Intro to Documentary - Jack Scardino

This article is very comprehensive in explaining the different forms of documentary.  I think documentaries in any mode can be equally manipulative (as well as informative), but some are more conspicuous than others.  For instance, a Michael Moore film, which is produced in the participatory mode, takes a fairly obvious stance on the subject of discussion.  I recently watched Citizenfour (Laura Poitras) which is about Edward Snowden, information and privacy, and NSA spying within the US, and while it often appears objective, it also creates a very focused view of the world for the sake of the audience.  The filmmaker’s point of view was clear, and it was very effective in getting me on her side.  A “voice-of-God” approach can be assertive too, because the unseen narrator (especially if it’s Morgan Freeman) sounds authoritative and absolute.

I’d say some of our performance pieces are mini-documentaries.  Those that showcase a “task” for instance, might call attention to a particular social concern but are essentially a record of real events occurring.  They would probably fall within the realm of the poetic mode, as they are usually very composed or symbolic.  In Professor Middleton’s FMS 132 class –someone help me, I can’t remember it- we were shown a great documentary that satirized commerce and food production.  Essentially every part of the chain was described as through the viewer was from another planet.  By the end it was shown that some of the poorest people get their food from the piles of scraps rejected as food for animals, but the tone of the film was exquisitely ironic and matter-of-fact.

Aha!  Isle of Flowers, here dubbed in English (part 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3AyWcptRx0