15 Best Documentaries About Loans in Australia

15 Best Documentaries About Loans in Australia

The documentary film genre is an important part of cinematic history. Let’s look at the different types, characteristics, and examples of each.

Documentary filmmaking is a cinematic style dating back to the earliest days of film. While Wikipedia can define its most basic definition as “a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspects of reality, primarily for instruction or maintaining a historical record,” the style has become a catch-all for both certain filmmaking styles as well as a noble cinematic pursuit of truth.

We suggest you start with Introduction to Documentary, the classic text from Bill Nichols that outlines the six modes (or “sub-genres”) of documentaries.

 

1. Poetic Documentaries

First seen in the 1920s, poetic documentaries are very much what they sound like. They focus on experiences, and images, and show the audience the world through different eyes. Abstract and loose with narrative, the poetic sub-genre can be very unconventional and experimental in form and content. The ultimate goal is to create a feeling rather than a truth.

For filmmakers, this approach offers a valuable lesson in experimenting with all the elements of documentary filmmaking by finding creative compositions, challenging juxtapositions, and different forms of cinematic storytelling. A modern example of this would be Terrence Malick’s Voyage of Time, consisting of tons of ambiguous, poetic, abstract imagery. While there is some narration throughout the film, I would still consider the bulk of it – poetic.

2. Expository Documentaries

Expository documentaries are probably closest to what most people consider “documentaries.” In sharp contrast to poetic, expository documentaries aim to inform and/or persuade — often through omnipresent “Voice of God” narration devoid of ambiguous or poetic rhetoric. This model includes the familiar Ken Burns and television (A&E, History Channel, etc.) styles.

Those looking for the most direct form of documentary storytelling should explore the straightforward expository style. It is one of the best ways to share a message or information. If I had to compare this style with one type of modern genre or style, it would be the video essay.

3. Observational Documentaries

Observational documentaries aim to observe the world around them. Originating in the 1960s alongside advances in portable film equipment, the Cinéma Vérité style is much less pointed than the expository approach.

Observational documentaries attempt to give voice to all sides of an issue by offering audiences firsthand access to some of the subject’s most important (and often private) moments. The observational style has been very influential over the years, and filmmakers often use it in other film genres to create a sense of realness and truth. One of the most famous examples of this is Harlan County, USA, directed by Barbara Kopple.

In terms of observational documentaries being a product of “cinema verité,” this is the best example I can think of. It’s raw and authentic, and the storytelling is immaculate as Kopple follows her subjects around with an objective view with a handheld approach and an empathetic lens. If you’re into this style of filmmaking, be sure you have a telephoto lens, as following the action and being ready at a moment’s notice to capture what’s happening is the key to making a good observational-style documentary.

4. Participatory Documentaries

Participatory documentaries include the filmmaker within the narrative. This inclusion can be as minor as a filmmaker using their voice to prod their subjects with questions or cues from behind the camera—or as major as a filmmaker directly influencing the actions of the narrative. In the example above, Michael Moore is directly influencing how his subjects react to his questions and, therefore, influencing the overall narrative of the film in a way I would label participatory. But Michael Moore is a particularly complicated filmmaker, but we’ll talk more about him later.

There’s some debate in the documentary community as to just how much filmmaker participation it takes to earn a documentary the label of “participatory.” Some argue that, due to their very nature, all documentaries are participatory. Regardless, this style might be one of the most natural for those starting.

5. Reflexive Documentaries

Reflexive documentaries are similar to participatory docs in that they often include the filmmaker within the film. However, unlike participatory, most creators of reflexive documentaries do not attempt to explore an outside subject. Rather, they focus solely on themselves and the act of making the film.

The best example of this style is the 1929 silent documentary Man with a Movie Camera by Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov. It’s a classic showcase of the creative — and quite challenging — images a true reflexive documentary can create.

6. Performative Documentaries

Performative documentaries are an experimental combination of styles used to stress the subject’s experience and share an emotional response with the world. They often connect and juxtapose personal accounts with larger political or historical issues. This has sometimes been called the “Michael Moore-style,” as he often uses his own stories as a way to construct social truths (without having to argue the validity of their experiences).

A more recent example of this would be something like Won’t You Be My Neighbor? A film about the life and legacy of Mr. Rogers. The film takes interviews but also relies on old footage from the TV show, blending different styles and tones to deliver an emotional gut punch towards the end of the film that is in part a product of how the film is constructed.

Here are a few financial documentaries:

1.      The Ascent of Money (YouTube)

Based on Harvard historian Niall Ferguson’s ground-breaking book, this six-part series is the definitive history of how mankind came to use money as a universal token of value, how various cultures have tackled the problems of regulating and monitoring money, and more.

From Babylonian clay tablets to modern banking, this is a great guide to understanding how money came to be so important to (almost) the entire world.

2. Freakonomics (Stan)

Funny, enlightening, and sometimes terrifying, this explanation of how economic theory applies to the real world is rightly hailed as ground-breaking.

Based on a series of articles by economist Steven Levitt, examines the motivations of cheating in everything from small businesses to Sumo, how bribing someone (even kids) can be a legitimate business model, how public spending on health can slow crime, and much more.

3. The Queen of Versailles (Beamafilm)

When finance and real estate guru David Siegel and his wife Jackie decided to build the biggest, grandest home in America, documentary maker Lauren Greenfield followed along.

But when the 2008 recession hit, the film became less about the house the Siegels were building and more about how they struggled to cope with the sudden change of fortune. Lesson after hilarious lesson in money mismanagement follows.

4. Minimalism (Netflix)

Undoubtedly the documentary the Siegel family should have watched when things started to go south, looks at Americans who have decided – in the middle of the world’s greatest consumerist society – to live with less.

It’s not a lifestyle for everyone, but minimalists Joshua Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus show us the men and women, including a former Wall Street broker, who are living proof we don’t need things to thrive.

5. Scott Pape’s Money Movement (Foxtel)

As more students leave school or university already in debt and with many families, financially illiterate, Australians often face a bleak financial future.

Like the American series The Most Important Class You Never Had Before It, the Barefoot Investor Scott Pape sets out to change that with a series of lessons in real schools that teach kids (and through them their parents) how to manage their money and plan for their future.

6. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (Kanopy)

What we do need, however, is what Jiro Ono has – Ikegai. Jiro is the owner of a small, ten-seat sushi bar near a Tokyo train station.

In any other story, his could be a tale of relentless work for minimal return, but Jiro embraces “Ikegai” a philosophy of combining what you love to do, what you are good at doing with what you can be paid to do, effectively making his life everything he ever dreamed of.

7. Bitcoin: The End Of Money As We Know It (Kanopy)

Easily one of the most misunderstood financial phenomena in a century, cryptocurrencies are seen as either snake oil or savior depending on which side of the investment scale you land.

This documentary sets out to demystify the world of crypto, explaining how online bits are the same, yet very different from the shiny metal discs they try to copy.

8. Loan Wolves

MSNBC Films presents “Loan Wolves,” a new feature documentary that follows journalist Blake Zeff as he travels the country to uncover the effects of student loan debt, and embarks on a whodunit mission to find the culprit responsible for adjusting the 1998 education bill that changed the lives – and wallets – of millions. “Loan Wolves” airs Sunday, December 11th at 10 pm ET on MSNBC and streaming on Peacock