Schlockumentary

[[Image:Gemmae_et_sculpturae_antiquae_(1694)_(14763965235).jpg|thumb|165px|Shakespeare wrote ''Anthony and Cleopatra'', and she was Egyptian, so...aliens!]]
{{film}}
{{cquote|[[Shakespeare authorship|Who was William Shakespeare - really?]] And could the new world have been modeled after his dream of a New [[Atlantis]]?||| ''Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings Volume 1: The New Atlantis''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170211100409/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814308/ Promotional material for ''Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings Volume 1: The New Atlantis'', accessed Feb. 11, 2017.]</ref>}}
'''Schlockumentary''' (also '''shlockumentary'''), a portmanteau formed from slang ''schlock'', rubbish (ultimately perhaps from Yiddish שלאַק, "stroke" or "aneurysm,"<ref>''Shorter Oxford English Dictionary'', 6th Ed., Vol. 2, p. 2693</ref> but likely from a Yiddish cognate of German ''Schlacke'', "waste products", cognate with English "slag") and ''documentary'', is a [[Films|film]] or TV show purporting to be a documentary, but which inclines toward [[conspiracy theory]]; [[religion|religious]] [[propaganda]]; [[nationalist]] [[historical revisionism]], or other [[pseudohistory]]; [[Just asking questions|wild, unsubstantiated speculative questioning]]; [[xenophobia]] or [[racialism]], often subtly invoked; or other characteristics that fail the "documenting" test of a documentary.

While fiction sometimes claims to be "based on a true story,"<ref group="note">The ''Star Wars'' series is by this test also "based on a true story": a long time ago, there indeed were galaxies far away from Earth.</ref> schlockumentary is something which poses as a true story, but is based on manipulation, [[bait-and-switch]], [[bias]], [[fringe]] beliefs, [[strawman]] attacks, or pure [[bullshit]].

A schlockumentary is a subset of the {{wpl|pseudo-documentary||.}} It can be schlock because it fails to present things as they happened; because the documentary directors, writers, or producers themselves lack [[critical thinking|critical distance]] from the subject; because of [[Cherry picking|selective]] filming or editing; because it is the equivalent of [[clickbait]]; because its creators are cynical propagandists, or are merely unhinged; or for a number of other reasons.

While [[science fiction]] asks "What if," then delivers a work of fiction, a schlockumentary asks the same question then acts as if its answers are, or could be, fact. If sci-fi is a mentalist, then schlockumentaries are a [[psychic]].

A fair proportion of YouTube that is not about [[goat|cute animals]], [[politics]], fixing or buying stuff, or [[video game|gaming]] is schlockumentary. The Netflix documentary subcategory also has a large number of schlockumentaries, as do those of other streaming services such as Amazon Prime.

==History and social context==
The schlockumentary genre has roots at least as far back as the 1930s (for example, in [[drug]] scare films like [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028346/ ''Reefer Madness'']), but appears to have expanded with the [[New Age]] movement in the 1970s, with shows such as the [[Erich von Däniken]]-inspired [[In Search of... (TV series)|''In Search Of…'']] television series. Popularity might have had something to do with a combination of [[paranoia]], fantasy, distrust of [[government]], and curiosity arising from the [[Kennedy assassination]],<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20171027012554/https://thehill.com/opinion/white-house/356957-jfk-assassination-opened-dark-era-of-american-conspiracy-theories Dan Mahafee, The Kennedy files in an era of American conspiracy theories," ''The Hill'', Oct. 24, 2017, accessed Oct. 27, 2017.]</ref> the [[Vietnam War]], the race to the [[Moon]], the [[Watergate scandal]], and [[psychedelic drug]] use.<ref>David Brian Robertson, ''Loss of confidence: Politics and policy in the 1970s''. Pennsylvania State University Press, 1998, ''passim''.</ref> [[Discordianism]] may also have played a role.

