https://www.brainpickings.org/2011/12/28/grierson-documetary-roger-blais/ You can beam some bit-love my way: 197usDS6AsL9wDKxtGM6xaWjmR5ejgqem7. That either represents facts or opinion. Next, the staged creative process theories will be paralleled to the documentary production process. Grierson zufolge konnte das Potenzial des Kinos, das Leben zu beobachten, zu einer neuen Kunstform führen; … Brain Pickings has a free Sunday digest of the week's most interesting and inspiring articles across art, science, philosophy, creativity, children's books, and other strands of our search for truth, beauty, and meaning. Winston explains that Grierson ‘defined documentary therefore as ‘the creative treatment of actuality’’ (2008: 14), which is an interesting way of looking at what is involved in the making of a … Recommended articles lists articles that we recommend and is powered by our AI driven recommendation engine. To learn about our use of cookies and how you can manage your cookie settings, please see our Cookie Policy. John Grierson- Definition of Documentary. This chapter discusses documentary cinema and film journalism, taking a look at the films produced by John Grierson, such as Night Mail and Coal Face. It often comes as a surprise to my students today to see that even at that time, the creativity of the documentary enterprise was underlined. First, the systems model of creativity presents a holistic view of the creative documentary system at work. A group of directors (P. Rotha, B. Wright. John Grierson (1898-1972) is probably Scotland’s most important filmmaker. Grierson defined documentary as ‘the creative treatment of actuality’. recognised that definitions were transient: ‘documentary’ was intended as an evolving concept, a concept that ‘doesn’t fit very tidily into a museum’, a concept which has more in common with ‘what people are doing now, or are going to do tomorrow’. Registered in England & Wales No. John Grierson’s ‘minor manifesto of beliefs’, ‘First principles of documentary’ (1932–34), is one such text, 2 a short work that John Corner describes as the foundational text of documentary theory. 3 Taking Grierson’s intellectual formation and his ‘shrewdly tactical’ manoeuvring into account, Corner summarizes the key arguments of ‘First principles’. For 15 years, I have been spending hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars each month to keep Brain Pickings going. Attention will be given to documentary as art, and the Griersonian notion of ‘artist’. JOHN GRIERSON 5. John Grierson, known as the founder of the classic British documentary movement in the 1930's, coined the phrase "creative treatment of actuality." Like? I have no staff, no interns, no assistant — a thoroughly one-woman labor of love that is also my life and my livelihood. Many documentary lovers are familiar with Scottish film pioneer John Grierson’s famous definition of the genre as ‘the creative treatment of actuality’. If this labor makes your life more livable in any way, please consider aiding its sustenance with a donation. The documentary-style film, though, had been popular from the earliest days of filmmaking. 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In 1926, he coined the term "documentary" in … The word documentary was coined by documentarian John Grierson and defined as 'the creativity of actuality'. Grierson’s definition of the form still holds up today. John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. Brain Pickings participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to Amazon. Grierson considered film primarily as a means for investigating and truthfully reflecting reality. Whatever the current definition, there exists an unwritten agreement between maker and audience that the content be factual. In concluding, a brief discussion on the appropriateness of creativity theories for documentary practice will be presented. Grierson's much quoted definition of documentary as "a creative treatment of actuality"3 is shallow and vague when applied to the various approaches to documentary since the early 1920s. This is because problems arise of authenticity, the more creative the documentary is the more it runs away from focus. The aim of this article is to add to existing discussions of this phrase. John Grierson, a Scottish educator who had studied mass communication in the United States, adapted the term in the mid-1920s from the French word documentaire. It can echo upon past present or even the future. Grierson's definition of documentary as "creative treatment of actuality" has gained some acceptance, though it presents philosophical questions about documentaries containing stagings and reenactments. john grierson and thedocumentary movement Parallel to the developments in feature filmmaking, another influential response to American dominance of British cinema emerged. Grierson’s faith in documentary as a form of social political communication, aimed at promoting