CONTENTS
PREFACE
ONE - Some Ways to Think about Documentary

• Description
• Definition
• Intellectual Contexts
• Pre-documentary Origins
• Books on Documentary Theory and General Histories of Documentary

TWO - Beginnings: The Americans and Popular Anthropology,
1922-1929

• The Work of Robert Flaherty
• The Flaherty Way
• Offshoots from Flaherty
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

THREE - Beginnings: The Soviets and Political Indoctrination, 1922-1929

• Nonfiction
• Fiction
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

FOUR - Beginnings: The European Avant-Gardists and Artistic Experimentation, 1922-1929

• Aesthetic Predispositions
• Avant-Garde and Documentary
• Three City Symphonies
• End of the Avant-Garde
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

FIVE - Institutionalization: Great Britain, 1929-1939

• Background and Underpinnings
• The System
• The Films
• Grierson and Flaherty
• Grierson’s Contribution
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

SIX - Institutionalization: United States, 1930-1941

• Film on the Left
• The March of Time
• Government Documentaries
• Non-government Documentaries
• American and British Differences
• Dénouement
• An Aside to Conclude
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

SEVEN - Expansion: Great Britain, 1939-1945

• Early Days
• Indoctrination
• Social Documentary
• Records of Battle
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

EIGHT - Expansion: Canada, 1939-1945

• Founding of National Film Board
• Theatrical Series
• Nontheatrical Films
• Summary
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

NINE - Expansion: United States, 1941-1945

• Training
• Indoctrination
• Records of Battle
• Social Documentary
• Comparisons: Great Britain, Canada, United States
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

TEN - The Unfulfilled Promise: Postwar Documentary, 1945-1952

• Personnel and Leadership
• Sponsorship
• Subjects
• Approaches and Techniques
• Final Observations
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

ELEVEN - In Pursuit of Excellence: National Film Board of Canada’s Unit B, 1948-1964

• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

TWELVE - A New Channel: Documentary for Television, The “Golden Years,” 1951-1971

• Historical Background
• Documentary Series
• Special Characteristics of Television Documentary
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

THIRTEEN - British Free Cinema and Social-Realist Features, 1956-1963

• Critical Background
• Free Cinema Films
• Political and Cultural Context
• Social-Realist Features
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

FOURTEEN - Direct Cinema and Cinéma Vérité, 1960-1970

• Historical Background
• New Technology and First Films
• Direct Cinema vs. Cinéma Vérité
• Effects on Documentary Subjects and Styles
• Aesthetic and Ethical Considerations
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

FIFTEEN - English Language Documentary in the 1970s:
Power of the People

• Veteran Filmmakers
• New Directions in Verite
• Social and Political Emphases
• Historical Documentary
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

SIXTEEN - English Language Documentary in the 1980s:
Video Arrives

• Cable and Satellite Technology
• Personal Essay
• Historical Documentary
• Strictly Political
• Racial and Ethnic Minorities
• Representing Gay and Lesbian Culture
• Music and Performance
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

SEVENTEEN - English Language Documentary in the 1990s: Reality Bytes

• Business and Technology
• American Public Television
• Canada Soldiers On
• Developments in the UK
• American Independents
• Theatrical Documentary
• Films of the Period
• Books on the Period

EIGHTEEN - Other Ways to Think About Documentary

• Technological Promises
• Aesthetics and Content
• Finance
• Reality TV
• Newer Theory
• The Future
• Conclusion

APPENDICES

• Awards for Documentaries
• Documentary Film Festivals
• Academy Award Winning Documentaries
• Grierson Trust Award Winning Documentaries
• Documentaries Selected to the Library of Congress National Film Registry
• International Documentary Association Career Achievement Award Winners

INDEX