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3 - A cousin for the drama-documentary: Situating the mock-documentary

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2026

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Summary

This chapter positions the mock-documentary form in relation to one of the fictional forms which similarly works to complicate any apparent divisions between fact and fiction. It argues that part of the process of defining what mock-documentaries are by necessity involves identifying what they are not. The chapter discusses the differences between mock-documentaries and drama-documentaries. Both drama-documentary and mock-documentary are fictional forms which seek to establish particular relationships with the documentary genre. Drama-documentary is best described as the form that attempts to stay closest to the actual historical event or persons. Like drama-documentary, mock-documentaries are fictional texts, but they position themselves quite differently in relation to the discourses of fact and fiction. In making a drama-documentary the filmmaker's intention is to operate within the expectations of factual discourse and to produce a text that is historically accurate. The chapter looks at examples of dramadocumentaries which could be mistaken for mock-documentaries.

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