Introduction

            In the intro to Introduction to Documentary by Bill Nichols, Nichols introduces the lay out of the book. The book is organized into chapters by a series of questions involving issues of definition, ethics, content, form, modes, and politics. The introduction discusses the differences between documentary and fiction saying, “documentaries address the world in which we live rather than a world imagined by the filmmaker, they from the various genre of fiction in significant ways” (Nichols xi). A few of those significant ways are different assumptions about purpose, different quality of relationship between filmmaker and subject, and prompt different sorts of expectations from audiences. However, these differences guarantee no absolute separation between fiction and documentary. The notions of what is distinct to documentaries and what is not has changed over time. According to Nichols, the documentary tradition relies heavily on being able to convey an impression of authenticity. The introduction continues with summaries of each chapter and the questions asked by each. Nichols ends the chapter with his hope that the strong link between production and study will remain vital.

“We feel as distant fascination when we witness the lives of other who seem to belong to the same historical world that we do.”

--Bill Nichols