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award-winning documentary film Mike and Stefani (1951) has been thoroughly examined by both Bertrand (2002) and D. Williams (2002, 2008). Bertrand’s contribution included an in-depth analysis of the production and distribution of the film and a reflexive note on letters between the producer-in-chief (Stanley Hawes) and the director (Maslyn Williams). Williams, on the other hand, offered an in-depth analysis of two documentary film producers (Cecil Holms and John Heyer) and provided a theoretical insight that looks at Mike and Stefani from the standpoint of neorealism.
Many documentary films were made by government agencies for the purpose of recruiting migrants during the post-war period. However, current research into these subjects and related films is still minimal. A more systematic analysis of these films is necessary and would contribute to the field. Content, production, discourses, and meanings of the post-war migration documentary films are worth examining, be it in the form of general content description or specific and in-depth studies. This book employs both the descriptive and the interpretive frameworks of documentary analyses. This introduction introduces general issues, documentary film representations, and the research questions and methods of this study.
Documentary Film Representations
Scholars have employed various terms to refer to the concept of documentary film. These include documentary films, documentaries, nonfiction films, non-theatrical films, creative cinema, propaganda films, education films, participatory video, and ethnographic films. ‘Trying to define documentary, be it by form or content, technique or typology—that is, by listing what it is—can end up focusing on what it is not’ (Morgan, 1993, p. 136). A consensus on the definition of documentary or documentary film is not easy to achieve. In terms of the nature and reality of documentary films, at least two broad perspectives can be found. First, British filmmaker John Grierson and followers argued that documentary films are characterised by creativity and dramatisation, which is similar to feature films in certain aspects. Second, documentary films are regarded as a medium representing society, culture, and history or as an agency