education and eventually mechanisms of social reform, is confirmed not only by his assertions, but also by his founding of what has been called the “documentary film movement”. This Lesson Guide focuses on the work of John Grierson and his legacy in the Documentary movement. The Fishing Banks of Skye (about fishing for herring in the North Sea), made in 1929, laid the foundations for the British school of documentary films. Attention will be given to documentary as art, and the Griersonian notion of ‘artist’. In his review of Robert Flaherty's film Moana (1926) in the New York Sun(8 February 1926), Grierson wrote that it had 'documentary' value. He coined the noun documentary, of which genre his Industrial Britain (1931) and Song of Ceylon (1934) are notable examples Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014 People also read lists articles that other readers of this article have read. An examination of the relationship between art, creativity and documentary production and consumption will rationalize and reconceptualize creativity for documentary practice. By closing this message, you are consenting to our use of cookies. Feature documentary Holgut puts a surprising twist on this, with something I can only call ‘the mythological treatment of actuality’. 1898–1972, Scottish film director. This reconceptualization of documentary creativity will result from three theoretical perspectives. The final theory presents group creativity which accounts for collaborative documentary work. Claim yours: Also: Because Brain Pickings is in its fifteenth year and because I write primarily about ideas of a timeless character, I have decided to plunge into my vast archive every Wednesday and choose from the thousands of essays one worth resurfacing and resavoring. I believe what this means is that a documentary takes the truth – something that is real – and applies the creative treatment that a film maker must go through to it. It was not simple The documentary-style film, though, had been popular from the earliest days of … Definitions … It studies the idea of an intermodern sense of the complexity of ‘actuality’ and also presents the possible interdisciplinary future … —. 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Starting from this statement, this article For Grierson, documentary was ‘the art of giving film sequence to natural material’. The Grierson Trust commemorates the pioneering Scottish documentary maker John Grierson: the man widely regarded as the father of the documentary. — "John Grierson's definition of documentary as 'the creative treatment of actuality' appears increasingly inadequate in the face of theoretical sophistication, ethical quagmires and digital's undermining of the photographic image's intrinsic claim on the real. (Cue in The Power of Photojournalism.). Like a number of other social critics of the time, Grierson was profoundly concerned about what he perceived to be clear threats to democracy. Documentary: Fact and … The five-foot something Scotsman with an orator’s voice single-handedly birthed the documentary form when cinema itself was still in its infancy. Grierson had defined it as “Creative treatment of actuality”. Go here. John Grierson, a Scottish educator who had studied mass communication in the United States, adapted the term in the mid-1920s from the French word documentaire. For this we have to take a look at the definition of actuality. Grierson, the British Documentary Movement, and Colonial Cinema in British Colonial Africa ABSTRACT: In his last interview in 1970, John Grierson stated that documentary’s great - est achievement was the simple educational film—particularly the health education film used to help people in less privileged countries. The orbit of John Grierson’s legacy touches almost everything we know about documentary. His 1932 essay “First Principles of Documentary” argued that cinema’s capacity for observing life could be a new art form, wherein the … Documentaries are problematic and the definition of documentaries is problematic. For more on Grierson’s vision and legacy, dig around for a used copy of the excellent out-of-print book Grierson on the Movies. A Profile of John Grierson, Godfather of DocCinema. A range of arguments have carried on since about the balance of creativity. Privacy policy. You can also become a spontaneous supporter with a one-time donation in any amount: Partial to Bitcoin? Grierson was the first to use the term “documentary” and had a straightforward definition for it: “It is the creative treatment of actuality” (Eitzen, 1995). They generally assume that that is a modern invention. The aim of this article is to add to existing discussions of this phrase. Documetnary styles are proliferating. In more human terms, this means that whenever you buy a book on Amazon from a link on here, I receive a small percentage of its price, which goes straight back into my own colossal biblioexpenses. Literary Productivity, Visualized, 