Documentary John Grierson Pare Lorentz

DocumentaryOne of most abused & misunder-stood terms in film & televisionApplied to everything fromnewsreels to instructional films totravelogues & TV specialsJohn GriersonTerm 1st applied to Moana, , (1926) afilm by Robert FlahertyGrierson later defined documentaryas “ a creative treatment of reality”But noted it was a “clumsy” termPare Lorentz“A A factual film which isdramatic”Page 1 -

Basil Wright“A A method of approach topublic information”Richard Dyer McCann“Not the authenticity of thematerials but the authenticityof the result”Dictionary DefinitionDocumentary1. Consisting or derived fromdocuments.2. A film or program portraying an actualevent, life of a real person, period ofhistory, or the like, in a factual way,esp. one containing sectionsphotographed of actual incidents asthey occurred.Page 2 -

Confusion Does that mean Roots is adocumentary? Is a TV movie based onthe life of a wife murderer in Fresno a“documentary? In a sense all films are documents ofsomething, some place, or some time(i.e. films as cultural documents) What defines the documentarycategory in contest?Academy Definition(A.M.P.A.S.)Films dealing with historical, social,scientific, or economic subjects,either photographed in actualoccurence or re-enacted, enacted, & wherethe emphasis is more on factualcontent than entertainment. Thepurely instructional film will not beconsidered.More Questions than Answers Factual & boring rather than“entertaining”? Re-enacted?enacted? “Purely instructional?”Is this something like pornography?“I’ll know it when I see it?”Page 3 -

Richard M. BarsamProposes term “Non-Fiction”All documentaries are non-fictionfilms, but not all non-fiction filmsare documentaries5 Types of Non-Fiction Films1. Documentary - distinguished byits sociopolitical purpose, a non-fiction film with a message.Basically wants to persuade,influence, or change. Emphasis onfilmmaker’s point of view5 Types of Non-Fiction Films2. Factual Film -- lacks a specificmessageDiff. between factual film &documentary diff. betweennewspaper report and an editorialDocumentary: facts + opinionFactual Film: : factsPage 4 -

5 Types of Non-Fiction Films3. Travel Films or Travelogues4. Educational, Training, Classroomfilms -- purpose to teach & train5. Newsreels, TV news reportsKeys to Barsam’s Def.All documentaries are non-fiction,but not all non-fiction films aredocumentariesNewspaper story about Iraq vs. aneditiorial about Iraq---to Barsam,documentary implies opinionContinuim?Non-FictionDocudramaDocumentaryPage 5 -

Your Text - Barnouw Never really provides a single, all-purpose definition Instead .... groups by historicalperiods and approaches:Explorer, Painter, Reporter,Advocate, Bugler, etc.Bill NicholsTotally avoids a single definitionbut notes 6 modes ofdocumentary production:1. Poetic 2. Expository3. Participatory 4. Observational5. Reflexive 6. PerformaticExamples Fungi Crutemobile Whose Going to Care For TheseChildren? Mirror, Mirror Real World (MTV) Cops (or any other “reality” show)Page 6 -