entertainment, education, consciousness-raising) offer?
2 | Does documentary have a particular function in society? As documentary is said to represent reality, does that give it certain social responsibilities which other media genres do not have?
3 | Identify a range of different types of documentary. Do they have a common purpose? Create a number of sub-genres within the field of documentary, naming each category and using examples to justify your organisation of material.
