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Questions and Answers
What is a mockumentary?
What is the difference between a mockumentary and a pseudo-documentary?
What are some early examples of mockumentaries?
What is the difference between a mockumentary and a documentary parody?
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What is the purpose of mockumentaries?
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What is the difference between partly improvised and wholly improvised mockumentaries?
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What are some notable mockumentaries since the 2000s?
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What is Documentary Now!
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What is Cunk on Britain and Cunk on Earth?
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Study Notes
Mockumentary: A Genre of Fictional Events Presented in Documentary Style
- Mockumentary is a type of film or TV show that presents fictional events in the form of a documentary.
- It is often used to comment on current events or parody the documentary form itself.
- Mockumentaries are usually comedic, while their dramatic equivalents are called pseudo-documentaries.
- Mockumentaries can be partly or wholly improvised.
- Early examples of mock-documentaries include films by Peter Watkins, Federico Fellini’s The Clowns, and Albert Brooks's Real Life.
- The style of Woody Allen's Take the Money and Run was widely appropriated by others and revisited by Allen himself in films such as Zelig and Sweet and Lowdown.
- Monty Python's Flying Circus also featured mockumentary pieces, such as "Hell's Grannies", "Piranha Brothers", and "The Funniest Joke in the World".
- The 1980 South African film The Gods Must Be Crazy and Woody Allen's Zelig are early examples of mockumentaries that gained considerable attention.
- Christopher Guest's This Is Spinal Tap, Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind are mockumentaries that he co-wrote and directed.
- Since the 2000s, notable mockumentaries include The Office, Parks and Recreation, and Modern Family in the US, and The Games, Trailer Park Boys, and W1A in the UK.
- The series Documentary Now! spoofs celebrated documentary films by parodying the style and subject of each documentary.
- The BBC series Cunk on Britain and Cunk on Earth created by Diane Morgan is a mockumentary about British history with experts asking ridiculous questions.
- People Like Us and Kay Stonham's Audio Diaries are radio mockumentaries.
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Description
Think you know everything about mockumentaries? Test your knowledge with our quiz! From the early pioneers of the genre to the latest hit TV shows, this quiz covers it all. Challenge yourself and see if you can identify the most famous mockumentaries, their creators, and the techniques used to make them. Get ready to laugh and learn in this entertaining quiz!
