I will be analysing the significance of the genre and including contemporary examples to aid my arguments. Aiming to convey the usefulness of this genre, I will discuss the different categories within the genre and their powerful input into our society as well as deliberating on the fact or fiction debate, which begs the question of whether fictitious functions of film ruin the authentic purposes of the genre.
So, what is a documentary? Documentary, in my own words, is a re-enactment of some sort of truth or a record of actual events. It gives an informative outlook into an event, time, person, or location. The documentary has been around for a long time and was created under dire circumstances, the term documentary was created in 1926 by John Grierson to describe a film that isn’t fiction. Created for propaganda purposes, it was needed to raise awareness of countries in dire need of help and other government positions within the time of WWII. Is this fact or fiction? This question is commonly asked regarding this topic as it can be noted that the use of false narratives, editing, and stylistic filming techniques is diminishing the truthfulness and authenticity of documentary as a genre. However, this should be disregarded as from these functions’ documentary has become widely popular. These false narratives within docudramas and docusoaps are based on truth in location and social realism, which encourages real people to watch and learn about places and times as well as to be engaged in an interesting scenario. Following the sub-genres underneath the umbrella of Documentary as a whole, there are many, and I will analyse these further with their functions for the genre.
I believe that documentary has become the most important genre in film and television for its’ honesty on a subject, whether slight or major. Authenticity and truthfulness, as necessary as they are, can be shown in many ways and as the film is an art it should allow the director the opportunity to experiment with this. Moreover, an important category within the genre, Is music documentaries. For example, band documentariessuch as Reject False Icons (2019),directed by Denholm Hewlett, are important for our society as they give fans of the band’s music an insight into the making and touring of their albums. Specifically, the band Gorillaz, they are an animated band which means the use of documentaries allows us to step into the production behind the character creating, voice acting as well as music production. Other music documentaries such as Gimmie Shelter (1970), directed by Albert Maysles, and David Bowie: The Last five years (2017), directed by Francis Whately, are important for they capture an essence of that time which will never be seen or heard again. For example, in Gimmie Shelter, they show a historic event at the Rolling Stone’s concert that devastated many, and in David Bowie: The Last Five Years it showed the end of an era as the famous musician was being destroyed for years by this disease, which fans of his whether new or old can now watch as if they were there. The importance of transmedia for music creators is immense and documentary is a major part of this, it vocalises their creations and humanises the people behind it all. Did you ever know how much went into the process of music production before watching a music documentary?
Characters re-enacting life for real people, not just filming but creating stories to relate to people. This notion of relating film to people’s lives was a revolution in the eyes of many. As I said in my podcast regarding My Generation (2017), directed by David Batty, for many they had only watched stories of upper-class citizens. Therefore, this genre made a difference for all those not under this class of society. The use of diegetic and non-diegetic sound is vital to the usefulness of the genre as it can include both real and edited sound whilst being in a fact-based film. As I displayed in the podcast on the documentary My Generation, I find films such as this useful as it is an honest interpretation of 1960s London and happenings within it, this film included interviews and actual footage which is the most critical genre of a documentary that’s main goal is to inform and teach its’ audience. The documentary is most known for this, which has positive and negative consequences, these being the criticism towards documentary forms that aren’t as strictly fact-based as these such as dramas or soaps.
London Can Take it! (1940), directed by Humphrey Jennings and Harry Watt, is a significant propaganda documentary that shows the Juxtaposition between the image and text. Showing the catastrophic events that took place in London during WWII and the bringing together of its citizens even through those times. The director manipulated the film to show how People seemed unscathed from the destruction whilst the narrator describes the terrifying events of the bombs. Aimed at the American market to help aid Britain in the war, the film was a unique introduction to documentary as a genre and the manipulations show that documentary has been a contrast between fact and fiction from the very beginning. There are six modes of documentary according to Bill Nichols and this 1940’s film, I would say, comes under the expository category as it includes manipulation to give the audience a specific point of view whilst proving that it is factual evidence. Other five modes including poetic documentary, which I believe to be a very stylistic category for its major inclusion of rhythm and tone of the film which aligns the footage and audio perfectly to engage its’ viewers. Observational being the undisturbed and consecutive focus of the subject by the camera with no distractions. The performative documentary is the personified truth of an event or subject, whether by the narrator or director the attention is focused more on a story told than the scene. Participatory as a category is similar to performative in that it means the participation of someone with the director whether narrator or interviewee. Lastly, the reflexive documentary is the category for films about the filmmaker or a subject close for them more so than to gain the attention of an audience watching, it can usually be quite self-aware and allows the audience to humanise the filmmaker.
Similarly, a sub-genre of the documentary is Satire, which is a vital section within the documentary genre as it introduced humour, irony, and exaggeration to the, known commonly as a serious, genre. It can be used to ridicule contemporary politics, which has always been a popular use for it seen in films such as The Great Dictator (1940) directed by Charlie Chaplin. Chaplin used this film to bring awareness to the negativity caused by dictatorship and is an outstanding film including a scene of him giving a heartfelt speech about love, equality, and freedom. Likewise, this category brought in younger and older audiences due to the political comedy that many people desire to see. Another example being the ‘Netflix’ mockumentary Death to 2020 (2020), directed by Al Campbell, which is a film made in Britain to bring comedic light to one of the most devastating years we’ve lived through whilst summarising the events and humouring the audience with ironic comments and skits by famous actors known by many.
