7: Film Truth

Documentary as a promoter of ideal behavior

As the newly minted label documentary genre entered the 1930s, filmmakers used it to promote ideal behavior. John Grierson used his role as a film critic to advocate for the high ideals of democracy. His films aimed to support the core principles of British life. Grierson led the film unit of the General Post Office’s public relations department, with the goal of creating films that would inform and educate the public about British life. His only feature-length film, “The Drifters” (1929), portrayed a romanticized view of British traditions, especially herring fishing and the passing down of skills from father to son.

In "The Drifters," Grierson sought to depict the daily life of the fishermen. More than just an objective account, he emphasized the energy, emotion, and brutality involved in the profession. He discussed the process of making the documentary in the weekly Socialist-leaning newspaper, The Clarion.

Notions are notions and pictures are pictures, and no knowledge of cinematic anatomy can guarantee that extra something, which is the breath of life to a picture. If I raise this matter of images it is rather to give you some idea of how the movie mind works. It has to feel its way through the appearances of things, choosing, discarding and choosing again, seeking always those more significant appearances, which are like yeast to the plain dough of the context. Sometimes they are there for the taking; as often as not you have to make a journey into a far country to find them. That, however, is no more difficult for cinema than for poetry. The camera is by instinct, if not by training, a wanderer.

--Originally published in The Clarion, October 1929. (Quote taken from a reprint of the article.)

Film Truth

While Grierson embraced a “creative treatment of actuality,” the Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov favored a more literal approach to the subject. Beginning in the 1920s, Vertov produced a newsreel series called ‘Kino-pravda’ (translated as ‘Film-truth’). His fly-on-the-wall observations used an unblinking lens to focus on the individual and avoid the theatrical nature of a Flaherty or Grierson film. Film scholar Bill Nichols, in his “Introduction to Documentary," explains Vertov’s vision and commitment to representing the truth in his films:

“Vertov…eschewed all forms of scripting, staging, acting, or re-enacting…Vertov wanted to catch life raw-handed and then to assemble from it a vision of the new society in the process of emergence.” - Nichols, Bill. Introduction to Documentary (Second Edition), 2010, page 217.

Vertov’s captured fragments of actuality, which, when organized together, revealed a deeper truth that could not be perceived with the naked eye. In the Kino-Pravda series, he emphasized everyday experiences, avoiding bourgeois concerns and instead filming marketplaces, bars, and schools, sometimes using a hidden camera without first asking permission.

While this description may evoke the image of a camera being locked down, turned on, and left to record, Vertov’s films showcase an avant-garde style. In his “Man With a Movie Camera” (1929), Vertov documents a typical day in the cities of Moscow, Kyiv, and Odessa. No actors were involved; just everyday people living their authentic lives. As the title suggests, both a cameraman and a camera play pivotal roles. He employed several inventive camera techniques, including multiple exposures, freeze frames, and jump cuts. These cinematic techniques work together to create a surreal experience, highlighting the nuances of Soviet life.

Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\): Graphic created by Steve Shlisky, 2025

Two Competing Styles of the 20s

The films of the 1920s influenced the decades that followed. Grierson’s creative treatment of real events and Vertov’s ‘life as it happens’ techniques shaped the propaganda films of pre-war Europe. Grierson’s state-sponsored film units established an issue-driven, voiceover-led documentary style aimed at wartime mobilization, boosting morale and fostering social cohesion during WWII. Films like “London Can Take It!” (1940) and “Listen to Britain” (1942) adhered to Grierson’s formula: blending real footage with scripted narration to shape public perception.

Vertov’s avant-garde approach, featuring rapid montage techniques and dynamic camera work, influenced Soviet wartime propaganda such as “The Fall of Berlin” (1949) and “Battle for Our Soviet Ukraine” (1943). These films employed striking visual metaphors and experimental editing to evoke patriotism. Although his experimental style was later suppressed under Socialist Realism, Vertov’s innovations in montage editing as a persuasive device became essential to Soviet propaganda films.

Table: Differences in Documentary Style Between Grierson and Vertov

Both Grierson and Vertov played a crucial role in establishing the aesthetic and ideological foundations of propaganda documentary filmmaking. Grierson envisioned a framework where documentaries could promote national unity and serve a civic purpose, all within a structured and accessible format. Meanwhile, Vertov demonstrated the profound impact of montage, visual rhythm, and candid imagery in effectively conveying political messages and shaping collective consciousness.

By the 1930s and 1940s, many countries embraced the powerful storytelling principles pioneered by these documentary filmmakers. Grierson’s clear moral perspective, combined with Vertov’s emotionally charged editing and striking imagery, played a significant role in shaping public opinion and inspiring communities across the globe.

Thumbnail: The Awful Truth (1937) poster from Picryl. Public Domain.