A documentary’s purpose is to capture an aspect of reality in video format, in order to entertain, educate, inform or persuade the viewer about a certain issue.

The documentary can also be described as a “creative treatment of actuality” - John Grierson 1930s

It has been said that the first and foremost intention of a documentary is to spread an idea, as opposed to a piece of fiction, which prioritises entertainment above all.

What is the Documentary Genre?What is the Documentary Genre?

Historical ContextHistorical Context John Grierson: Known

as the father of British and Canadian documentary film. He was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker.

““In documentary we deal In documentary we deal with the actual, and in with the actual, and in one sense with the real. one sense with the real. But the really real, if I But the really real, if I may use that phrase, is may use that phrase, is something deeper than something deeper than that.” that.” -John Grierson

Aims of the DocumentaryAims of the Documentary

In simple terms, the aim of a documentary is to convey a point convey a point or a message.or a message.

The majority of documentaries aim to inform, investigate, entertain or educate.

However, documentaries are also able to intervene, enlighten, discuss, explore, analyse, express, preserve or persuade.

Evolution of the DocumentaryEvolution of the Documentary ““Get two documentarians Get two documentarians

together and the chances are together and the chances are high that they will argue about high that they will argue about what documentary is.” what documentary is.” -Michael Rabinger

Documentaries are constantly evolving and expanding to wider audiences. Michael Rabinger's quote supports the theory that there are no two documentaries that are the same.

Because of this fact, the horizon has expanded for audiences for documentaries, resulting in a much more diverse audience for different documentaries.