The genre went through something of a stagnation through the 1980s and 1990s, with [[right-wing]] shows like [[Cops (TV show)|''Cops'']], left-wing films by [[Michael Moore]], and non-partisan flakery like ''[[Unsolved Mysteries]]'' filling a small if steady role. This makes some sense from an [[Anthropology|anthropological]] perspective, since trust in government institutions in the US rose notably from 1981 to 1991.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20170819231036/https://sites.hks.harvard.edu/fs/pnorris/Acrobat/NEWTON.PDF Kenneth Newton and Pippa Norris, "Confidence in public institutions: Faith, culture or performance?" Paper, Annual  Meeting  of  the  American  Political  Science  Association,  Atlanta, Sep. 1999.]</ref>

Like conspiracy theory in general, though, schlockumentaries returned with a vengeance after [[Y2K]] fears, [[Millennialism]], and [[9/11]], with [[Ghost hunting TV shows]], among others, and saw a proliferation roughly corresponding to a period of declining trust in American public institutions.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191003194209/https://news.gallup.com/poll/1597/Confidence-Institutions.aspx Confidence in Institutions, Gallup Polls, archived Oct. 3, 2019.]</ref> They now seem to occupy a place vacated by the decline of their print media versions such as the ''[[Weekly World News]]''.

==There's history, then there's the History Channel==
[[Image:The_monuments_and_the_Old_Testament_-_evidence_from_ancient_records_(1900)_(14783137462).jpg|thumb|180 px|If ancient aliens aren't a thing, how come camels are so funny-looking?]]
In [[America]], the [[History Channel]] often shows such programming, and is now probably the best-known purveyor of schlockumentaries of the [[ancient aliens]] and other [[didit fallacy]] varieties, the classic example being [[Giorgio Tsoukalos]]' show, with other entries such as [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176951/ ''UFO Hunters''] in the mix.

Other cable channels such as Spike (formerly TNN) and A&E (formerly Arts & Entertainment, now neither) also air schlockumentaries, such as ''[[Deadliest Warrior]]'' and [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0426697/ ''Ghost Hunters''].

Even the [[National Geographic Society#National Geographic Channel|National Geographic Channel]] and the 
Shark
 [[Discovery Channel]], both of which really ought to know better, sometimes air or produce schlockumentaries. One might say the nascence of reality TV was also the birth of unreality TV.

==Types of schlockumentary==
[[Image:23c3-restrooms.jpg|thumb|180 px|ET need pee!]]
===Aliens===
The History Channel's foray into [[aliens]] spawned too many imitators to cover here, such as:

*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9143304/ ''Above Majestic'']: Apparently, [[Robert Lazar|a secret branch of the US government is reverse-engineering alien tech]]. Could that be where the {{wpl|Baconator}} originated?
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9914458/ ''Alien Messiah'']: Who done the [[Bible]]? [[Aliensdidit]]!
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6536816/ ''Aliens in Egypt'']: Because humans couldn't have built [[pyramid]]s.
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5298960/ ''Alien Agenda Planet Earth: Rulers of Time and Space'']: NORAD exists, therefore aliens exist.
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8327776/ ''Ancient Alien America'']: European [[colonialism]] wasn't so bad because the aliens did it first.
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0460419/ ''The British UFO Files'']: "If any of them alien geezers comes round, luv, make 'em a cup of tea." This one predates ''Ancient Aliens'', though.
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2433570/ ''Unsealed: Alien Files'']: This series links [[MUFON]] with [[Nazis]], but not the way you'd expect.

===Animals===
If an [[animal]] documentary is made by [[PETA]], [[Scopie's Law|it's a schlockumentary]].

===Anthropology===
[[File:Bedouin_Mother_and_Child_NGM-v31-p552.jpg|thumb|120 px|Early on, the [[National Geographic Society|''National Geographic'']] magazine presaged mondo films.]]
There is an entire genre of pseudoanthropology schlockumentary called the {{wpl|mondo film}} that flourished in the 1960s and '70s, the term coming from the 1962 Italian documentary ''Mondo Cane''.<ref>IMDb: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057318/ ''Mondo Cane'' (1962)]</ref> Such films were typically orientalist, [[racialist]], generally exploitative, or even the closest thing to a real life [[snuff film]] (such as the ''Faces of Death'' series), any stated educational intent being just a veneer for the real purpose of these films: to display "shocking" carnage, brutality, and nudity for Western audiences in grindhouse theaters.