Tv documentary includes confrontation to the audience, usually by a narrator, and the social realism used by the storyline, setting, or mise-en-scene. A commonly known theme under this category is called ‘Arthouse’ which includes series’ and films such as This is England (2006), directed by Shane Meadows. This film/drama is significant as it focuses aspects of the film on the news of that time such as Thatcher’s Britain whilst shining a light into the lives of those typically unrepresented by the media, such as realistic depictions of the working-class struggles managing everyday situations like jobs, houses, single motherships, and fashions. This is England even uses actual footage of events in the introductory montage of each series which indulges the viewers into that history and teaches us of that time and we as an audience learn the staple affairs of the setting whilst being entertained with a hooking plot. Showing positive realism of the classes to viewers in Britain as shows such as this were first introduced to audiences on television at a standard time every week. The lives of many that have always been undervalued are now commentated upon widely by society from this.
The use of streaming media services such as ‘Netflix’ and ‘ITV Hub’ has further helped the documentary genre thrive in homes as they can catch up on and even re-watch episodes of series’ such as this.
Is the content believable or truthful? Media products such as Trainspotting (1996), directed by Danny Boyle, and This is England are excellent examples of truthful fiction. In the book, ‘Introduction to Documentary’ (2017), written by Bill Nichols, he states (2017: 4) ‘Have they broadened the appeal of documentary by becoming more like feature fiction films?’ this question he asks is compelling for the audience as I believe in ways it has. Codes and conventions in these cases are used to make us believe that a film or drama is a realistic portrayal of real-life characters and/or events. The levels of detail included in these projects are astounding and if asked whether the level of detail matters, the director should decide for themselves rather than feel forced to keep a fully fact-based production. The use of detail is useful as it brings attention in more attentive ways than just watching, the idea of learning whilst enjoying a story is fascinating and is an easily achievable goal for many a documentary filmmaker. For example, docudramas such as Peaky Blinders (2013), created by Stephen Knight, are evidence that a false narrative based on truth is successful maybe even more than purely factual documentaries as it engages younger audiences. Peaky Blinders is a crime series based on the happenings of the Peaky Blinders gang in Birmingham from the late 18th to early 19th century. Young audiences were occupied by this show as it was easily accessible to them as well as the youthful setting and characters to be deemed relatable (maybe not in all ways) to the audience.
This genre is a collective of many categories that can be applied to a wide variety of unique target audiences. Moreover, films under this bracket are productive as well as diverting to watch. Directors have adjusted the formula of this genre to include creative aspects that are inviting and appealing to people from the narratives and settings that are a mix of real-life and creative fiction. Which, leads me to my final point of this essay, being that documentary as a genre has brought knowledge and entertainment to homes all across the world. Therefore, I would deem it one of the most important genres for film and television as it is constantly modifying itself and paralleling with the period. Nichols (2017: 1) states ‘documentary has become the flagship for a cinema of social engagement and distinctive vision’ here he is implying that the genre follows the events of life and savours them for future generations to experience, this we cannot comprehend the brilliance of, but it is creating timestamps in the same way as instant photography.
To conclude, the documentary is an insightful form of filmmaking that not only entertains but informs and this should be recognised more as it is used and created constantly. Furthermore, I agree that documentary as a genre has become the most important in film and television. These sub-genres within this all have a predominant part to play in the success and creativity of the documentary genre whether it be satire, drama, music, nature, animated, or reality. The six modes of a documentary by Bill Nichols aid perfectly the concept that documentary comes in many forms and should be allowed space for growth as creatively it is a momentously functional and convenient sector of film. Above all other genres, this one portrays reality which is significant as it has the power to make or break societal constructs.
Bibliography:
- MASTERCLASS, 2020. Film Documentary Guide: 6 Types of Documentaries [article]. Available from: https://www.masterclass.com/articles/film-documentary-guide#6-types-of-documentaries [Accessed 19 Jan 2021].
- NICHOLS, B. 2017, Introduction to Documentary, 3rd ed. Indiana University Press: Bloomington, Indiana.
Filmography:
- David Bowie: The last 5 Years [film]. 2017. FRANCIS WHATELY. UK: BBC.
- Death to 2020 [film]. 2020. AL CAMPBELL, ALICE MATHIAS dir. (s). USA: Broke and Bones, Jesse Collins Entertainment
- Gimmie Shelter [film]. 1970. ALBERT MAYSLES dir. USA: Maysles Films.
- London Can Take It! [film]. 1940. HUMPHREY JENNINGS, HARRY WATT dir. (s). UK: GPO (General Post Office) Film Unit.
- My Generation [film]. 2017. DAVID BATTY dir. UK: XIX Entertainment.
- Peaky Blinders [drama]. 2013. STEPHEN KNIGHT dir. UK: Caryn Mandabach Productions.
- Reject False Icons [film]. 2019. DENHOLM HEWLETT dir. UK: Eleven, Gorillaz Productions.
- Trainspotting [film]. 1996. DANNY BOYLE dir. UK: Channel Four Films.
- This is England [drama]. 2006. SHANE MEADOWS dir. UK: Warp Films.
- The Great Dictator [film]. 1940. CHARLIE CHAPLIN dir. USA: Charles Chaplin Productions.
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