Research

 Documentary Research

Why do people watch documentaries?

People watch documentaries to learn new things, gain empathy for others, challenge their perspectives, explore hidden truths, preserve history, and find authenticity in real-life stories, offering education and insight beyond mere entertainment, often sparking crucial conversations and even driving social change.

Documentaries have a unique ability to do more than just inform, they create narrative empathy, allowing audiences to deeply connect with real people and their struggles. This emotional impact goes beyond presenting facts; it often inspires action.   

Documentaries give the average person access to crucial information about global, social and political issues they might not otherwise be exposed to. For individuals, it's important to constantly challenge your own perspective and to find inspiration to make the world around you a better place for everyone.

History of Documentary

Documentary radio was introduced in the 1930s via the British Broadcasting Company (BBC). In 1922, Robert Flaherty shot Nanook of the North, which is considered the first full-length documentary film, making it appear as if the camera was inside the igloo with the Inuit family featured in the film.

Originally called "actuality" films, the term documentary was not coined until 1926. Early travel documentaries, or travelogues, documented the lives of non-Western people and were mostly associated with anthropologic studies.

Few documentaries have out spaced the $100 million mark. The highest-grossing documentary film is the biographical film Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) released following the artist's death that year, surpassing Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004), both of which grossed over $200 million.

What makes a good documentary?

A structured storyline also allows the documentary to flow much more smoothly than if there was no real narrative and helps viewers retain information and understand the subject matter better. A good documentary should also evoke the audience's emotions, whether it be anger, empathy, sadness, joy or inspiration. 

Examples of good documentaries

1. The Thin Blue Line (1988): Errol Morris's landmark film that used re-enactments to help exonerate a wrongly convicted man.

2. Grizzly Man (2005): Werner Herzog's look at Timothy Treadwell, who lived among grizzly bears in Alaska.

3. Hoop Dreams (1994): A powerful look at two Chicago teens' dreams of basketball stardom.

4. The Act of Killing (2012): Explores Indonesian genocide perpetrators re-enacting their atrocities.

5. Man on Wire (2008): A thrilling account of Philippe Petits high wire walks between the Twin Towers.

6. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008): A heart breaking personal story about murder and family.

7. Blackfish (2013): Exposed the dangers of keeping orcas in captivity.

8. Man with a Movie Camera (1929): A poetic, experimental masterpiece of Soviet montage.

9. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010): Banksy's satirical look at the street art world.

10. Shoah (1985): A monumental, unflinching testimony to the Holocaust.