The controversial 1980 horror film ''Cannibal Holocaust'',<ref>IMDb: [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078935/ ''Cannibal Holocaust'' (1980)]</ref> an important progenitor to the "found footage" subgenre of horror films, can be read as a satire of mondo films. The "protagonists", an American film crew shooting a documentary about cannibal tribes in the Amazon, stage horrific abuses against the natives for the purpose of getting more exciting footage, which ultimately gets them killed when the natives respond in kind. Director Ruggero Deodato said that he got the idea for the film when talking to his son about the Italian news media's coverage of the Red Brigades during Italy's "years of lead" in the 1970s, which he felt was focused on showcasing sensationalized graphic violence with little regard for journalistic integrity. Many crewmembers on the film were also veterans of the mondo genre.

===Antisemitic===
None of the many schlockumentary films aimed to incite [[Moral panic|panic]] about [[cultural Marxism]], the [[NWO]], bankers and the [[Federal Reserve]], [[Freemasons]], and the [[Illuminati]]… could be [[antisemitic]] in their intent, could they?

===Anti-vaccination===
[[Anti-vaccination movement]] schlockos tend to rely heavily on the fraudulent and discredited work of delicensed medical doctor [[Andrew Wakefield]], such as [[Del Bigtree]]'s film ''Vaxxed'', or feed off this, as in [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6391732/ ''The Pathological Optimist''], an imbalanced documentary that places Wakefield in an unduly positive light.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190906152233/https://respectfulinsolence.com/2019/09/04/false-balance-bob-sears/ Orac, "''The L.A. Times'': Painfully false balance on antivax pediatrician Dr Bob Sears," Respectful Insolence, Sep. 4, 2019, accessed Sep. 6, 2019.]</ref>

===Archaeology===
[[File:Antoine_de_Villefosse.jpg|thumb|180 px|[[France|French]] archaeologist Antoine Héron de Villefosse, expert on 
alien
 Latin script and two-time winner of the European Moustache Championships.]]
[[Archaeology]] is first and foremost used to speculate about aliens, because of course, ''ancient'' aliens. It is also often shoehorned into justifying religious beliefs, as discussed below. Filmmaker {{wpl|Simcha Jacobovici}} has faced accusations of being a schlockumentarian of this type,<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191012175616/https://swallowingthecamel.me/2007/03/01/428/ essemee, "Pimp my tomb," ''Swallowing the Camel'', Mar. 1, 2007, accessed Oct. 12, 2019.]</ref> though this is debatable, because while Jacobovici does appear to seek a certain outcome, and is not a trained archaeologist, he does interview relevant experts.

===Black supremacy===
There are a number of Afrocentric and black supremacist documentaries available, with claims like the ancient Egyptians could fly and that Mozart was really African. 

One of the most notable series is [[Tariq Nasheed]]'s ''Hidden Colors'' series, which he has followed up with ''Buck Breaking''. Both of these feature almost the same selection of talking heads, including Nasheed himself. Among the claims in the ''Hidden Colors'' series is that Chinese civilisation is founded by blacks, that real Native Americans were black too (not their current hue), and that melanin is integral to the universe and gives you psychic powers. ''Buck Breaking'' repeats a lot of these claims, along with the notion that whites are intrinsically pedophiles and bestialists, who used homosexual rape to pacify black male slaves (the "bucks" of the title); it also claims that the LGBT+ agenda is being used to undermine black masculinity by whites. Previous to these documentaries, Nasheed was the rapper K-Flex, the genius behind the song ''Wash yo Ass''. Money well earned.

===Celebrities===
A [[celebrity]], especially a dead one — because libel in Common [[Law]] countries does not apply to the dead<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190403182308/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4630243.stm Duncan Walker, "Can you say anything about the dead?" BBC, Jun. 28, 2005, accessed Apr. 3, 2019.]</ref> — can make a great topic for a schlockumentary. "Did [[Marilyn Monroe]] kill [[Hitler]], then get killed by [[JFK]], who was then killed by [[Elvis]]? This astonishing documentary will make you rethink history!"

Celebrity films can rope in the [[paranormal]], too, because [[Argument from ignorance|can you ''prove'']] {{wpl|Karl Malden's}} ghost isn't showing up on Hollywood sets and making small, helpful suggestions on scripts while nobody is looking? No? Then "some people [[Just Asking Questions|will continue to ask important questions]] about spirits and the afterlife."

