Jane Gaines

Michael Renov

In documentary studies, the old distinctions between fiction and nonfiction no longer apply, as contemporary film and video artists produce works that defy classification. Coming together to make sense of these developments, the contributors to this book effectively redefine documentary studies. They trace the documentary impulse in the early detective camera, in the reenactment of battle scenes from World War I, and in the telecast of the Nevada A-Bomb test in 1949. Other topics include experiments in virtual reality; the crisis of representation in anthropology; and video art and documentary work that challenges the asymmetry of the postcolonial Us/Them divide.

Collecting Visible Evidence

This work looks at the black independent film movement during the silent period. It traces the profound influence that D.W. Griffith's racist epic "The Birth of a Nation" exerted on black filmmakers such as Oscar Micheaux, the director of the newly recovered "Within Our Gates".

Jane Gaines

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