Political docs, the niche film is alive and well.

After seeing this list over on Box Office Mojo, I can’t believe how many political docs there are now. (And damn if Moore doesn’t have four of the top five grossing ones either and two of the top five all-time as well.) Compared to the traditional feature films Hollywood puts out, none of these can compare financially. Still, as a niche, it’s clear the category’s grown.

Only 11 of the 70 on this list were made before 2000, and of those all-time docs, fully two-thirds were made after 2000. (There were others made obviously, but box office gross was a factor in determining the list.) Maybe it’s a reflection of our growing fascination with media and all the shit going on in the world? The easy access to cheaper technology apparently now making everyone the next Ken Burns.

Who needs film school? Find an issue. Grab a camera. Have at it.

I disagree with a few of the choices though, like Moore’s Roger and Me. Now, you can make any topic political, and Lord knows he tries with every pic, but R&M was about finding out why GM screwed workers. It’s a little bit of a leap to connect those dots all the way to politics in D.C., no? (Especially when half your time is spent showing up unannounced at places to get an interview.) And Control Room was as much about media bias and manipulation as anything. It’s Middle East location however made it an easy target to lump in with the politics surrounding the war.

Although it broke the top 20 on the main list, I would’ve included Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room here first before those two. You could argue deregulation allowed them to snatch up so many of the lucrative contracts that ultimately led to their downfall. (And it’s too bad mocumentaries aren’t included either because Bob Roberts melds the issues of both politics and media manipulation as well as any.)