Many<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20191012201326/https:/twitter.com/BirdzyHead/status/1173108637730054144</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20190811213728/https://twitter.com/RAZ0RFIST/status/1160665989295378432</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20191012203540/https:/twitter.com/GothamsBootyBoy/status/1173806615860056064</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20190915020449/https://twitter.com/SBarrBrisebois/status/1173044156446531585</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20191012202019/https:/twitter.com/tube4mj/status/1110754226542653440</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20191012202156/https:/twitter.com/SuzyLittle9/status/1103920871452753921</ref><ref>https://www.imdb.com/review/rw4700652/</ref> have called the film [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9573980/ ''Leaving Neverland''], which makes unverified claims that deceased pop singer Michael Jackson was guilty of [[child abuse]], a schlockumentary. It is unclear whether the film deserves that epithet. The accusations seem to come mainly from his diehard fans, but there has also been no conclusive evidence of Jackson being an abuser outside [[hearsay]].

===Creationism===
[[Image:Creación_de_Adán_(Miguel_Ángel).jpg|thumb|180 px|"Ooh, static 
schlock
 shock!"]]
''[[Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed]]'' is a schlockumentary fabricating a false narrative of [[Persecution complex#In Christianity|Christian repression]] and the "scientific validity" of [[intelligent design]]. ''[[Darwin's Deadly Legacy]]'' attacks [[Darwin]] by (hold on to your [[Godwin's Law]], folks) claiming Darwin was responsible for the [[Holocaust]], thus managing to achieve [[crank magnetism]] between [[antisemitism]] and [[evolution conspiracy]].

===Climate change===
[[Climate denial]] schlockumentaries are most likely to be short propaganda pieces from [[think tank]]s or [[Astroturf]] groups. The most well known is likely ''[[The Great Global Warming Swindle]]'', though Michael Moore's 2020 ''Planet of the Humans'' is another notable example.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20200508155232/https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/28/climate-dangerous-documentary-planet-of-the-humans-michael-moore-taken-down Oliver Milman, "Climate experts call for 'dangerous' Michael Moore film to be taken down," ''The Guardian'', 28 Apr. 2020, as displayed 08 May 2020.]</ref>

===Crime and pseudolaw===
[[File:John Dillinger mug shot.jpg|thumb|120 px|Conspiracy theories around John Dillinger led to the planned exhumation of his remains in 2019.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190807015550/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2019/07/31/notorious-gangster-john-dillinger-will-be-exhumed-his-grave-it-could-finally-set-rumors-rest/ Hannah Knowles, "Notorious gangster John Dillinger will be exhumed from his grave," ''The Washington Post'', Jul. 31, 2019, accessed Aug. 7, 2019.]</ref>]]
[[Crime]] schlocko films are often "false true crime," in that they make unsubstantiated claims, usually about murders or kidnappings, or claim that accidental deaths or suicides such as that of [[Seth Rich]] were murders that ''[[They]]'' covered up. Famous criminals, especially unidentified ones such as [[Jack the Ripper]], are a staple of schlockumentaries.

The obverse is [[denialism]], as when a film purporting to be non-fiction engages in the denial of crimes, or their false attribution. ''[[Oil, Smoke & Mirrors]]'', for example, alleges [[9/11]] was an inside job. ''[[Loose Change]]'' similarly speculates that the 2001 attacks were a [[false flag operation]] orchestrated by [[George W. Bush]] so he could provoke war in [[Iraq]].

[[Pseudolaw]] is another fruitful topic for schlockumentaries, because if you're not a citizen but a [[person]], you can say or do whatever you want in a film or on the street, as long as you're not tried [[admiralty law|in an admiralty court]].{{lie}}

===Cryptozoology===
[[File:Von_dem_Meerfröuwlin.jpg|thumb|180 px|If [[mermaid]]s aren't real, how come this is [[Germany|German]], and Germans are real? Take that, [[reality-based community]]!]]
{{main|Cryptozoology}}
Not to be outdone by the History Channel, the channel [[Animal Planet]] ran ''[[Mermaids: The Body Found]]'', and their own [[Sasquatch]]-themed show, <i>[[Finding Bigfoot]]</i>. Other [[Yeti]]-esque examples exist, such as [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3841734 ''Bigfoot: The Evidence Files''] and [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6723808/ ''Bigfoot in Europe: Sasquatch Encounters Abroad'']. Of course, there is no limit to the number of [[cryptid]]s out there, as [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5158472/ ''American Monsters: Werewolves, Wildmen and Sea Creatures''] and ''[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4041694/ Alaska Monsters]'' "prove."

