“The Documentary Influence” applies various research methodologies to examine how a documentary film can have an impact on both an individual and societal level. In each of four studies in the series, researchers look at select film campaigns and measure their impact on one of the following areas: audience experience, public discourse, cultural influence, and grassroots movements. The result is an unprecedented look at the specific ways that documentary impact campaigns can catalyze social change.
MORE LIKE UNSEEN: A study of accessibility and representation in documentary film
Researchers conducted a survey of more than 350 audience members who attended screenings of the film unseen, one of the only films in the last decade that centers an openly undocumented person with a disability as its main protagonist. The results highlight the transformative effects that a film by and featuring previously-underrepresented voices can have on audience members of all backgrounds.
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TRANSFORMING THE NARRATIVE: An Evaluation of the Strategic Impact of Disclosure on Public Discourse about Transgender People
“Transforming the Narrative” analyzes over three years of social media posts and news media coverage to evaluate if – and more importantly how – the impact campaign for the documentary film Disclosure was able to drive and shape public discourse about transgender people. Using network mapping and influence analysis, the study surfaces key lessons for practitioners of digital impact campaigns.
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“FILMS ARE LIKE ALARMS”: The cultural impacts of three environmental justice documentaries
In-depth interviews with protagonists, film teams, and impact producers of three films featuring Indigenous environmental justice communities reveal strong connections between campaign practices and the resulting cultural impacts. Thank You For the Rain, The Territory, and Delikado each employed practices of co-creation in their production and impact campaigns, which the study concludes were critical to the long-term impact of the films as agents of change.
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THE FIRST STEP: Coalition Building, Social Change, and Pushing for Progress After the Credits Roll
This study investigates more than fifty examples of interested community members and organizations who learned about the criminal justice-reform documentary The First Step and subsequently organized a screening for their community. What results is an in-depth portrait of how communities are using and finding value in documentaries to advance local social change efforts.
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