The curtain has been pulled back. There is no wizard. Only a projector, a screen, and a long, long line of people waiting to be entertained by the wreckage.
Then there is the question of the audience. Are we watching these documentaries for education or for entertainment? When we binge The Curse of Von Dutch or WeWork: Or the Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn , are we learning about capitalism, or are we just enjoying a downfall? The entertainment industry documentary lives on this razor’s edge. It preaches moral clarity while often indulging in the same voyeurism it condemns. GirlsDoPorn - Kayla Clement - 20 Years Old - E2...
Before the reckoning came the hagiography. The first wave of entertainment documentaries, from 1940s promotional shorts to the golden age of DVD extras, served one purpose: myth maintenance. Films like That's Entertainment! (1974) were clip reels and back-patting exercises for MGM’s golden age. They showed the tap shoes, the costumes, the smiling chorus girls. They did not show the blacklists, the studio-system contracts that resembled indentured servitude, or the rampant substance abuse kept hidden by publicists. The curtain has been pulled back