===Dietary, exercise, and fitness===
[[Food woo]] schlockumentaries often invoke [[cholesterol denialism]], [[GMO]] fearmongering, [[broscience]], or other unsubstantiated "[[wellness]]" claims. Prominent examples include:
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7379020/ ''Cholésterol, le grand bluff'' ("Cholesterol: The Great Bluff")]
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3113378/ ''Codex Alimentarius''], a paranoid exploration into how the [[Codex Alimentarius]] is a [[New World Order]] plot to eradicate [[organic food]]
*''[[Food, Inc]]''
*''[[Forks Over Knives]]''

===Electricity===
Whether it's a "documentary" about how [[Nikola Tesla]] was murdered to [[Free energy suppression|keep his free energy system under wraps]], or a piece of bad science about [[microwave]]s like [https://www.moviefone.com/movie/is-your-cell-phone-killing-you/20057282/main/ ''Is Your Cell Phone Killing You?''], if it goes zap, it can be schlocked.

===Flat Earth===
[[Flat Earth]] schlockumentaries are too stupid even for most schlockumentarians with a budget, so you will find most of this on YouTube.

===Gender and sexuality===
Typically these films use misleading claims about [[gender]] and [[sexuality]], such as starting from a [[transphobic]] position, or present other [[fringe]] positions as fact. In some cases, such as [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3686998/ ''The Red Pill''], films may whitewash the [[men's rights movement]] (see [[red pill]]).

===Government coverups===
[[File:Heinz_ketchup_banner_(2441058553).jpg|thumb|180 px|The government ''really'' doesn't want you to know about Area 57.]]
Many a schlockumentary presupposes a government [[coverup]], but sometimes this is the main or only topic. Typical subjects are the [[CIA]], [[John F. Kennedy]], and the usual suspects, though the ''Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings'' series proposes that the juicy coverups were from mainly about 1600 to 1780 or so.

===History (not the channel, the thing, dammit)===
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4991128/ ''Adolph Hitler's Great Escape''] "Did [[Hitler]] survive the war and escape to [[Argentina]] 
then use alien technology to [[Time travel|travel back in time]] and become [[Napoleon]] so he could attack [[Russia]] again
?" (Spoiler: No.)
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0455919/ ''Breaking the Da Vinci Code'']: Poor Leonardo, it was bad enough when [[Dan Brown]] dug up the artist's bones for his schlockudramatic novel and roped the [[Knights Templar]] into it — along comes this schlockumentary like a hyena to devour those bones.

===Islamophobic===
*''[[Innocence of Muslims]]'', a [[xenophobic]] screed featuring a [[gay]] [[porn]] actor (no, not ''The Onion'').
*''Fitna'' by [[Geert Wilders]]. Given the amount of hype (and presumably money) devoted to it, one would have expected ''Fitna'' to look better. Instead it looks like it was edited by a 13-year-old. It contains a number of quotes from the [[Koran]] and elsewhere of varying merit.

===Moonbat===
[[Tankie]] and other [[moonbat]] schlockumentaries seem rare in English, but are likely to be common in other languages. For example, [[Russia]]'s second-largest political party, the [[Communist Party of the Russian Federation]], is known for its [[Stalin]] [[apologetics]], something [[Vladimir Putin]] has also been engaged in.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190821050346/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/06/13/putins-dangerous-campaign-rehabilitate-stalin/ Peter Rutland and Neil Shimmield, "Putin’s dangerous campaign to rehabilitate Stalin,' ''The Washington Post'', Jun. 13, 2019, accessed Aug. 21, 2019.]</ref>

===Moon landing and space travel===
The granddaddy of [[Moon landing hoax]] schlockumentaries is ''[[Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?]]'' but many others in the same vein exist. Some go so far as to [[Space travel hoax|deny space travel]], though some, of course, maintain that [[NASA]]'s job "really" is to cover up the presence of aliens.

