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.

Dr. Dror Dayan is a documentary filmmaker and lecturer for media production at the John Moores University in Liverpool, UK. He is the director of several documentaries as well as of various media work for activists’ groups and NGOs.