Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture ProCon Money Videos
Mockumentary
References & Edit History Related Topics
Images
This Is Spinal Tap Black-and-white still from Las Hurdes: Tierra Sin Pan showing a woman in a headscarf holding a child, and a man in a hat sitting beside a large hanging pot. Orson Welles, deliverer of “fake news” Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and John Lennon run down a cobblestone alley in London, wearing suits, in a scene from the Beatles movie A Hard Day's Night. Woody Allen as Virgil Starkwell in a blue prison uniform stands in a cafeteria line holding a metal tray in a scene from the film Take the Money and Run. Rob Reiner, wearing a cap and jacket, interviews Christopher Guest, dressed in black, seated among guitars in a scene from the film This Is Spinal Tap. Close-up of a terrified woman's face, wearing a knit cap, lit by a harsh light in darkness, from the film The Blair Witch Project. Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara in character at a dog show, standing beside a small tan dog on a grooming table, from the movie Best in Show. Larry David and J.B. Smoove stand in a yoga class, both balancing on one leg in tree pose with hands pressed together, surrounded by other participants. Ricky Gervais as David Brent performs an exaggerated dance in an office setting, with coworkers watching and clapping in the background.
Related Questions
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
This Is Spinal Tap
This Is Spinal Tap (From left) Harry Shearer (as Derek Smalls), Christopher Guest (as Nigel Tufnel), and Michael McKean (as David St. Hubbins) in character for a promotional photo from the documentary-film parody This Is Spinal Tap (1984).

Mockumentary

film and television
Written by
René Ostberg
René Ostberg is an associate editor at Encyclopaedia Britannica. 
René Ostberg
Fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
Britannica Editors
Last updated
•History

A mockumentary is a work of fiction that is presented in the style of a nonfiction documentary, usually to “mock” or satirize its subject matter. The term itself is a portmanteau of mock and documentary. Like documentaries, most mockumentaries have taken the form of a film or television series, but there are also mockumentary podcasts and radio programs. Documentaries and news reports differ from mockumentaries in the way they feature real people, including journalists and...

Discover the world with Britannica

Subscribe to Continue Reading

Free Trial | No Ads | Exclusive Content
Explore Subscriptions
DNA
Right
Mobile