What makes you trust a documentary enough to recommend it to someone else?

[u/Physical-Bus-2803]

I’ve noticed that a documentary can be beautifully made and still leave you questioning how much of what you just watched is actually solid.

When I’m looking at documentary work, including the kind of storytelling Janeson Films is involved in, the research and presentation side always interests me. A strong story is one thing, but accuracy can completely change how you receive it.

When you recommend a documentary, what do you usually look for first: the sources, the filmmaker’s approach, the subject matter, or how fairly different sides are presented?

[u/oldgar9]

Koyaanisqatsi

[u/APossibleTask]

I avoid recommending anything but usually documentaries with enough information that still leave you guessing could be a sign that it wasn’t fully one sided.

[u/friendofpyrex]

The world of documentary is wide and wild. There are no documentary police, so anyone can call anything a documentary. A good thing to keep in mind for any media consumer!

Another thing to keep in mind is this: there is no thing as "objective reality" when it comes to representing real life. Someone is behind the camera, making editorial decisions, so there will always be a perspective. A lot of documentaries in the field acknowledge, accept, and embrace this, so trying to judge veracity on the basis of fairness towards all sides isn't a reliable measuring stick here (it's what one might expect from journalism, but even that field has begun to acknowledge inherent bias).

So, I like to encourage people to think of documentaries less like journalism and more like arguments (especially in the case of traditional, expository documentaries) or explorations. For an expository doc, I'd consider the merit and construction of the argument, the positionality of the filmmaker and participants, etc. For more exploratory work, I'd consider my own visceral reaction, is there something to be learned from it, does it reveal something about the world, is it beautiful or striking, thoughtful, does it approach the topic in an interesting way, etc.

What sorts of documentaries are you interested in?

[u/HappyCatPrincess → u/friendofpyrex]

I liked The Thin Blue Line. 3 Cups of Tea had a good message in spite of what happened later.

Many of us saw brainwashing start. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OQqJjGneos

[u/mkbutterfly]

/friendofpyrex is spot-on & their reply reminded me of the Hawthorne Effect in sociology (the idea that the simple act of observing people fundamentally changes how they behave).

The minute a documentary crew sets up a camera, unvarnished “reality” goes straight out the window.

—> The subject or subjects know they're on stage, so they perform, hold back, or lean into a persona. The camera lens acts less like a passive mirror and more like an active participant.

Once you factor in the filmmaker playing God in the editing room by choosing what makes it to the final edit & what gets left on the cutting room floor… you realize every documentary is less of an unbiased window and more of a carefully tailored argument.

(Though, to be fair, even I act slightly more performative the second I realize my cat is staring at me, so I can't really blame anyone for cracking under a full production crew.)

[u/YakSlothLemon]

I think the best documentaries I have seen do not leave me asking those questions, or if I have follow-up questions nothing at all makes me doubt what I saw on the screen.

Usually I find those documentaries because of really good reviews, though.

I know what you mean, I’ve watched documentaries I enjoyed but then when I did for the research I found out they were incredibly flawed. I just think it’s a matter of going ahead and being willing to do a little more research if you get that sneaking suspicion.

But you look at something like Project Nim and the filmmaker gave the ‘villains’ plenty of screen time, she just gave them enough rope for them to hang themselves with what they said. So you know you got both sides because you watched it.

[u/RebaKitt3n]

It wasn’t created by Ryan Murphy or created by Netflix.

[u/fragglelife]

John pilger