nature shows

There was a time, not long ago, when I would claim, without a doubt, that nature shows were the pinnacle of television programming.
Nature shows have grown weak.
This is not to say that nature shows, in and of themselves, are a weak medium. The market is merely glutted. The Discovery channel, once powerful, has succumbed to the pressure of the over-produced, scientifically insignificant programming targetted towards an unfocussed audience. Convinced that quick cuts, flashy CG, and informationally devoid graphics are their ticket to the younger, impatient generation, they sacrifice all that is valuable in the nature program.
The prolonged shot, tracing the beast at its speed, keeping in mind its agenda, conveys and expresses more than any trite, flashy production can hope to intimate.
Nova is a powerful show. Seldom do Nova producers succumb to this misguided approach.

So let's talk about journalism. A film is not great because it is a documentary.
The sad truth of the situation is that a documentary is not even necessarily truthful because it is a documentary. Any lover of truth should investigate a variety of Errol Morris films - namely, the Thin Blue Line, A Brief History of Time, and The Fog of War. And you must see Baraka.

Reason rules.