Quick overview of Bill Nichols' concept of documentary modes for English 232: Film and Visual Literacy at Fayetteville State University.

1. Documentary Modes
English 232: Film and Visual Literacy

2. Documentary Modes
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The concept of documentary modes was developed
by Bill Nichols in his classic 2001 book, Introduction
to Documentary.
Rather than analyzing categories of documentaries
in terms of genre, Nichols proposes “modes” as a
way of describing how docs engage with the actual
world, usually in an effort to express a sense of
“authenticity.”
Modes become dominant during certain historical
periods in response to technological, social, and
political change.
Modes are not mutually exclusive. One mode is
usually dominant, but a given documentary may
have characteristics of several modes.

3. Poetic mode (origins: 1920s)
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Associated with Soviet montage theory and French
Impressionist cinema
Usually lack a clear narrative
Characters and events are undeveloped in favor of
establishing a mood or tone
Poetic documentaries avoid continuity editing in
favor of rhythmic editing techniques.
Examples:
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JorisIvens’ Regen (1929):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPD2C0K38jY
Godfrey Reggis’sKoyannisqatsi (1982):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uAiHSlUUIc

4. Expository documentary (1930s)
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Often serve a rhetorical purpose to disseminate
information to or persuade audiences
Frequently used voice-over narration (often described as
voice-of-God narration because narrator is omniscient
and onmipresent—think Morgan Freeman!). Emerged in
part due to rise of sound cinema.
Uses what Nichols calls “evidentiary editing” where
images serve as evidence of narrative/observation.
Examples:
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Pare Lorentz’ The River (1937):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uAiHSlUUIc
Watt and Wright’s Night Mail (1936):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uAiHSlUUIc
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Features poem by British poet W.H. Auden!

5. Observational Mode (late 1950s)
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Developed in response to perceived artificiality of
expository documentaries and made use of modern,
mobile camera equipment and sound recorders.
Fly-on-the-wall style. Very few cuts, no voice-over
narration, no non-diegetic music, no scene
arrangement.
Viewers were invited to watch and reach their own
conclusions.
Examples:
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D.A. Pennebaker’s Don’t Look Back (1967):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WH55dLua9E0
Frederick Wiseman’s Titicut Follies (1967):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT3NLw2IPPw

6. Participatory Mode (1970s-80s)
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Acknowledge the role of the the filmmaker in
creating meaning
The filmmaker/director often appears on-screen and
frames documentary as his or her subjective
experience, becoming a social actor like those who
appear on screen
Examples:
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Ross McElwee’s Sherman’s March (1986):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnohMWYXeZ4
Alan Berliner’s Sweetest Sound (2001):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rayfzuObAiA

7. Reflexive Mode (1970s)
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Engage with the very techniques of documentary
storytelling (i.e., documentaries about documentary
filmmaking)
Meant to encourage a more critical viewership by
exposing how truth is constructed
Highly skeptical of “realism,” even in documentary
film
Examples:
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Trinh Minh-ha’sReassemblage (1983):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSZaRHg0xVs
Jim McBride’s David Holzman’s Diary (1968):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDsRhMVpADw

8. Performative Documentaries (1980s)
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Stress subjective experience and an emotional
response to the world
Might include hypothetical enactments of events
designed to entice the viewer to experience what it’s
like to share a specific perspective on the world
Examples:
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Marlon Riggs’ Tongues Untied (1989):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWuPLxMBjM8
Jonathan Caouette’sTarnation (2003):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_7YjtX5fcW0