===Nostradamus===
[[File:Nostradamus_portrait.gif|thumb|180 px|"Michael of Our Lady," patron saint of other people incorrectly predicting the [[end of the world]].]]
'''Cogito's Law:''' If a non-fiction show or movie is about, heavily mentions or quotes, or otherwise involves prominently [[Nostradamus]], there is a +3-[[Standard deviation|sigma]] probability it is a schlockumentary.

===Paranormal===
{{main|Paranormal}}
Any alleged non-fiction show or film with a non-neutral or non-skeptic position on [[ghosts]], [[ESP]], etc., will fit this mould. One of the better known examples is [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1874066/ ''Paranormal Witness'']. People in the [[UK]] are likely to be more familiar with [[Derek Acorah]] bumbling around while Yvette from [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0051257/''Blue Peter''] worked herself into an absolute panic. Sadly, almost every nation seems to have one of these, such as [https://web.archive.org/web/20171216042858/https://www.andenesmakt.no/ ''Åndenes Makt''] ("Power of the Spirits") in [[Norway]], and [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLgyY1WylJUmjLqhZyDxBPWf2_k5-KX2kr ''Verum Est! Totoo Ba Ito?''] (lit. ''Verum Est! Is This True?'') in the [[Philippines]].

===Religious===
[[File:Shroud_of_Turin_001.jpg|thumb|180 px|Most films about the [[Shroud of Turin]] are schlockumentaries.]]
In English, these appear to be aired primarily to [[Christian]] viewers, but films in other languages may cater to other faiths.

These may also combine the [[Bible]] with something [[paranormal]], pseudohistorical, pseudo-archaeological, or from [[cryptozoology]]:
*[https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/angels_in_disguise_2007 ''Angels in Disguise'']: the disguises were so good, no critics were aware the TV show existed
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4897156/ ''A Race of Giants: Our Forbidden History'']: cue the [[Nephilim]] theme music
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1673369/ ''Beasts of the Bible'']: Was the [[Leviathan]] a chicken? Who can say for certain?
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8328038/ ''Bible Prophecies'']: where the hell are those [[Ezekiel]] chariots?
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4849308/ ''Bible Revelations: The Sacred Codes'']: because [[gematria]] needed another documentary
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6805862/ ''The Coming Convergence'']: "Through [[PIDOOMA|newly discovered geological and statistical patterns]], [[weasel word|many believe it can be proven]] that the Tribulation is about to begin!"
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1206296/ ''The Evidence for Heaven''], an attempt to use [[Near-death experience]] to prove the existence of [[Heaven]]
*NephilimFree's YouTube channel, combining [[young Earth creationism]] with [[aliens]]
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3464018/ ''Patterns of Evidence: Exodus'']: there are pyramids, and there is a Red Sea, so [[hasty generalization|I guess the Bible is true?]]
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0411858/ ''Seven Signs of Christ's Return'']: since this is from 1997, either the filmamkers or Jesus dropped the ball on the imminent [[Rapture]] thing
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0945411/ ''The Witnessing of Angels'']: [[argumentum ad populum|lots of people claim to have seen angels, so they must exist]]

In some cases, they rope in one or more of the above to promote a strange sect, such as [[ProphecyFilm.com]].

More mainstream sects may use schlockumentaries for specific propaganda purposes, such as [[Ray Comfort]]'s [[anti-abortion]] short film ''[[180: Changing the Heart of a Nation]]''.

===Self help===
[[Self help]] schlockumentaries tend to show a [[pundit]], lifestyle coach, or the like uncritically, such as [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5151716/ ''Tony Robbins: I Am Not Your Guru''].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190712111910/https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/13/movies/tony-robbins-i-am-not-your-guru-review.html Jeannette Catsoulis, "Review: ''Tony Robbins: I am not your guru'' depicts a self-help prophet," ''The New York Times'', Jul. 12, 2016, as accessed Jul. 12, 2019.]</ref> Expect much [[pop psychology]].

===US dollar===
[[Image:1851-O_GD.jpg|thumb|180 px|There are strangely few conspiracy theories about dollar ''coins''.]]
Yes, the bloody [[US dollar]] bill. Um, [[Freemasons]] and the [[Federal Reserve]], or something? It's all speculated on in [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1430838/ ''Secret Mysteries of America's Beginnings Volume 3: Eye of the Phoenix - Secrets of the Dollar Bill'']. The other episodes in the series are similarly obsessed with Masons.

