Overview
- Foreword by documentary scholar Bill Nichols
- Explores a wide range of documentary formats, such as first-person, wildlife, animated and slow TV documentary, as well as docudrama and web videos
- Constitutes the first book-length study of cognitive theory and documentary film
- Includes a diverse range of contributors, who are both academics and practitioners operating in various fields, such as film studies, neuroscience, cultural studies, social psychology and philosophy
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Table of contents (17 chapters)
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Front Matter
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The Mediation of Realities
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Front Matter
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Character Engagement
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Front Matter
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Emotions and Embodied Experience
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Front Matter
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Documentary Practice
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Front Matter
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Keywords
About this book
Reviews
“Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film is a much-needed and comprehensive addition to the literature on documentary filmmaking. … it is well-orchestrated, creative, and an occasion for future thought. Cognitivist analysis should be extended to documentary practices. The directions of research are multiple and prismatic, as this volume amply and convincingly proves.” (Laura T. Di Summa, Projections, Vol. 14 (1), 2020)
“This volume … constitutes the first sustained study of documentary film from a cognitive perspective. … Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film is a fine step towards the realization of a humanities-straddling cognitive paradigm of making meaning.” (Charles Forceville, Leonardo, .leonardo.info, August, 2019)
“The editors of Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film make ambitious claims about the usefulness of cognitive theory for understanding the documentary as well as the fiction film—and their volume more than delivers. Equipped with a fuller picture of the mind as embodied and socially networked, the authors here offer exciting approaches to a wide range of work including biographies, animations, nature films, docudramas and ‘fake news’ websites, while attending as well to the creative processes and aims of documentary filmmakers.” (Cynthia Freeland, Professor of Philosophy, University of Houston, USA)“Cognitive film research is about narrative fiction, or so it seems. This milestone volume presents the cognitive approach to documentary. Specialists in the field—some of them documentarists themselves—paint a vivid picture of the rich experiences that an exceptionally multifarious genre gives rise to. They document how people watching documentaries construct and engage with other people, their minds, emotions, realities, truths and actions. Moreover they highlight in convincing detail the amazing variety of aesthetics displayed by documentaries supporting viewers’ experiences.” (Ed Tan, Professor of Media Entertainment University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands)
“Represents a welcome first foray into the relation of cognitive theory to documentary film studies. It not only expands our conceptions of documentary but asks us to consider not only how we see reality through films but how films shape our notions of reality. The ideas are complex but are made more accessible through the straightforward writing of many of its contributors.” (David MacDougall, Professor of Visual Anthropology , Australian National University, Australia)
“This unique collection is likely to become a landmark in documentary studies. It is ambitious, innovative, sometimes provocative but always rigorous. Its pioneering approach to the complex relationship between selfhood, emotion, subjectivity, cognition and the art of the record is utterly convincing and inherently valuable.” (Anita Biressi, Professor of Media and Society, University of Roehampton, UK)“Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film is an exceptionally rewarding read. Featuring probing accounts of such timely topics as post-truth, stereotyping, trans-species empathy, and filmmakers’ use of cognitive theory, the volume more than delivers on its ambitious promises. Featuring a formidable team of contributors and evidencing great clarity of purpose, Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film provides conceptual tools, arguments, and examples that deserve attention, within and beyond the academy.” (Mette Hjort, Chair Professor of Humanities and Dean of Arts, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong)
“This collection of essays, through the emphasis on thought processes, brings an original approach to documentary reception and representation. Even more important, this book will expandthe reach and boundaries within the study of cognitive theory itself, which can only benefit from the further influence of documentary production on this field. Thus the reader has a view from both ends of the telescope, and in a truly interdisciplinary fashion, which surely has to be welcomed.” (Jane Chapman, Professor of Communications, Lincoln University, UK)
“Brylla and Kramer’s impressive interdisciplinary and international selection of scholars lead a ground-breaking extension of cognitivist theory into documentary film studies.” (Trevor Ponech, Associate Professor of English, McGill University, Canada)Editors and Affiliations
About the editors
Mette Kramer is a lecturer at Copenhagen University, Denmark.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: Cognitive Theory and Documentary Film
Editors: Catalin Brylla, Mette Kramer
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-90332-3
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Literature, Cultural and Media Studies, Literature, Cultural and Media Studies (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-90331-6Published: 31 August 2018
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-07993-2Published: 19 January 2019
eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-90332-3Published: 21 August 2018
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XXI, 343
Number of Illustrations: 6 b/w illustrations, 3 illustrations in colour
Topics: Film Theory, Documentary, Film and TV Production