In the past, documentaries were extremely boring and mind numbing experiences. At least, that was their reputation. The genre was reserved for backlogged dusty film classes and pseudo intellectual talks about World War two.
Enter HBO, Micheal Moore and even MTV and documentaries have become cool again. Granted, these aren't the run of the mill National Geographic documentaries. These are films with soundtracks, biting commentary and subjective points of view.
By any textbook standards, documentaries are supposed to create films and try objectively to document what they have found. Not so with modern documentaries. Films such as Bowling for Columbine had no qualms about taking sides and sticking with the issues. Indeed, these films became attacks on the system in ways that no other films could parlay.
While these films became more popular the nation became aware of issues that were pertinent to our daily lives. Films which targeted obesity and corruption in white collar society such as the film The Corporation and Super Size Me were hot topics everywhere.
Documentaries started to become bolder and more politically charged. Films such as Farenheit 911 threatened a political election. Other movies were amazing in the way they seemed to be scripted movies such as March of the Penguins which spawned cartoon copycats.
Documentaries have become a popular staple of film and television and opened our minds to new horizons. Let's hope it stays that way.
Maryam DiMauro
Filmsi
**Read more articles by Maryam DiMauro**
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