This collection of essays is the first major study to explore the intersection between cognitive theory and documentary film studies. As such, it offers a vital interpretation not only of how we perceive reality through documentary, but also of how we perceive it because of documentary. Western audiences live in a mass-mediated culture that filters reality through the prism of factual media; hence, their emotional and cognitive comprehension of the world is, to a significant extent, informed and consolidated by documentary film. The essays in this volume seek to illuminate the production, exhibition...