7 Life-Learnings from 7 Years of Brain Pickings, Illustrated, Anaïs Nin on Love, Hand-Lettered by Debbie Millman, Anaïs Nin on Real Love, Illustrated by Debbie Millman, Susan Sontag on Love: Illustrated Diary Excerpts, Susan Sontag on Art: Illustrated Diary Excerpts, Albert Camus on Happiness and Love, Illustrated by Wendy MacNaughton, The Silent Music of the Mind: Remembering Oliver Sacks. We use cookies to improve your website experience. Subscribe to this free midweek pick-me-up for heart, mind, and spirit below — it is separate from the standard Sunday digest of new pieces: Pioneering Scottish filmmaker John Grierson (1898-1972) is often considered the father of documentary film and credited with coining the very term “documentary” in his review of Robert Flaherty’s film Moana in the February 8, 1926, issue of the New York Sun. The maker can be as imaginative and creative with this as they’d like. The British documentary movement, led by the Scot, John Grierson (1898–1972), offered a distinctive riposte to Hollywood by focusing on fact and public information. Grierson is a 1973 documentary about the father of documentary by Canadian filmmaker Roger Blais, now free online in its entirety courtesy of the National Film Board of Canada. Pioneering Scottish filmmaker John Grierson (1898-1972) is often considered the father of documentary film and credited with coining the very term “documentary” in his review of Robert Flaherty’s film Moana in the February 8, 1926, issue of the New York Sun. Need to cancel a recurring donation? Grierson. He treats it as seizing raw material of reality, a method of observation and proof. The film is also available on DVD from the NFB. — John Grierson’s which is generally accepted as being the father of the documentary genre characterized it as “the creative treatment of actuality”. She quotes John Grierson, the Scottish filmmaker known as the father of English documentary, as having stated how a documentary is 'a creative treatment of actuality.' It has been nearly seven decades since John Grierson first applied the term "documentary" to movies. 3099067 Register to receive personalised research and resources by email, The ‘creative treatment of actuality’: Rationalizing and reconceptualizing the notion of creativity for documentary practice, /doi/pdf/10.1386/jmpr.11.2.111_1?needAccess=true. John Grierson’s famous definition of documentary is that documentary is “the creative treatment of actuality”. His 1932 essay “First Principles of Documentary” argued that cinema’s capacity for observing life could be a new art form, wherein the materials “taken from the raw” can be more real than acted fiction and the “original” actor and “original” scene are better lens for interpreting the modern world than their fiction counterparts. In den 1930ern argumentierte der Dokumentarfilmer und Filmtheoretiker John Grierson in seinem Essay First Principles of Documentary, Robert Flahertys Film Moana (1926) habe „dokumentarischen Wert“, und etablierte eine Reihe von Prinzipien für den Dokumentarfilm. Here's an example. Cited by lists all citing articles based on Crossref citations.Articles with the Crossref icon will open in a new tab. (Biography) John. Through archival footage, interviews with people who knew him, and footage of Grierson himself, Blais paints a lively and fascinating portrait of a man who was concerned not only with documentary film as an art form but also as a powerful tool of democracy. Your support makes all the difference. In an interview with Elizabeth Sussex, Grierson (1972) expressed his thoughts on documentary that it … Other explana tions of the documentary method, such as Paul Rotha's,4 are not broad enough to include modern developments. The first question that comes to my mind is why did he use the term actuality and not reality? Grierson was a socialist activist and his attitude to life reflected the way he understood documentary and its function. After watching Robert Flaherty’s 1926 feature “Moana”, a coming-of-age story wherein a Samoan boy and his family play themselves and “re-enact” their own lives, Grierson declared documentary to be, “a creative treatment of actuality.” In his essay "First Principles of Documentary" (1932), Grierson argued that the principles of documentary were that cinema's potential for observing life could be exploited in a new art form; that the "original" actor and "original" scene are better guides than their fiction counterparts to interpreting the modern world; and that materials "thus taken from the raw" can be more real than the ac… Still, the definition of the term remains a vexed and controversial issue, not just among film theorists but also among people who make and watch documentaries. 5 Howick Place | London | SW1P 1WG. In October 1957, John Grierson, the founder of the British documentary film movement, made the transition to a new medium: television. 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