Documentary and its realism

Abstract

It is commonly thought that documentaries, especially the observational kind, show reality. This thought stems from the unique realism of such films, and actually this realism is not a matter of accuracy or correspondence. It is the feeling, not a thought or belief, that accompanies actual seeing. Observational films require only that the subject of the film be there in front of the camera. Furthermore, this requirement (observation of the subject itself) is not necessary for non-expository documentaries. That is, we have to allow documentaries in which we see only reconstructions (actors and sets) and there is no voice-over narration. If 'documentary' is too strong here, at least we should allow such nonfiction films.