Faking it

The authors examine the mock-documentary through the specific relationship which the form constructs with documentary. This is part of a wider discussion of the increasingly fragile association between factual codes and conventions and the discourses which underpin the documentary genre. Their analysis includes detailed discussions of a number of key mock-documentary texts ranging from Woody Allen's "Zelig", Peter Greenway's "The Falls" and the Beatles spoof "The Rutles" through to such classic examples as "Bob Roberts", "This is Spinal Tap" and "Man bites Dog".