COMM 222: History of the Motion Picture: Documentary Films

The course traces the evolution of the documentary from its early fascination with daily life and the lyrical documentaries of the 1930s through WWII propaganda films and the socially conscious films of the mid-century to the investigative reporting and personal essay forms of recent decades. The course examines the documentary not only as a technological, political and social phenomenon, but also as a form of artistic, personal expression. The course emphasizes documentary’s relationship to other non-fiction media such as journalism.