Do you think documentaries are appealing to viewers like you? If not, why not; if they are, what makes them relevant? (Think subject matter, style, 'shock value', etc.) Whatever your position, justify your response with 2-3 examples of documentary/reality movies or TVs, explaining why each proves your point. 300 words; due Sunday of Week 1, 8pm.
Documentaries can be defined as “a non-fiction text using ‘actuality’ to create factual footage”, this includes the use of live recordings, interviews, statistics and most importantly facts.(Wells, 2010) As a result of this definition, film makers can generally make documentaries on almost any topic they would like to express their interpretation of.
The start of documentaries is said to be over 100 years old, dating back to 1895 when capturing ‘moving film’ was the next best thing in the world. It has evolved from this and now documentaries can be viewed almost anywhere on anything.
How relevant a documentary is, I believe is purely based on what the viewer’s approach is. For me in this instance, I believe that documentaries with a subject matter that is of interest is very relevant as it ‘persuades’ me to watch out of curiosity of facts that can be found within the film. For example, if there was a documentary on the ‘1995 Rugby Union World Cup’, I would most likely watch it because it is within my interest of how a country such as South Africa, with so much poverty, a struggling economy and most importantly a hardly