This book explores the ways in which the political and social power structures between filmmaker and protagonist are manifested in the aesthetics of documentary film. Using a synthesis of filmmaking practice and critical theories from the fields of cultural studies and political philosophy, the research devises methodological approaches to the analysis of documentaries in light of the political and material conditions of their emergence. By exploring filmmaking practice and placing it in the context of wider theories pertaining to issues of power structures and representation, it sheds light on the different aspects which must be considered when approaching the analysis of a documentary film for its ideological and political content.
Understanding documentary as a political text: state of the research-Methodology and context-The cinematic means as loci of power structures-Conclusion