| Description |
275 p. : ill. ; 24 cm. |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references and index. |
| Contents |
Novelties, spectacles and the documentary impulse. Case studies: Blacksmith scene (1893), Buffalo dance (1894), Mess call (1896) -- Virtual travels and the tourist gaze. Case study: Nanook of the north (1922) -- Serious play: documentary and the avant-garde. Case study: Manhatta (1921) -- Activism and advocacy: the Depression era. Case study: The plow that broke the plains (1936) -- Idea-weapons: documentary propaganda. Case study: The Memphis Belle (1944) -- 'Uncontrolled' situations: direct cinema. Case study: Grey Gardens (1975) -- Relative truths: documentary and postmodernity. Case study: Tongues untied (1989) -- Media wars: documentary dispersion. Case study: Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004). |
| Summary |
"This book examines how documentary films have contributed to the American public sphere - creating a kind of public space, serving as sites for community-building, public expression, and social innovation. Geiger focuses on how documentaries have been significant in forming ideas of the nation, both as an imagined space and a real place." [Publisher's description]. |
| Subject |
Documentary films -- United States -- History and criticism.
|
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United States -- In motion pictures.
|
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National characteristics, American, in motion pictures.
|
| ISBN |
9780748621484 (pbk.) |
|
0748621482 (pbk.) |
|
9780748621477 |
|
0748621474 |
|
