Watching documentaries is a great way to learn new things. These are films that shape and interpret facts for education and entertainment of their viewers. It has several social functions, which are to record, preserve, and reveal, and persuade. This form of motion films also aims to entertain and educate.
If you are struggling to write a good documentary essay, our experts have combined some helpful tips for you here. So, no need to worry.
First and foremost, you should find a topic. Focus on something you are genuinely passionate about. Think about the cause that matters to you: maybe it’s climate change, slavery, environmental cause, ocean pollution, or perhaps it’s something else. It is essential to find something that speaks to you. This way, you won’t struggle with composing your paper.
You can also find a list of essay topics for your documentary research below, checking our samples. Yet, to pick the right idea, we first need to understand what film types are available.
There are several genres of documentaries:
Expository documentaries. Such films present objective information with a ubiquitous presence. The filmmaker usually does not appear on the screen.
Poetic documentaries. They rely heavily on images and music rather than narration. That is to say, there is little verbal communication with the audience.
Essayistic documentaries. These movies feature an essay-like narration. The filmmaker relies both on speech and on the images to make their point.
Observational documentaries. They try to demonstrate an objective record of some activity. It almost does not have music and narration and tries to present the event as-it-is.
Participatory documentaries. The films are the complete opposite of observational ones. The filmmaker is an active participant in the movie. They appear on the screen and communicate the subject.
Performance documentaries. These movies feature a dramatic performance. It can be a concert, a play, or another performance event recorded in the form of a documentary.
Interview films. These are the records of a conversation between two or more people. It relies on communication on-screen to deliver the message rather than on images and music.
Dramatization. This type recreates an event using actors to bring the viewer to the event. Some argue that it is not a form of documentary.
Mixed documentaries. The films use different modes and techniques. It can combine poetic, expository, interview modes at the same time.
Animation films. Such movies are standard, too, and their most distinctive feature is the use of animation to present the material.
As for your documentary essay assignment, you can be asked to work with any documentary. Let’s figure out what tasks you will need to fulfill beforehand.
Movie Review vs. Movie Analysis
Not everyone understands the difference between a movie review and a movie analysis when watching movies and writing essays about the material. Sometimes these two terms are used interchangeably. Nevertheless, when it comes to grading and evaluating the paper, this difference is essential.
A film review essay is a “consumer-oriented” judgment that aims to recommend (or not) a movie. One can find documentary review essay examples in the newspapers, websites, or online databases.
An analysis of the film usually offers an interpretation and an evaluation of the movie. Some film theory is generally used as a framework to analyze and interpret the feature.
You can center your documentary essay assignment around not only a specific film but an entire genre of documentaries. You might be asked to write about a specific topic or an aspect of one movie in depth. Let’s try to see how it works!
How to Write a Documentary Essay
When you are asked to write an essay about a documentary, there are expectations. You will need to analyze specific elements in one film or a few.
No matter what your assignment is, we are here to help you nail it! Here is a short guide on how to write a documentary essay:
Watch the documentary (and take notes). We highly recommended watching the film several times before you start writing anything. Throughout this process, you should take notes to recall essential elements later on. Schematically express your ideas and arguments.
Choose your perspective. You need to understand the approach you will be using. However, your position should be supported by the examples and ideas from the film. Search for what others think and say on a similar issue and compare it to your thoughts.
Pick what to discuss. After that, you need to start collecting the examples and ideas from the movie that support your viewpoint. All these elements should eventually connect to the main focus of your paper. You can try to do some additional research but do not forget to return to the movie continually.
Outline your essay. The outline will help you stay within the word limit. This way, you’ll structure your thoughts and ideas on the paper before you start your essay. Plus, you will remain close to the intended format while writing.
Write it! Start with a brief introduction about the documentary and your thesis statement at the end of it. Then, evaluate the film, developing your arguments logically. In your conclusion, restate your position on the matter and list the critical points discussed.
Thank you for reading this article till the very end! We hope you found it helpful. Share this page with those who need our help. For your inspiration, you can check the list of documentary essay examples below.
The central themes of The People's Republic of Capitalism are the intricacies of the Chinese experiment with capitalism restrained by the authoritarian government and interdependence of American and Chinese economies.
When applying some of Rawls' concepts of justice to the situation described in Merchants of Doubt, it becomes clear that the actions of tobacco companies and such public figures and scientists as Frederick Singer who [...]
The movie Trouble the Water can be considered one of the most outstanding documentaries that describe the life of black people in the USA and the problems they have to face in their everyday life.
