Documentaries

This article is part 8 of the "21 Thoughts on Video Streaming in 2021"-series.

Ben Johnson (Director of Client Services at Wicket Labs) explains in his 2021 thought why we -content consumers and producers- should care more about documentaries in 2021.

Documentary films are an amazing medium.

When done right, they have the power to shape the viewer's opinion about a particular subject.  When distributed at scale, they have the power to change society.

In 2021, I would like to see studios focus on producing more widely diverse, deeply personal documentaries. With Covid keeping us separated, I see intimate documentaries as an opportunity to bring us closer together. With equity at top of mind in the entertainment industry, I see documentaries as an opportunity to give a voice to marginalized communities. With streaming services constantly needing fresh content to keep users engaged, I see documentaries as a cost-effective way to accomplish just that.

I should watch more documentaries. It's one of the few types of video where you actually learn a thing or two. (My most recent one was "Crack" on Netflix!)

I also believe that documentaries can be a cost-effective way to create great content. For example, there's this guy on Reddit who created an award-winning documentary with a single camera – and he even asked a refund for the camera.