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4 - Building a mock-documentary schema

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2026

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Summary

This chapter outlines the framework which is used to differentiate mock-documentary texts from each other. It aims to promote discussion on mock-documentaries which acknowledges the evident complexity of the form, and especially the degree of reflexivity which these texts construct towards the documentary genre. The chapter focuses on the range of audience research traditions which have emerged particularly from the post-structuralist developments within sociological theory. It argues that an integral part of the 'mock-docness' of a text is the extent to which it encourages audiences to acknowledge the reflexivity inherent to any appropriation of the documentary form. The chapter suggests an initial schema of three degrees, a model which approaches mock-documentaries according to the intersection between the intention of the filmmakers, the nature and degree of the text's appropriation of documentary codes and conventions, and the degree of reflexivity consequently encouraged for their audience.

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