MAC 241 The Politics and Poetics of Documentary Film

What are the ethical responsibilities of a documentary filmmaker in relation to the history of atrocity such as the Holocaust and the Rape of Nanjing in WWII? What gives documentary films their unique voice in representing undocumented and underrepresented social groups including migrant laborers, racialized sexual minorities, and war widows? What are the types of documentaries that forge interethnic, intercultural, and intergenerational understanding? How can the blurring of boundaries between fiction and nonfiction inquiry serve progressive purposes in the public sphere? This course studies the history of the documentary film and its various modes through the key issues in social and political representation