Introduction to Documentary

I love documentaries.  They truly sparked my interest in film, and I value the ability to display a real story or event in an interesting and visually stimulating way.  I've never heard of the different types of documentaries, but I feel like I could've similarly separated them before.  I definitely find that expository, participatory, and observatory style of documentaries to be most popular and available today.

For example, many expository documentaries have been labeled "shockumentaries".  The main point of these is to make people aware of an issue, but usually with a certain bias or persuasion in mind.  Criticism stems from the use of documentary as a medium to make people feel bad or guilty about a certain issue.  Sometimes, like in Food, Inc., fear is instilled in the viewer.  In one scene, a woman who owns a chicken house shows us her chickens, and then we are shown a montage of unhealthy, dying, and dead chickens.  In this scene, very sad music plays, which aims to trigger the emotions of the viewer.  Though these films can sometimes exaggerate the images, they don't hide from the fact that they are biased.  They are filmed with the intent of getting people to think a certain way, and as long as the viewer knows that, they can have a more objective viewing experience.  I find the film Waiting for Superman, a documentary about the poor education system in the US, a more universal film that anyone can understand and advocate for.  Unlike Food, Inc. where many people may feel they can't relate, it shows a glaring problem that affects every child, and involves less personal opinion from the viewer.

Further, I find a relatively new TV show, Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, a perfect combination of participatory and observatory.  Chef Anthony Bourdain travels the world and shows the food and cultures of certain areas.  It's participatory in that he has discussions with other chefs, and sometimes goes into their kitchens and immerses himself in the culture in the time that he's there.  It's observatory because we see many images of people cooking and food being prepared, as well as random people going about their daily life in whatever city they're in.  I love this so much because the images are beautiful, which is sometimes rare for documentaries on TV.  Because of this, and the combination of participation and observation, the show is simply beautiful to watch, but is still informative and interesting.
Parts Unknown Clip