The documentary being discussed focuses on the experiences of three women, the survivors of military sexual slavery in China, South Korea, and the Republic of the Philippines.
The problem of military prostitution discussed in the film is inherent in the patriarchal stereotypes about sexuality and the objectification of women.
In "Thin Blue Line," Morris turns his attention to the wrongful conviction of Texan Randall Adams, who was arrested and prosecuted for the murder of a police officer instead of the actual murderer.
First, the issue in question is in direct relation to the welfare of the entire planet's population, and the film makes a convincing case that there are reasons to worry. In the end, I believe [...]
Shadyac wanted to tell everyone what he had come to know: that the world was a lie, and the activities which he had always considered to be improving it were, in fact, destroying it. I [...]
The movie is about the efforts of Junger and Hetherington who spent a year with B Company the second platoon that was sent to a combat zone in Afghanistan.
For instance, the film contributes to the discussion of healthy cooking and salads, as it advocates that healthier meals are the ones that contain no animal-based products or processed foods.
In developing the film, the director attempts to record important events within the history of Korea and inform the viewer about the past and experiences of the people during the Second World War.
I think that the development of Scientific Racism and further Eugenics became the result of people's attempts to justify their unethical behavior toward other individuals and to support their material goals to develop slavery, and [...]
This part concentrates on the changes the newly elected President Roosevelt was making to lead America out of the economic crisis, the alternatives to democracy that were being sought around the world, and Bernays' later [...]
The second part introduces the main heroines of the documentary the women who started working in industries at an early age to support the economy of the war-stricken country and features their stories about the [...]
However, the number of workplaces is almost the same; it means that the employer has a lot of choices, the demand for the worker's decreases as well as the price for labor.
However, the biggest portion of The Story of Content: Rise of the New Marketing is dedicated to the story of Marcus Sheridan a legend in the world of content marketing.
It is a part of the Human Condition series that make the representatives of the general public acknowledge the most extraordinary and distinctive individuals.
The current paper discusses a documentary, "The Murder of Emmett Till," which presents the story of the death of Emmet Till, one of the most known victims of racial violence in the USA, and briefly [...]
The movie is a documentary on an experiment conducted on filmmaker Spurlock by himself so as to reveal the effects of eating fast foods. The movie concludes by authoritatively stating that fast foods are hazardous [...]
Title of the film: Born into Brothels: Calcutta Red Light Kids Date released: January 17, 2004 Producers: Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman I selected this movie due to the controversies that surround it.
The documentary features personal student stories, as well as professional comments from the Student Loan Justice official, emphasizing that it is rather corporate than personal irresponsibility to blame for the existing situation.
This made me think about two things: the professional work of the creators who managed to persuade me of the urgency of the problem and how, in essence, the same way of media influence is [...]
Talking about the ethical side of the movie Super Size Me and its hard critics of McDonald's and the style of life offered by this company, it is necessary to admit that its author, Morgan [...]
Using the documentary "Inside Job", the paper presented below asserts that the malpractices of different banking experts, the ethical dilemma revolving around ratings agencies' actions, and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley and the Glass-Steagall Acts influenced the nature [...]
The overall essence of the film can be characterized as musically and visually complex due to the combination of seemingly separate worlds: Ra's deep philosophical monologues and the Arkestra's banter about Ra and his contribution [...]
The Frontline documentary, "Supplements and Safety," provides a thorough and insightful description of the main problems existing in the supplement industry: safety, regulation, and efficacy.
The historic and exotic city is positioned strategically north of the large Niger River on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The text written in the margins was added after the original text of [...]
Despite the promises given by the President and the leaders of finance, the situation did not improve. The narrator remarks that people were losing hope, and no one knew how to improve the situation.
The film describes the development of the chemical industry that began in the middle of the 20th century. This issue occurred for the first time in the history of the United States.
In conclusion, it is necessary to note that the film Immigration Battle shows the struggle of some people to make American society truly Democratic and just.
As a commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of freedom movements, Nelson's movie is a story of segregation and racism, abhorrence, courage, and the general brutality of the depicted events.
The speaker talks about the events that happened in the 1970s in the state of Texas. This interview is a part of the CRBB collection of videos about the history of the La Raza Unida [...]
Although the second decade of the 21st century seems to be far away from the events described in the film racial issues continue to be one of the most heated topics not only in Arizona [...]
The main goal of this paper is to discuss the impact that the media had on the progress of the civil rights movement and highlight strategies implemented by civil rights organizations.
