Recent Directions in Documentary: An Introduction (Editorial‪)‬

Through much of the twentieth century, the words associated with the documentary were "objective," "apolitical," "factual," "authentic"--and dull. In actuality, non-fiction films were rarely morally neutral nor were they uncreative artistically. Documentarians not only explored unconventional subject matters, but also challenged dominant artistic and political paradigms. Even when they were not advocates for a particular social or political position, documentary filmmakers brought an idealism and a critical, reflexive perspective to their work. Despite their stress on the "real" and the "raw," documentarians were artists, engaged, in John Grierson's evocative phrase, in "the creative treatment of actuality." Documentary makers have frequently been at the forefront of efforts to experiment with alternate modes of storytelling. For American filmgoers who came of age during the 1950s and 1960s, foreign films served a critical role in helping them understand that film could take forms radically different than those found in Hollywood cinema. The decline in campus film series and art houses in the 1970s and 1980s made it more difficult to view films that offered alternative aesthetics, themes, and approaches. The rise of video provided new avenues of distribution. But, increasingly, it has been the proliferation of documentary or documentary-like films that has provided the most significant alternative to Hollywood practice.