A Lie That Tells the Truth: How Fictional Techniques Enhance Documentary Storytelling

The term documentary is synonymous with notions of truth and reality, but the idea of attaining total objectivity is both misleading and unhelpful. Hanna Schenkel looks at three groundbreaking documentaries and explains why, somewhat paradoxically, techniques associated with fictional filmmaking can enhance a documentary's ability to present truth. Additional keywords: teaching media, senior secondary, Waltz with Bashir, Ari Folman, The Thin Blue Line, Errol Morris, Bear 71, Leanne Allison, Jeremy Mendes, interactive documentary, web documentary, classic documentary, animation, metanarrative, Gimme Shelter, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Maysles brothers, Charlotte Zwerin, Brecht, war, genre