Films or television programs that provide factual accounts of real events, people, or issues, typically for educational or informational purposes. Distinguished from fiction by their commitment to portraying reality.
From 'documentary,' coined in the 1920s by film pioneer John Grierson, combining 'document' (from Latin 'documentum' meaning lesson or proof) with the '-ary' suffix. The concept emerged as filmmakers sought to distinguish fact-based films from entertainment cinema.
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