Documentaries gives us a peek into the window of someone else’s reality, and in these very unusual times, a glimpse into a place where the real world is not upended and devastated by a global panic sounds quite comforting. While during “normal” times, one might escape through fantasy, sci-fi, or a very engrossing drama, during the era of COVID-19, why not try the documentary?
Documentary film first began as the creation of brief, informational videos and has evolved over time to become more observational, expository, and entertaining. One of the most significant early documentaries is Nanook of the North , a 1922 chronicle of an Inuit man and his family in Northern Canada. Often hailed as a significant cultural achievement, Nanook is an excellent example for critically thinking about the art of documentary filmmaking. Who is controlling the narrative, and how has the filmmaker influenced the audience’s response to what they’re seeing on screen?
Side note: Canadian throat singer and writer Tanya Tagaq has reclaimed the Inuit culture depicted in Nanook of the North with her various albums and her excellent 2018 book Split Tooth , available through SPL.
Observational and direct cinema—forms of filmmaking that involve little to no participation from the director and filmmaking crew (think: fly on the wall), began to take hold throughout the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. Absolutely anything by former-lawyer-turned-documentarian Frederick Wiseman is worth a watch; his films are often meditative journeys into social institutions and systems. Without the use of voiceover or any real plot or structure, you will find yourself completely immersed in whichever world Wiseman has chosen to study.
Luckily for us, the entirety of Wiseman’s catalog of work is available on Kanopy. Some personal favorites include:
Yes, Wiseman’s films are quite long, but I promise they’re worth it. Besides, we have the time to spare!
As for modern documentary filmmaking, it can take many forms: docuseries are a form of episodic storytelling content that can often be found on streaming platforms like Netflix (Cheer exceeded my expectations!), expository documentaries tend to focus on uncovering truths to convince or sway an audience, poetic documentaries are more experimental and resemble something like a collage—their intended purpose is to evoke feelings rather than tell truths. A documentary can be a hybrid, blending different forms of storytelling to create a meaningful experience for the viewer. Midnight Traveler comes to mind; a heartbreaking, beautifully raw immigration story that was shot entirely on iPhones. Give it a shot.
I’ll leave you with just a few more suggestions from the SPL collection; all modern, all uniquely different from one another. Find your niche and dive in!
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- I Am Not Your Negro; James Baldwin, institutional racism
- Blackfish; animal captivity, a scathing look at Seaworld
- The Russian Woodpecker; a Chernobyl survivor, conspiracy theories
- Los Punks; Latinx culture, punk scene in Los Angeles
- Jesus Camp; youth experience, Evangelicals
- Rat Film; Baltimore history, classism, and yes, rats!
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There is also a plethora of docs to explore throughout the many big-name streaming services out there; Circus of Books, just out on Netflix, looks fantastic. Hulu has a little something for everyone: RBG for some necessary political history, Free Solo for adrenaline junkies (my palms never stopped sweating), and Cold Case Hammarskjöld for my fellow true-crime nerds. Tubi offers one of my absolute favorites, The Wolfpack.
If you’d like to continue to learn about the process of documentary filmmaking, or might even consider making one yourself, check out Capturing Reality: The Art of the Documentary for an overall view. Happy watching!
~posted by Cait C.
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