Mockumentaries…

What are Mockumentaries??• Mockumentaries are a genre of film and television in

which fictitious events are presented in a document form, as if to be realistic to a viewer.

• Examples of this satire date back to the 1950’s, although the actual term ‘Mockumentary’ is thought to have appeared in the mid 1980’s when Rob Reiner, the director of ‘This is Spinal Tap’, used it in the interview when describing this film.

• Since the 80s, the Mockumentary format has enjoyed much attention. Borat was a success, though writer and star Sacha Baron Cohen received much criticism for his alleged racism and disparagement of the Kazakh people.

• The most notable mockumentary in the 2000s has been the British sitcom The Office, with Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant.

The Office…

• The Office is a classic example of a modern mockumentary. The show was first broadcast in the UK in 2001, on BBC 2.

• Created, written and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme observes the day to day lives of office employees in Slough, Berkshire in the Branch of the fictitious Wernham Hogg Paper Company.

• Although it is scripted and fictious, the programme takes the form of a documentary as the camera is acknowledged by the actors.

Borat…

• Borat: Cultural Learning's of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, is a 2006 mockumentary, comedy film, directed by Larry Charles.

• The satire was a commercial but highly criticised success, winning The Golden Globe Award for Best Actor: Musical or Comedy, in 2007.

• There was mass controversy surrounding the films success, even two years before its release. It was denounced for having a protagonist who is homophobic, sexist and anti-Semitic (even though both Larry Charles and Sasha Baron Cohen are Jewish.)

• All Arab Countries except from Lebanon banned the Mockumentary, and the Russia Government discouraged it from being shown in cinemas.

Victoria Wood…

•She is a British Comedian, actress, singer and writer who stars in her own sketches. Most of her humour is grounded around everyday life, she is regarded for observing cultures and satirising social classes.

•She is known for her collaborations with actors such as Julie Walters, Duncan Preston and Celia Imrie.

•Victoria Wood As Seen On TV: Her mini-documentary was a part of the BBC Television comedy sketch series.

•It was filmed more naturalistically than other comedy shows, acknowledging the camera’s presence and therefore falling into the category of a Mockumentary.

•The episodes were only around five minutes long, dealing with humorous topics such as: A man, played by Jim Broadbent, who runs "a telephone deodorising business" as well as being a door to door Christian. He has been engaged to the same woman for sixteen years.

•And… A new student arrives at a University, and quickly gains popularity by bullying her overweight roommate into an attempted suicide.

We Can Be Heroes…

•We Can Be Heroes: Finding The Australian Of The Year is an Australian Mockumentary, The first series behind Summer Heights High, written and starring Chris Lilley.

•It follows the story of five unique Australians, who have each made a large achievement and been nominated by their friends and family for the Australian of the Year award. Each character is played by Chris Lilley, all battling it out to win the achievement award.

•Daniel Sims: Lives in Dunt, South Australia. He is 17 and has a twin brother Nathan who has a hearing impediment. Daniel was nominated for giving his eardrum to his brother, this will be the first ever ear drum transplant.

•Ja’mie King: is a 16 year old girl who has been nominated for sponsoring 85 Sudanese Children for Global Vision, giving her the national record. She is a ‘popular’ girl from Hilford Girl’s Grammar School, who is rather egotistic and self absorbed. Her character was carried on into Chris Lilley’s next series Summer Heights High.

•Pat Mullins: A 47 year old who lives in Perth. She has one leg shorter than the other, and because of this has taken up the sport of ‘Rolling’. Her husband Terry is her coach, and she has rolled marathons and is training towards rolling to Ayres Rock in her episodes.

•Phil Olivetti: self-obsessed 37-year-old, from Brisbane. He used to work for the police force until he saved 9 children from an unsecured Jumping Castle that was about to crash into power lines. After that, he quit his job and tried to start a career in motivational speaking.

•Ricky Wong: A 23 year old Chinese Physics Student. He has achieved fame for his work in solar energy, but his passion lies in acting. Ricky's dream is to become a professional actor, but his father doesn’t agree and says that he should complete his physics degree after he finishes Indigeridoo, a musical about indigenous Australians in which Ricky plays the main role.

Summer Heights High…•Summer Heights High is a classic Australian Mockumentary series written and starring Chris Lilley.

•It covers the lives of three protagonists at a typical Australian High School. There is…

•Mr G is the school’s ‘Director of Performing ‘. He is a gay, narcissistic, self-centred character, who is being followed by cameras whilst he directs his new school show ‘Mr G The Musical’. It follows the tragic death of a student who took an overdose, and he wanted to make a musical out of her story, playing the hero who warned her of the consequences. He has done other musicals such as ‘Ikea’ the Musical and Tsunamarama, based on the 2004 disaster to the music of Bananarama.

•Ja’mie is a private school exchange student who immediately makes friends with the most popular girls at Summer Heights High. It becomes obvious however, that her friendship is not genuine when her so-called friends discover a poster she has made of them calling them "povo skanks".

• Jonah Takalua is a 13-year-old school boy of Tongan descent in year 8 at Summer Heights High, which is his third school after being expelled from two others for setting fire to a student's locker and drawing indecent drawings on the principal's car. The mockumentary films his struggle in lessons and with his friends.

Star Stories…•A British television comedy programme that takes a satirical look at celebrities and their lives.

•There are a number of actors and actresses who impersonate celebrities, playing up to the cameras, so it seems genuine as a documentary.

•It won best comedy in the British Comedy Awards and Kevin Bishop was nominated for best actor, leading him into his next career with ‘The Kevin Bishop Show’.

Why are they successful???

• Mockumentaries use the ironic juxtaposition of reality and the characters' skewed perceptions of that reality. In a mockumentary, the characters' interviews and observations rarely agree with the chaotic reality captured by the cameras. Such as in ‘The Head Boy’ film, when he talks of the schools successes to prevent bullying, however, the audience can see a child outside the window being beaten up.

• In a Mockumentary, the audience knows the work as a whole is fictional, but traditional comedy isn’t used, such as punchlines. The humour in a mockumentary often arises from incidental bits of dialogue or visuals, accompanied by a talented actor's realistic delivery of improvised lines.

What age groups do they attract??

• I would say that they attract younger audiences, say perhaps teenagers to young adults.

• The humour is aimed at younger audiences, especially films such as Borat and Bruno, which do not necessarily appeal to older, more traditional viewers.

• Also TV shows such as Summer Heights High and Star Stories are usually aimed at younger viewers, however, The Office typically appealed to a larger audience from teenagers upwards.