Film Studies 230 - Documentary Film

This course examines the history, theory, and practice of the genre called Documentary Film. Between studying the 'actualites' of the cinema's first practitioners and the self-reflexive postmodern works of contemporary filmmakers such as Errol Morris, we will investigate ethnographic film, cinema verité, direct cinema, activist media, personal essay films, docudramas, and 'mockumentaries.' We will examine the formal structures through which these films make meaning and explore theoretical questions concerning notions of truth, ethics, and politics.

Prereq: Film Studies 201 or 202.