The culture and history of traditional documentaries carries a set of expectations about types and topics, which are covered by the genre. Documentaries are designed to push social agendas with few thoughts to the aud...The culture and history of traditional documentaries carries a set of expectations about types and topics, which are covered by the genre. Documentaries are designed to push social agendas with few thoughts to the audience reaction. They align more closely with the vision of the creators and producers, often delivering ideological expressions that present cultural, political, and historical content. However, this might be a voice from the past as television, film, and consumer-generated content finds easy voices for expression due to accessibility of technology in the digital era. The role of documentaries as a genre is in the process of changing. The challenges to this type of production are the result of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Production costs for creating documentaries have simultaneously soared and shrunk, depending on the accessibility of equipment, post-production facilities and distribution. Of course there are many exceptions to this rule given outlets such as film festivals and YouTube as well as Michael Moore-level auteurs. External influences center on the blurring of lines, caused by the proliferation of television programs under the ＂umbrella＂ of reality television. This, in turn, begs the question： Is reality programming the new documentary or is it a new separate genre？ This discussion will explore the overlap and similarities that exist between documentary programming and reality television programming. Furthermore, it will develop a paradigm of comparisons that re-examines the role and character of documentary production and aesthetics within the landscape of the reality television genre.展开更多
文摘The culture and history of traditional documentaries carries a set of expectations about types and topics, which are covered by the genre. Documentaries are designed to push social agendas with few thoughts to the audience reaction. They align more closely with the vision of the creators and producers, often delivering ideological expressions that present cultural, political, and historical content. However, this might be a voice from the past as television, film, and consumer-generated content finds easy voices for expression due to accessibility of technology in the digital era. The role of documentaries as a genre is in the process of changing. The challenges to this type of production are the result of both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Production costs for creating documentaries have simultaneously soared and shrunk, depending on the accessibility of equipment, post-production facilities and distribution. Of course there are many exceptions to this rule given outlets such as film festivals and YouTube as well as Michael Moore-level auteurs. External influences center on the blurring of lines, caused by the proliferation of television programs under the ＂umbrella＂ of reality television. This, in turn, begs the question： Is reality programming the new documentary or is it a new separate genre？ This discussion will explore the overlap and similarities that exist between documentary programming and reality television programming. Furthermore, it will develop a paradigm of comparisons that re-examines the role and character of documentary production and aesthetics within the landscape of the reality television genre.