The film begins with the off-screen narrator telling the audience that throughout the sixties, the University of California remained at the forefront of people's struggle to be in the position to take full advantage of [...]
The social issues that have been shown in the documentary are living condition of migrant workers in cities, the growing gap between the children and their absentee parents, and the change in the position of [...]
The reason for this is apparent the deployment of such an approach will naturally prompt the audience to think of what is being discussed as such that directly relates to what happened to be their [...]
According to the documentary, genocide is the outcome of mass hysteria. After that, the international community will be able to have an impact on the decisions of political leaders.
The livelihoods of the members of Elwha Klallam tribe, who were not officially considered the US citizens until the late 1920s, were destroyed by a flood that followed the construction of the dam.
In the film, it is noted that people who decided to devote their lives to the practice of yoga would leave their homes, "abandon the conventional life" and the "householder stage" to "wander around in [...]
Having invited many participants and witnesses to star in the movie and having included numerous original recordings of the events that happened in 1961, Nelson became able to create a profoundly impressive account of one [...]
In their documentary Immigration Battle film, Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini show the human factor and the guilt of both the Democrats and the Republicans regarding this failure to end the deportations.
The introduction of personal computers to the market revolutionized almost every aspect of human life today."Triumph of the Nerds" is a 1996 documentary about the history of personal computing since the creation of the first [...]
The main goal of this paper is to discuss the concepts of leadership and power, using examples that are presented in a film Street Fight. His slogans emphasized the importance of changes in the leadership [...]
However, these symbols are also used in the documentary in order to accentuate the direction in the author's story from discussing different ways followed by the country during its development to accentuating the core of [...]
This paper uses "The Retirement Gamble" film and other scholarly articles to not only discuss the pros and cons of privatizing social security, but also to reflect on some of the pertinent issues raised in [...]
As competition continues to become fierce in the global market, more companies will be expected to engage in different malpractices thus threatening the lives of more people. Experts also believe that this problem will continue [...]
Regardless numerous discussions about Hip Hop, this culture remains to be a considerable part of human life that helps to understand that such issue as racial profiling is not only something that is required by [...]
One of the most amazing facts uncovered in the process of viewing the first episode of the "Race The Power of an Illusion" documentary is that people of different races have significant genetic coincidences.
Jamaica was one of the countries that benefitted from the IMF and the World Bank funds. The money from the financiers required a structured payment that the country could not live up to immediately.
The film aims to analyze the relation of the IMF to the process of globalization. The process of globalization and the cooperation of the countries with the IMF are affecting the countries of the third [...]
Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes is a documentary movie that helps not only to understand the nature of hip hop but to connect a single style of music with the necessity of such crucial issues [...]
The documentary provides detailed information, as to what were the process's sub-sequential phases, while presenting the audience with the excerpts from the interviews with the most prominent members of Anonymous and promoting the idea that [...]
The definition of documentary films addresses such features as the level of control, the institutional base, the structure of texts, and the attitude towards viewers.
In the documentary film entitled Nas: Time is Illmatic dedicated to the twentieth anniversary of the Nas' debut album, the history of the musician's life and the album is revealed to the viewer.
The challenge of the musicians described in the movie was that they struggled to find their own styles and sound to compete with the mainstream music of the time.
To assure the existence of the social and historical support, the movie is presented in the form of the documentary and can be viewed by an extended audience to spread awareness about the drawbacks of [...]
Romania was no exception, and the period from the 1960s to the 1980s is known as an epoch of the Ceausescu dictatorship. It reveals the dreadful truth about the power of the Ceausescu family and [...]
This area can be named the heart and soul of rural Romania because ancient traditions and customs are carefully kept there despite the globalization and modernization of the world. There is no spirit of death; [...]
What was particularly interesting is that the area is a rare example of almost pristine nature and forest life in the entire Europe, which means that Wild Carpathia has a great potential in being an [...]
In a bombshell revelation, the documentary purports that the Japanese populous is mostly unaware of the activities that go on in the cove. In the end, O'Barry has to be escorted out of the meeting [...]
The film was developed between 2007 and 2009 with the aim of exposing the negative aspects of commercialization and mechanization of the American food production industry.
The company has been criticized for a long time by the ecological organizations and opponents of GMOs; in 2013, 2014 and 2015 the waves of protest against the company spread across the world.
The documentary film NOVA: Battle of the X-Planes throws light on the functioning of the aircraft industry. In particular, much attention is paid to the cooperation of companies representing this industry with military agencies, especially [...]
