This reading is from a book named Documentary, experimental and animated films, chapter 10. This chapter is mainly about types of form in documentary films. Mostly, documentaries are organized as narratives, like fiction films. However, there are still many non-narrative types of documentary form. There are four basic modes of non-narrative formal system: categorical, rhetorical, abstract and associational. And then in this chapter, only categorical and rhetorical are discussed so I will focus on these two modes.
Categorical films organize their subjects via a process of classification, groupings, and categorization. Taking travelogue as an example, categorical films often start by identifying the subject, and their patterns of development are limited and simple.
For rhetorical films, their elements would be organized as the presentation of a persuasive argument. Also, there is an example that The Thin Blue Line, 60 Minutes. For the rhetorical films, I think we can conclude in 6 points. Firstly, their goal is that persuade audience to accept an opinion about the subject matter. Then, they would attempt to make an explicit argument. Next, their viewer would be addressed directly. Moreover, sometimes the subject would be a matter of opinion or attitude, not an issue of scientific truth. The next one is that the film will usually appeal to emotion once its conclusions cannot be made scientifically, or beyond questions. Finally, frequently presents arguments as if they were observation.
Although I read and conclude the chapter, I still cannot understand exactly what the rhetorical and categorical mean. I think I should better see more documentaries.