ABSTRACT
The modern American political documentary can be seen in Robert Drew’s Primary, which, with minimum commentary, follows John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey as they cross the country seeking the Democratic nomination for President. It was an important entry in what came to be called cinema verite, documentary filmmaking that allows events to play out in front of the camera with minimum interference by the filmmakers and minimum guidance for the viewer. One documentary has done all the remarkable ways. O. J.: Made in America is, superficially, in the tradition of contemporary documentary films: many talking heads, from people who knew O. J. Simpson to ordinary bystanders to his career and crimes, to the various characters that were part of his trial for the murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend, to experts and authors. Their comments are interleaved with some original, but mostly found television footage, including the extensive television coverage of the trial.
