DOCUMENTARY CINEMA AS A CULTURAL FORM OF REPRESENTING REALITY: CONTEMPORARY CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to analyze the main concepts of understanding documentary cinema in contemporary academic discourse and to generalize the key theoretical approaches to interpreting its nature, functions, and role in the formation of cultural and social meanings. The research methodology involves the use of a set of interdisciplinary approaches that made it p ossible to consider documentary cinema not only as a type of audiovisual art but also as a cultural form of understanding and representing reality. The combination of the methodological tools of cultural studies, art studies, media studies, and visual studies allowed the study of documentary cinema as a complex system of communication in which artistic, informational, and socio-cultural functions are combined. Semiotic, discursive, and historical-cultural approaches made it possible to examine theoretical approaches to understanding the phenomenon of documentary cinema as a theoretical category and a cultural form of representing reality. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the attempt to develop theoretical and practical approaches to the interdisciplinary understanding of the phenomenon of documentary cinema as a cultural form of representing real events. Conclusions. In contemporary humanitarian discourse, documentary cinema is considered a complex cultural phenomenon that combines elements of recording reality, authorial interpretation, and social communication. In the works of modern researchers, there is a noticeable departure from the traditional understanding of documentary film as an objective reflection of reality. Instead, documentary film is viewed as a form of representation of reality shaped through cinematic means, the author’s position, and the socio-cultural context. Modern concepts emphasize the rhetorical, ethical, communicative, and political dimensions of documentary cinema, where film functions not only as a means of recording events but also as a mechanism for shaping collective memory, an instrument of social dialogue, and a way of comprehending historical processes. Documentary cinema thus emerges as an important element of contemporary culture that plays a significant role in the formation of social meanings, cultural identities, and perceptions of reality