===Wingnut===
{{main|Wingnut}}
Anything by [[Dinesh D'Souza]] can safely be called schlockumentary, though perhaps "schlockaganda" would be more descriptive.

===Woo===
{{main|Woo}}
Any time a broadcaster devotes an extended piece of airtime to the likes of [[Rupert Sheldrake]], [[Eckhart Tolle]], or [[Deepak Chopra]] (ahem, [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2321249/ ''Decoding Deepak'']), without allowing a [[scientist]] to rebut the nonsense afterwards, a baby [[goat]] is murdered.{{Nofact}} A particularly well-known example is ''[[What_the_Bleep_Do_We_Know%3F|What the Bleep Do We Know]]'' – that alleges profoundly absurd and pseudo-scientific statements about quantum mechanics and consciousness. Other examples are ''[[The Secret]]'' and [https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_moses_code ''The Moses Code''], which manages to combine the Bible, self help, and woo into one casserole.

Besides gross offences against [[physics]], these films can involve claims contrary to [[chemistry]] and [[biology]], such as this blurb for a [[water woo]] schlocko:

{{cquote|Water...defies the basic laws of physics... Known to ancients as a transmitter to and from the higher realms, [[water memory|water retains memory]] and conveys information to DNA. However, water can die if treated poorly. Water's arrangement of molecules can be influenced by such factors as sound, thoughts, intention, and prayer...|||''Secret of Water''<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3952638/plotsummary ''Secret of Water'' plot summary, Internet Movie Database]</ref> (Note that literally ''every one'' of these claims is false)}}

===Omnibus conspiracies===
[[Image:Zeitgeist.jpg|thumb|180 px|''Zeitgeist'': may rot your teeth and/or brain.]]
In the [[not even wrong]] department, films offer astonishing [[Gish gallop]]s between and among conspiracies, often mutually exclusive or self-contradictory examples of [[fractal wrongness]]. They could be considered either failed or nascent [[Unified conspiracy theory|Unified conspiracy theories]], depending upon whether they become popular. Some examples:
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6731756/ ''Alien Contact: Nazi UFOs'']
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9914350/ ''Conspiracy Chronicles: 9/11, Aliens and the Illuminati'']
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5546638/ ''Conspiracy of Lies: Flight 370 to 911'']: invokes the [[New World Order]], eminently suitable for fans of [[QAnon]]
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1859604/ ''The Hidden Hand: Alien Contact and the Government Cover-Up'']
*''[[Thrive]]''
*''[[Zeitgeist]]'', whose sequel inspired [[The Zeitgeist Movement]]

===Other===
This list is far from exhaustive. Something akin to [[Rule 34]] exists for schlockumentaries, in that if you have heard an [[urban legend]] or your crazy aunt or uncle sent you some weird misinformation from [[Alex Jones]] — narrator of the crackpot schlockumentary ''[[The Obama Deception]]'' — there is an excellent chance that a schlockumentary on it exists.

==What schlockumentaries aren't==
Schlockumentaries do ''not'' include outright fiction, hybrid fiction/non-fiction (such as docudramas or docutainment), documentaries believed correct at the time but later disproven, mockumentaries, documentaries where an interviewee simply lies, or documentaries that are controversial but factually correct. Also, a few small or coincidental errors do not make a documentary a schlockumentary: a schlockumentary starts with an essentially flawed and often sensationalistic premise or perspective, and seeks to present as fact that which is not.

Nor are all pseudo-documentaries concerning hoaxes schlockumentaries. The excellent [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0344160/ ''Opération lune'' (English title: ''Dark Side of the Moon'')] is a hilarious parody of schlockumentaries.

==How to spot a schlockumentary==
[[Image:Mehmet_Oz_official_photo.jpg|thumb|180 px|Dr. [[Mehmet Oz]], being interviewed about national security issues in the 1940s.]]
First, this will be a film or show that claims to be a documentary, but either deals with a subject for which no documentary proof exists (as with aliens, religion, etc.), or takes a position contrary to [[scientific consensus]] or mainstream historical or other evidence.

