Opinion: The Truth about Reality

Making documentaries appears to be an arcane, barely understood activity. Documentarists, as they are inelegantly called, are thought to appropriate private lives. Even more than journalists, they are perceived to make their living by telling lies. Documentary makers too discuss whether 'real truth' is subjective or not - and on the whole, they tend to believe it is - and whether it's possible to give an account of the world without resorting to fiction. With the recent commercial success of documentaries, however, and the internationalization of the market in the art form, the tone of such discussion has begun to change. Now the question of who makes documentaries - and who owns them - has suddenly become important.

October 1, 2005

Making documentaries appears to be an arcane, barely understood activity. Documentarists, as they are inelegantly called, are thought to appropriate private lives. Even more than journalists, they are perceived to make their living by telling lies. Documentary makers too discuss whether 'real truth' is subjective or not - and on the whole, they tend to believe it is - and whether it's possible to give an account of the world without resorting to fiction. With the recent commercial success of documentaries, however, and the internationalization of the market in the art form, the tone of such discussion has begun to change. Now the question of who makes documentaries - and who owns them - has suddenly become important.