A new history of documentary film / Jack C. Ellis and Betsy A. McLane.

1. Some ways to think about documentary
Description
Definition
Intellectual contexts
Pre-documentary origins
Books on documentary theory and general histories of documentary
2. Beginnings : the Americans and popular anthropology, 1922-1929
The work of Robert Flaherty
The Flaherty way
Offshoots from Flaherty
Films of the period
Books on the period
3. Beginnings : the Soviets and political indoctrination, 1922-1929
Nonfiction
Fiction
Films of the period
Books on the period
4. Beginnings : the European avant-gardists and artistic experimentation, 1922-1929
Aesthetic predispositions
Avant-garde and documentary
Three city symphonies
End of the avant-garde
Films of the period
Books on the period
5. Institutionalization : Great Britain, 1929-1939
Background and underpinnings
The system
The films
Grierson and Flaherty
Grierson's contribution
Films of the period
Books on the period
6. Institutionalization : United States, 1930-1941
Film on the left
The march of time
Government documentaries
Nongovernment documentaries
American and British differences
Denouement
An aside to conclude
Films of the period
Books on the period
7. Expansion : Great Britain, 1939-1945
Early days
Indoctrination
Social documentary
Records of battle
Films of the period
Books on the period


8. Expansion : Canada, 1939-1945
Founding of the National Film Board
Theatrical series
Nontheatrical Films
Summary
Films of the period
Books on the period
9. Expansion : United States, 1941-1945
Training
Indoctrination
Records of battle
Social documentary
Comparisons : Great Britain, Canada, the United States
Films of the period
Books on the period
10. The unfulfilled promise : postwar documentary, 1945-1952
Personnel and leadership
Sponsorship
Subjects
Approaches and techniques
Final observations
Films of the period
Books on the period
11. In pursuit of excellence : National Film Board of Canada's Unit B, 1948-1964
Films of the period
Books on the period
12. A new channel : documentary for television, the "golden years," 1951-1971
Historical background
Documentary series
Special characteristics of television documentary
Films of the period
Books on the period
13. British Free cinema and social-realist features, 1956-1963
Critical background
Free Cinema films
Political and cultural context
Social-realist features
Films of the period
Books on the period
14. Direct Cinema and Cinéma Vérité, 1960-1970
Historical background
New technology and first films
Direct Cinema vs Cinéma Vérité
Effects on documentary subjects and styles
Aesthetic and ethical considerations
Films of the period
Books on the period


15. English-language documentary in the 1970s : power of the people
Veteran filmmakers
New directions in Vérité
Social and political emphases
Historical documentary
Films of the period
Books on the period
16. English-language documentary in the 1980s : video arrives
Cable and satellite technology
The personal essay film
The historical film
Strictly political
Racial and ethnic minorities
Representing gay and lesbian culture
Music and performance
Films of the period
Books on the period
17. English-language documentary in the 1990s and beyond : reality bytes
Business and technology : the bad and the good
American public television
The Ken Burns phenomenon
Canada soldiers on
Developments in the United Kingdom
American independents
Theatrical documentary
Films of the period
Books on the period
18. Some other ways to think about documentary
Technological promises
Aesthetics and content
Finance
Intimate doings of reality
Newer theory
The future
Conclusion
Books on the period
Appendices
One : film festivals
Two : Academy-Award winning documentaries
Three : the National Film Registry
Four : the Grierson Award
Five : the Ida Awards.