The term Docudrama is derived from the word
document (c.1450) meaning "teaching, instruction," which came from the same Middle French word that describes a ‘lesson or written evidence.’ The Latin’s started all of this with
documentum meaning an
example,
proof,or
lesson" which later stood for an "official written instrument"
Documentum came from
docere as in to show or teach. A
docere denoted "something written that provides proof or evidence" and first appeared 1727. Document as a verb meaning "to support by documentary evidence" is from 1711. It wasn’t until 1930 that documentary was initially used to describe a "film based on actual events" and it came from the French film documentarie in 1924. Docudrama or
a semi-fictionalized
film of a historical event presented in the style of a documentary. was first coined 1961.
A docudrama is a play, movie or television story in which factual events from either modern or historical times are combined with the imagination of the screenwriter ‘s or playwright’s to produce an entertaining adaptation. An innovation of the small screen the docudrama came about when British Broadcasting Company commissioned Ken Russell to do film essays on biopics of artists Edward Elgar, Richard Strauss; poet-painter Dante Gabriel Rossetti and dancer Isadora Duncan. The film essays were released between 1965 and1970. The producer endeavored to convey the essence of the person’s character and work rather than just the facts of their lives. Opponents say they generalize or warp the events or the people caught up in them. Supporters of the field say imaginative artists have the right to combine history and realism as the foundation for their illusory representations.
Since the time of Shakespeare's historical plays, practically all docudramas have presented assertive and opinionated perspectives. Nearly all film and television dramas electrify the limelight of history by bringing partisan depictions of events and people. All are controversial in some manner. Docudrama is a close cousin to the "non-fiction novel." This expression was first used to describe the genre books like Truman Capote's In Cold Blood or Norman Mailer's Executioner's Song where the novelist uses the techniques of fiction to tell a story.
Sources:
Docu-drama:
www.phrases.org.uk/bulletin_board/5/messages/99.html
Online Etymology:
www.etymonline.com/index.php?l=d&p=14
Writer's Market: Writer's Encyclopedia:
www.writersmarket.com/wmns/encyclopedia/d.asp