Cynthia Miller on Rob Reiner’s Unique Approach to Mockumentaries: Vox
Marlboro Institute for Liberal Arts and Interdisciplinary Studies Senior Affiliated Faculty Cynthia Miller, a cultural anthropologist, shares insights about Rob Reiner’s unique approach to the mockumentary style of filmmaking, as seen through his 1984 directorial debut This Is Spinal Tap, and his influence on the genre.
This Is Spinal Tap demonstrated to studios that this sort of creative genre-bending and genre-reconstructing could be hilarious, impactful and, ultimately, financially worthwhile.
We tend to relate to the world through categories. But mockumentaries blur and sometimes explode genre boundaries in ways that allow and encourage artistic and creative freedom. Genre conventions go out the window or are combined in unanticipated ways, creating new forms and giving filmmakers space to express themselves. Mockumentaries are often a “take no prisoners” form of social commentary that refuse to let us look away until they’ve had their say. They create discomfort, but leave us laughing at ourselves.
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