This is one of the drawbacks that should be taken into account by the viewers who want to get a better idea about the causes of the problems described in the movie.
The "strengths of this theory make it effective towards describing the behaviors of many individuals in the society". Many individuals engage in criminal activities due to lack of the required resources.
The film Young and Restless in China is a documentary highlighting the struggle of nine Chinese youths who face different challenges and opportunities in the new China society.
The desire to cognize the meaning of life involves the quest for the internal integrity and constancy of the personality. The fact of belonging to a particular cultural group, in which there are standards and [...]
It is possible to apply the feminist theory to consider a family featured in the film. In Shanti's family, this is also the case, and her mother is afraid of her daughter's future as the [...]
Thus, to overcome the catastrophic events and to predict the worsening of the situation, it is important to answer questions about the causes of the processes and the ways to cope with the ecological crisis.
One of the details that can attract attention of the viewers is that the film-makers include many vivid photographs which highlight the magnificence of this exposition.
The documentary supports the writings about the gender discrimination by illustrating how the vice is perpetuated in the workplace. There are a number of solutions that can be implemented to end gender discrimination in the [...]
After the blockade of the major infrastructure that linked Berlin to the rest of the world, the Soviet forces piled pressure on their competitors to quit Berlin.
Through the roles played by Tory, Rachael and Levi, the audience is in a position to understand events in the camp, the learning process and purported gifts that children can use to draw America back [...]
The systematic cover-ups of assault cases illuminate how patriarchy and the lack of accountability have made sexual violence against servicewomen to persist in the military.
One by one, they appear during the film, first to be introduced and then for the revisit so that the viewers know the beginning and the development of their stories.
It becomes evident that Susan has to be taken to a hospital, but chaos is created due to the miscommunications between the different parties such as the fellow passengers, the villagers, the local authorities, and [...]
The movies include interviews with key figures that took place in the events, as well as with eyewitnesses, and contain vast visual evidence filmed during the time of war."The Massacre" is the tenth episode of [...]
The fact that they are comfortable and proud of their big size is amazing and leaves a considerable number of people to wonder what is there in fatness that the women should be proud of.
After the struggle which was won by the president following the singing of the health reform, a surprise in the support that the president and his party had enjoyed was realized to have faded from [...]
This docudrama describes the outbreak of AIDS epidemics in the United States in the eighties. Furthermore, this film depicts the efforts of medical workers and researchers to limit the spread of this disease.
The film is commendable due to its appeal in overcoming racial barriers of prejudice, racism, and stereotype projected against African-American by proving that blacks are equally capable to the whites. The cultural differences and ways [...]
The main objective of the film was to demonstrate that the new tire made by the Fich Tire Company was superior to other tires in the market. The woman in the film is the secretary [...]
For instance, in the movie, 'Daughter from Danang', Heidi's adoptive mother plays a major role in terms of showing her the need to forego her Vietnamese culture in order to fit into the American way [...]
One of the things that attracted my attention is that women have to ensure the wellbeing of children almost independently, while their spouses do not have to take many responsibilities. This is one of the [...]
The analysis attempts to develop a comprehensive understanding of the identities and identity formation through music and the consequences of these identities to the individuals involved.
According to the outcomes of the complex analysis that targeted four Louisville districts, the citizens demonstrate contrastive rates of health prevention performance, which is highly dependent on the factor of financial income.
The documentary highlights that despite the harsh climate in the Southwest, there is the hope of addressing the water demands of the expanding population with the adoption of appropriate policies.
Since the movie titled The Guide: A Biologist in Gorongosa sheds some light on the specifics of the Gorongosa nature and helps understand the connection between its key elements, it can be considered a rather [...]
The candidates had to perform three tasks, and at the end of the presentation the students were given the responsibility to choose the next class monitor.
There is no use denying the fact that it is one of the most fast-growing economies in the world and, that is why it is rather efficient and, moreover, it is possible to predict the [...]
The film Cuban Missile Crisis: Three Men Go To War produced by the Public Broadcasting Service throws light on the actions of the political leaders who were involved in the confrontation that could result in [...]
Moore's "Capitalism: A Love Story" examines the effects of capitalism on the American society. The film struggles to maintain a balance between the positives of capitalism and its negatives.
The film about Jero, the Balinese medium, is designed to document her professional performance, catch the details of the ritual on tape and present it from the anthropological point of view, the filmmakers do not [...]
