What key concerns are reflected in documentaries produced in and about the United States? How have documentaries engaged with competing visions of US history, culture, politics, and national identity? 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 Moving from the dawn of cinema to the present day, this is the first full-length study to focus on the extensive range and history of American non-fiction filmmaking. Combining comprehensive overviews with in-depth case studies, Geiger maps American documentary's intricate histories, examining the impact of pre- and early cinema, travelogues, the avant-garde, 1930s social documentary, propaganda, direct cinema, postmodernism, and 'new' documentary.

Acknowledgements

List of illustrations

List of abbreviations

Introduction

1 Novelties, Spectacles and the Documentary Impulse

 Case studies: Blacksmith Scene (I893), Buffalo Dance (I894),

 Mess Call (I896)

2 Virtual Travels and the Tourist Gaze

 Case study: Nanook of the North 0922)

3 Serious Play: Documentary and the Avant-Garde

 Case study: Manhatta (I92I)

4 Activism and Advocacy: The Depression Era

 Case study: The Plow that Broke the Plains (I936)

5 Idea-Weapons: Documentary Propaganda

 Case study: The Memphis Belle (1944)

6 'Uncontrolled' Situations: Direct Cinema

 Case study: Grey Gardens (1975)

7 Relative Truths: Documentary and Postmodernity

 Case study: Tongues Untied 0989)

8 Media Wars: Documentary Dispersion

 Case study: Fahrenheit 9/II (2004)

Bibliography

Index