In a World Full of Voyuerism and "Reality TV," Documentaries Are Ignored
Filed under: Documentary, Fandom
Over the last week, I've been busy attending Hot Docs, one of the coolest film festivals you can attend, and the largest documentary fest in North America. Screening after screening, I sat there watching excellent films (which you will hear about soon!), and watching packed houses visibly moved by them. One of the sentiments you'll most often hear: "Thank you." Q&A after Q&A, audiences thank the filmmakers for what they've created, and the lives they've shown on the big screen. Yet most will get very little play outside of the festival circuit.
This baffles me.
I understand why some people aren't into documentaries -- they want escape and entertainment in their films, and only attend movies that will give them that. I know quite a few people who see nothing but the biggest releases for this very reason. But the thing is -- they aren't the only type of moviegoer out there; moreover, we're living in a society where voyeurism sells. We follow the Tweets of the famous, overindulge in "reality" TV, ingest gossip on a daily basis, delight in exposes, read the news, watch real people become celebrities, follow each other's every move through the Internet ... yet we won't go out and see a documentary.
People, they're good. They're heart-warming, heart-wrenching, and laughter-inducing. They'll teach you something and make you think, but they'll also inspire and entertain you. Hot Docs is the only festival I've ever attended (or group of movies I have ever watched) where I like almost every one, and love more than I ever thought possible -- Dear Zachary, Protagonist, Girls Rock!, Billy the Kid, Seven Dumpsters and a Corpse... There's a wonderful and vast world outside of Michael Moore.
They are, simply, so very worth your time. So next time you're thinking of watching some ridiculous reality show, just say no and choose a documentary instead.
Tom Cruise and J.J. Abrams Reunite for 'Mission Impossible 4'
'Big Top Pee-Wee': The Original Benicio Del Toro Wolfman
Spin-ematical: New on DVD and Blu-ray for 2/9
Watch This: Brilliant Oscar-Nominated Short 'Logorama'
Chris Nolan to Lead 'Superman' Reboot!?
_thumbnail.jpg)
_thumbnail.jpg)
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
5-10-2009 @ 4:08PM
Adrienne said...
Thank you for this post. Everything you say about documentaries is true. People have misconceptions about how entertaining (or depressing) they can be. Sometimes I recommend a title to someone and they seem interested until I tell them it's a documentary. It's frustrating. Folks seem to think they're either all like Intervention, Ken Burns' work or Farenheit 9/11 (a film, btw, that was so ridiculously one-sided it ended up being meaningless). While I admit I'm somewhat of a Frontline junkie, that's not the end all, be all of documentaries.
Awhile back a few friends and I had a "year of the documentary" during which we really came to appreciate what's out there. I'm still working my way through a bunch, but so far the most entertaining I've ever seen are Spellbound, about kids in the National Spelling Bee--in fact this one is probably on my top 20 list of all movies; Trekkies; the Up Series; Capturing the Friedmans; Taxi to the Dark Side; Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room; and the 1984 Times of Harvey Milk documentary (which is a far superior film than Sean Penn's Milk).
I'll definitely be looking forward to further coverage on what you saw at HotDocs this year.
Reply
5-10-2009 @ 10:21PM
Monika said...
Thanks!
You should definitely try to make it to Hot Docs sometime if you can. It's a really amazing festival where you get a chance to see both the biggies and the films you never heard of -- and many of those are just as good, or better, than the big-buzz stuff.
5-10-2009 @ 5:00PM
MCW said...
Looking at their site... there is 15+ pages of docs... good lord, are there really that many being shown there this year?
The shame of it is, for most of us, we won't get to see but 5% of them on DVD or Blu-ray, because of their ultra low-budget and genre.
"Action Boys" sounds interesting, but again, I can't get excited for something I'll never see.
I'd love to see more documentaries, but I usually like to only see ones about subjects I already know. Was the ROCKAFIRE movie there? I'm really into that sort of film... I hope someday I'll get to see it.
Reply
5-10-2009 @ 10:18PM
Monika said...
Yup! More than 150 docs, I believe -- most of which are new, save from some retro fare like a Ron Mann retrospective. I feel like a slacker having only seen 15! (2 of which were shorts tacked onto features)
It's getting a bit easier to buy docs. I've grabbed Ghosts of Cite Soliel, Billy the Kid, and Protagonist .. I think all at Amazon.
It's actually harder to get introduced to the doc than buy it, because many are for sale individually on other websites if they're not widely sold. Or, if you're interested in Canadian film, places like the NFB sell copies (don't know if there is a US equivalent).
Action Boys was one of the films I saw.. Stay tuned! :)
5-11-2009 @ 1:51AM
almostinfocus said...
You forgot Martin Scorsese and "Boxcar Bertha".
Reply
5-11-2009 @ 1:55AM
almostinfocus said...
Sorry about this comment. I tried an auto login and it must have saved my last comment to another post.
Reply
5-11-2009 @ 2:05AM
almostinfocus said...
OK, so now the real comment...
This post reminded me that back when "Twin Peaks" first aired and everyone was talking about it and its creators, David Lynch and Mark Frost were given a chance to create another show called "American Chronicles". It was a brilliant documentary series that focused on something different each episode. It was very creative and expressionistic. They weren't trying to be objective; each show was more like a video essay than a stab at journalism. But it was more "real" and infinitely more interesting than what is labeled "reality tv" today. Of course it failed miserably. But I keep hoping something like it comes along again.
Reply
5-11-2009 @ 10:43AM
clint said...
I definitely agree with your thoughts. I would love to be exposed to more documentaries. I recently saw "Swallow Your Pride" (a doc on competitive eating) at SnagFilms.com. I hope to use SnagFilms more in the future. And I also saw "Dear Zachary" and thought it was one of the most emotional and powerful documentaries I've ever seen.
Read more at http://blog.ParcEntertainment.com
Follow me on Twitter - http://twitter.com/ParcHDVideo
Reply
5-11-2009 @ 11:42AM
Chet said...
The word "documentary" is poison. It means "boring, preachy, inducing feelings of guilt or helplessness."
I know this isn't fair, but it's true. And the more I'm told I should see some documentary, the less I want to see it. Yeah, I should eat better and get more exercise and read more too.
Celebrity-tracking and Reality TV are soap operas -- hyperdramatic escapism, shared drama, community gossip.
You can't gossip about a documentary, because nobody's seen it. And because the subjects didn't push THEMSELVES into the limelight, finding escapist enjoyment in a documentary subject's drama feels dirty.
Of course y'all can probably list a hundred documentaries that don't fit the stereotype... and that's part of the problem. Unless they're going to be sold on the same escapist basis as popular entertainment, they're going to continue competing for that little sliver of remaining conscience people have, i.e. targeting citizens, not consumers. Good luck getting our attention.
Reply