DMS 410LEC—Non Fiction Film

This course examines the history and theoretical development of independent documentary/nonfiction film as both an established art form and as an instrument for constructing social knowledge and/or social activism. Using the conventions and methods of media studies, the class looks at extraordinary works of documentary, primarily from the 1970’s to the present, and analyzes the nature of nonfiction film?s compelling effect on viewers. We look at film’s capacity for intimate viewer engagement, and we focus on the curious relationship between images of reality and reality itself. Beginning with Nanook of the North and spanning more than a century, documentary film has had a far greater influence on narrative cinema than many people realize.