Watching the World: Screen Documentary and Audiences

Screen documentary has experienced a marked rise in popularity in recent years. What are the reasons for the so-called "boom" in documentaries at the cinema? How has television documentary met the challenge of new formats? And how do audiences engage with documentaries on screen? Watching the World extends the reach of documentary studies by investigating recent instances of screen documentary and the uses made of them by audiences. It focuses on the interfaces between textual mechanisms, promotional tactics, and audiences' viewing strategies. Key topics of inquiry are: film and tele-visual form, truth claims and issues of trust, the pleasures, politics and the ethics of documentary. This compelling and accessible book will be of interest to both students and fans of documentary.