You remember that “documentary” about Megalodon that headlined Shark Week a couple of years ago, don’t you? It kind of ruined the whole idea of Shark Week for many viewers, because we know that Megalodon is extinct, yet the entire production hinted at how they may be roaming our oceans today. Just like “reality TV,” the term “documentary” has been tossed around enough lately that we don’t even agree on what the term means. Do recreations of past events belong in a documentary? Well, that may be okay. How about real subjects being manipulated into acting a certain way? How far can you go before it crosses over into “drama”? The A.V. Club tells us about six documentaries you may have heard of -or even seen- and the charges leveled against their authenticity. Then they pass judgement on each, and it ain’t pretty. Internet hoaxes have made us all cynical, but maybe that’s a good thing.
If you haven't, take a look at "The Thin Blue Line" (Erroll Morris, the *king* of good docs), "Paradise Lost (1-3)", "Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room", "Unraveled", "Touching the Void", "TalHotBlond"... just to name a few really good ones off the top of my head. Docs are too good to dismiss them just because of Moore's weak pandering.