We are in the process of providing useful genre information for the films on Docuseek2.
Since most of the titles on Docuseek2 are documentaries, our genre
listing digs deeper into the documentary field to provide a sense as to
what kind of documentary the film is. Our categories are roughly derived
from the categories of documentary theorist Bill Nichols (see, e.g.
Wikipedia's entry on Documentary mode; or his book Introduction to Documentary, Indiana University Press, 2001.) One might quibble whether these are properly genres or "just" modes
of delivery, but within the rich field of documentary film, "genre"
seems more useful for organizing the films, so we are using it here.
Here is the list of the Docuseek2 genres.
Expository
Expository documentary features an omnipresent, omniscient and/or
objective presence, typically expressed as narration to organize and
present the content. The filmmaker generally does not appear on camera.
This is the default genre for Docuseek2 titles. If a title has not been
categorized, it will show Expository as the genre.
Poetic
Joris Ivens Rain (sadly, not available on Docuseek2) is the
classic example of the poetic documentary genre. The film relies on the
images, with little or no narration. If any narration is present, it too
can be characterized as poetry. The filmmaker is actively organizing
the material to create a poetic statement.
Essayistic
Essayistic documentary features an essay-like narration by the
filmmaker. The films will often have a poetic quality, but rely on
narration supported by the images to convey a message. Chris Marker's
films (see, e.g., The Case of the Grinning Cat) are good examples of essayistic filmmaking, or Allan Sekula and Noel Burch's The Forgotten Space on Docuseek2.
Observational
Observational documentary attempts to provide a faithful record of some
activity, situating the viewer as a fly-on-the-wall, and providing little or no narration or music.
Where the poetic genre is organized to express a poetic vision,
observational documentary attempts to show the thing-as-it-is.
Participatory
Participatory documentary can be considered the opposite of
observational -- the filmmaker appears as an obviously active
participant in the film, appearing on camera and interacting with the
subject matter. King Corn or the films of Michael Moore are examples of the Participatory genre of documentary.
Performance
We use the category of Performance to refer to the recording of a dramatic performance (e.g., a concert or play). Dido and Aeneas is an example of the performance genre.
Interview
The Interview film is a record of a conversation, discussion or
interview of one or more subjects. While this could be considered a type
of performance film, the content is delivered directly to the viewer
through the speech of the interviewer and interviewee(s), and not
through the medium of music or drama or dance. As a popular television
format, many of these TV recordings are available as videos. The films
in the Writers of Today series are examples of the Interview genre.
Dramatization
Dramatization recreates an event or person using actors in an attempt
to enable to viewer to be "on the scene" of the event or present with
the historical figure. One could debate whether this is properly a
"documentary", although the technique has been used effectively within
documentaries that might fall in another genre. A Sense of Wonder dramatizes pioneering environmentalist Rachel Carson during the final year of her life.
Mixed
Documentaries that use a combination of modes or genres fall into a mixed genre. Disco and Atomic War
combines dramatizations to portray the narrator's memory and
imagination of events from his childhood to great effect, along with
essayistic, expository and interview modes.
Animation
We have a few of non-fiction animation films on Docuseek2. Since the
most distinctive element of their presentation is the use of animation
throughout, we added this as one more genre. See, e.g. Bully Dance or Marx for Beginners.
As noted above, we are in the process of assigning genres to the films
in the Docuseek2 collection, so it may look like some films are
mis-categorized as the default "Expository". Let us know, and we will
get that fixed.
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