Rethinking Documentary: New Perspectives and Practices

Part 1: Critical perspectives on documentary forms and concepts
'Documentary studies': dimensions of continuity and transition by John Corner
The question of evidence, the power of rhetoric and documentary film by Bill Nichols
First-person films: some theses on self-inscription by Michael Renov
'To leave the confinements of his humanness': authorial voice, death and constructions of nature in Werner Herzog's Grizzly Man by Thomas Austin
Collective subjectivity in The Children of Golzow vs. alienation in 'western' interview documentary by Silke Panse
Documentary as critical and creative research by Mike Wayne Reframing ethnographic film by Paul Basu
Transcendental realism in documentary by Erik Knudsen
Filming the 'invisible' by Michael Chanan
Part 2: The changing faces of documentary production Developing and producing a feature documentary: the case of Deep Water by Wilma de Jong
Filmmakers and their subjects by Jerry Rothwell
From eight-man crew to one-woman band: my life in television by Marilyn Gaunt 'You want to know that, this is real, this is what happened': an interview with John Smithson by Wilma de Jong and Thomas Austin 'The idea that there's a "truth" that you discover is like chasing the end of a rainbow': an interview with Ralph Lee Wilma de Jong
Rice N Peas: alternative, independent and provocative by Ishmahil Blagrove, Jr
'The importance of memory': an interview with Ai Xiaoming by Sue Thornham
Part 3: Contemporary documentary: borders, neighbours and disputed territories
Drama-documentary, ethics and notions of performance: the 'flight 93' films by Paul Ward
Mockumentary: a call to play by Craig Hight
Documentary modes of engagement by Annette Hill
'Ask the fastidious woman from Surbiton to hand-wash the underpants of the aging Oldham Skinhead...': Why not Wife Swap? by Su Holmes and Deborah Jermyn
Simulating the public sphere by Jon Dovey
The work of work: reality TV and the negotiation of neoliberal labour in The Apprentice by Nick Couldry and Jo Littler
Part 4: Digital and online documentaries: opportunities and limitations
Documentary viewing platforms by Ana Vicente
Online documentary by Danny Birchall
Public domains: engaging Iraq through experimental documentary digitalities by Patricia R. Zimmermann
Documentary on YouTube: the failure of the direct cinema of the slogan by Alexandra Juhasz

From a boom in theatrical features to footage posted on websites such as YouTube and Google Video, the early years of the 21st century have witnessed significant changes in the technological, commercial, aesthetic, political, and social dimensions of documentaries on film, television and the web.

In response to these rapid developments, this book rethinks the notion of documentary, in terms of theory, practice and object/s of study. Drawing together 26 original essays from scholars and practitioners, it critically assesses ideas and constructions of documentary and, where necessary, proposes new tools and arguments with which to examine this complex and shifting terrain.

Covering a range of media output, the book is divided into four sections:

• Critical perspectives on documentary forms and concepts
• The changing faces of documentary production Contemporary documentary: borders, neighbours and disputed territories
• Digital and online documentaries: opportunities and limitations

Rethinking Documentary is valuable reading for scholars and students working in documentary theory and practice, film studies, and media studies.