The poster or promotional material may be lurid, the film low-budget, and one has probably never heard of any of the producers, director, or other parties involved, unless in a bad context.

For the most part, there will be few or no credited actors, other than a narrator or people appearing as themselves. If you do see anyone well-known, they will be used in an [[appeal to celebrity]], or they are a [[professor of nothing]].

As the film opens, there will usually be a sort of [[quack Miranda warning]] one could call a "conspira-Miranda," such as this:

{{cquote|The views expressed in this film are not necessarily the views of One Media, nor any of its subsidiaries, affiliations or any other person involved in the making of this video program. One Media does not warrant the accuracy, reliability or completeness of those views or statements and does not accept any legal liability whatsoever arising from any reliance on the views, statements and subject matter thereof.|||''American Illuminati 2018''<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20190819025601/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aD4p4O8REDA ''American Illuminati 2018'', Timestamp 0:03]</ref>}}

''Caveat visor!''<ref group="note">"Let the viewer beware" in Latin, based on the more usual {{wpl|caveat emptor}} formulation.</ref>

Often the programme will begin by [[just asking questions]] about whether, say, it's possible [[Nibiru]] exists and all [[astronomy]] has failed to notice it. Sometimes the entire runtime will be used up before the narrator says "No, it's not possible."

At other times, the narrator will leave the topic open but ask many [[loaded question]]s, circling around a [[PRATT]] and alleging that "unanswered questions remain."

Otherwise, a film may take a position not grounded in [[skepticism]] and go to town with [[fallacy]] upon fallacy, or [[argument by assertion|flatly assert the film's premise without providing evidence]].

Often, these will exist in a series, such as the ''Beyond the Spectrum'' series (no, not about [[autism]]):
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7646384/ ''Beyond the Spectrum'']
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt9342846/ ''Beyond the Spectrum: Being Taken'']
*[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10408984/ ''Beyond The Spectrum - Maussan's UFO Files'']

Even reputable [[media]] outlets can sometimes run these, but they are more often found on speciality TV channels; streaming services: YouTube or Vimeo; for sale via [[Apple]] Store or [[Google]] Play; or on sites associated with groups which seek to promote the film's views, sometimes free.
==See also==
{{div col|2}}
*''[[America Under Siege]]''
*[[Balance fallacy]]
*''[[Best Evidence: Top 10 UFO Sightings]]''
*[[Jason Colavito]] whose blog keeps track of some of these schlockumentaries (mainly of the pseudohistorical variety)
*[[List of conspiracy theories#Films on conspiracy theories]]
*[[Fake news]]
*[[Forteanism]]
*[[Magical thinking]]
*''[[The Mysterious Origins of Man]]''
*[[Post-truth]]
*[[Stan Romanek]]
*[[TED Talks]]
*[[Oprah Winfrey]]
{{div col end}}
==External links==
*[https://www.skeptic.com/reading_room/unacknowledged-netflix-documentary-fails-at-proving-alien-visitation/ Tim Callahan, "Unsubstantiated: A new Netflix documentary purporting to provide proof of alien visitation fails to deliver," ''Skeptic'', accessed Oct. 12, 2019.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20180816035052/https://gizmodo.com/oh-cool-amazon-is-peddling-conspiracy-theories-now-1826903205 AJ Dellinger, "Oh cool, Amazon is peddling conspiracy theories now," Gizmodo, Jun. 17, 2018, accessed Aug. 16, 2018.]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20171026201204/http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2016/04/21/after-vaxxed-here-comes-another-antivaccine-documentary/ oracknows, "After ''Vaxxed'', here comes another antivaccine 'documentary,'" ''Insolence'', Science Blogs, Apr. 21, 2016, accessed Oct. 26, 2017.]
*[https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Citations:schlockumentary#English Wiktionary list of word usage]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

[[Category:Conspiracy theories]]
[[Category:Denialism]]
[[Category:Films]]
[[Category:Media]]
[[Category:Propaganda]]
[[Category:Pseudohistory]]
[[Category:Pseudoscience]]
[[Category:Television programmes]]
[[Category:Ufology]]
[[Category:Schlockumentaries|*]]

Categories: Conspiracy theories, Denialism, Films, Media, Propaganda, Pseudohistory, Pseudoscience, Television programmes, Ufology, Schlockumentaries