analysis on the popularity of documentaries

 

Documentaries have grown in popularity as many people have become interested in real world issues, whether it is crime related or nature centred people feel the need to know more about these subjects. Documentaries show people authenticity in a time where a large part of media is fiction and won’t be covered globally. They range from personal accounts to captivating dramas. In 2023 there was a surge in all documentary genres as two major Hollywood labour unions went on strike, leading to a slowdown in the production of new tv shows. The demand for documentaries rose by 44% from 2021 to 2023.Documentaries are easy to access through streaming platforms such as Netflix and YouTube, and they show niche content that caters to specific interests and attracts dedicated audiences.

A disturbing part of why people love documentaries is the true crime genre as people are starting to become more obsessed with it more than ever in today’s society. In a statistic done in 2010 conveys that “women tend to be drawn towards true crime stories more than men, and that they are most interested in stories that give insight into the killer’s motives, that contain information about how victims escaped, and that feature female victims. this fits with the evolutionary idea – that people are instinctively drawn towards stories where they can identify with the victim and read about tips and strategies for defeating the ‘baddies’.” Evolutionary psychologists say that “we’re drawn to these tales because murder, rape and theft have played a significant part in human society since our hunter-gatherer days.” People have seen how popular crime is and used this to their benefit to gain revenue by doing podcasts and shows dedicated to talking about crime. This type of media has gained backlash as people think they are cashing in on someone’s trauma. Additionally in order to get monetised and gain revenue these people need to be weary of what they say and uses words such as “graped” and “unalive” instead of rape and killed which makes it feel even more out of touch with the world.