Documentary Research

 Documentaries are usually identifiable by different means that other programs or games, while their genres are identified by keywords such as “Horror” or “Romantic”, Documentaries are identified by the different ways the finished product is shown,  

Most crime documentaries are “Expository” which means they have some reenactments, some interviews, and an omnipresent narrator, these are usually educational, some about more serious topics, meaning they are usually targeting old teens and young adults, most of whom are in education. 

An Inconvenient Truth (2006) is an example of an expository documentary, where Vice President Al Gore raises awareness about climate change, this documentary targets the young/adults showing what excessive use of fossil fuels becomes. 

 

Another genre is “Observational”, where the filmmaker cannot interfere these are usually nature documentaries, compared to Expository, Observational Documentaries are shot in the moment, with no reenactment, there likely would be some interviews, but that and the voiceovers would be shot long after the footage.  

Planet Earth (2006) is a documentary that is narrated by David Attenborough, where the people recording cannot interfere with the animals, it is made for a younger generation to show them about the world they live in, however it can still be viewed by the older generations. 

 

Participatory Documentaries are a type of documentary where the filmmaker is participating in the creation, interviewing and being interviewed. It’s like a debate, but one that is between two people who don’t hate the other for their beliefs, although some lack the debate aspect. A good example of Participatory Documentaries is Bowling for Columbine, even though it mixes observational and performative styles 

 Chronicles of a Summer (1960) Is a participatory documentary which has the filmmakers interviewing the public it is made for an older generation, likely those born around the time of its release. 

 

Documentaries have been around since the early 20th century; the entire point was to document life. The term was coined by John Grierson in 1926; Documentaries were used as tools for propaganda in the WWII, the purpose of documentaries now is to inform and to get points across. 

The Act of Murder (2012) was made over a decade ago (from 2025) and follows multiple death-squad leaders who have committed mass killings, letting them reenact it in different genres and filmmaking ways, most of them were happy to do so, while others feared it would paint them in a bad light, (which was so bad most of the crew members were not in the credits to avoid retribution) Anwar (one of the death-squad leaders) said he felt how his victims did, while Joshua Oppenheimer tells him his victims felt worse, because Anwar knows it’s a film. 

The documentary was worth an estimated $1,000,000, yet made $726,324 worldwide, losing over $270,000 for the production which would make it not a loss or gain, however this documentary was supposed to show the acts of these death-squad leaders rather than monetizing the mass killings. The movie has a rating of 8.2/10 on IMDb 

 

 

Bowling for Columbine (2002) was made 2 decades ago and was showcase of the reality of American gun violence after the Columbine Massacre where Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold killed 13, injured 23, and traumatising the surrounding area before shooting themselves. They ask people if they should own weapons, and compares it to Weapons of Mass Destruction, and ask if they should own those, those two in context, a gun and a missile can enact mass destruction. 

The documentary used $4,000,000 for the budget, and made $58,015,923 worldwide, BFC managed to make $54,000,000 in revenue, it’s likely it was a success as Michael Moore had more and previous successful movies, the issue was also more relevant, as the killing just happened, whereas The Act of Killing was killings that happened in the 1960s. Bowling for Columbine has a  7.9/10 (likely due to the errors and lack of research was done in the storytelling, such as the fact there was no evidence that the shooters did go bowling.)