What is a Documentary?

A documentary is one of those things that changes with time. What might have started out before the 1900s as short moving pictures by Auguste and Louis Lumeire, has evolved and expanded to include box office hits like Farenheit 9/11. Documentaries differ in the length, technology used, and other technical elements. However, I do think there’s a simple, yet broad, definition for a documentary.

I found the definition of “documentary” in the root of the word, “document.” The definition of “document” is to support with evidence or decisive information. Therefore, a documentary portrays evidence and information to tell a non-fiction story.

This definition is almost too simple, though, so what else can be added to it? One of the first descriptions of what makes a documentary came from John Grierson when he labeled it as “the creative treatment of actuality.” The word “actuality” implies to me that it observes real life as it’s happening. It’s not scripted or staged or purposely manipulated. It requires the documentarian to act as a fly on the wall, trying not to influence or change the subject, but to simply observe. It doesn’t even have to be video. American Radio Works has documentaries that are just audio and still fit into the documentary catagory.

So how should we determine what a documentary in our class should be like? This is my suggestion for documentary guidelines:

1. There must be a subject (which does not have to be human—it can be an animal, a place, a thing, etc.) If you want it to be a good documentary, there should be some sort of conflict or adverse situation that the subject goes through.
2. The documentary must observe the subject as it is. It should not be scripted or manipulated.
3. It should include facts and evidence on the subject. (This doesn’t necessarily mean statistics and numbers. Facts can simply be truthful statements about the subject.)
4. It should be put together in a creative, logical way that is pleasing to the intended audience.

Our class already knows there are some great documentary examples at Current TV. You can find other examples at Channel 4, a not-for-profit channel in the UK. Their "fourdocs" are four minute documentaries that anyone can submit for the world to see (now they're even moving to 59 second "microdocs!")

Documentaries cannot be strictly defined. Their definition depends on who you are, who your audience is, and what your purpose is. Anyone can make a documentary.