When you think of documentaries， you may think of them as long， boring programs. But documentaries can be wonderful and bring stories from the real world into our homes. With fascinating footage and stories， documentaries encourage us to think about interesting issues we wouldnt necessarily know about.

So， what makes a good documentary， and what should we pay attention to when we watch one？ Here， we offer a few easy ways to help you get the most out of watching documentaries.

提到紀(jì)錄片，可能你腦海中浮現(xiàn)的是又長又悶的電視節(jié)目。但紀(jì)錄片也可以精彩紛呈，將現(xiàn)實(shí)世界發(fā)生的故事帶到千家萬戶。憑借引人入勝的畫面和故事，紀(jì)錄片激勵(lì)人們?nèi)ニ伎家恍┪覀兾幢亓私獾挠腥ぴ掝}。

那么，優(yōu)秀紀(jì)錄片要具備哪些要素呢？觀看紀(jì)錄片時(shí)又要注意哪些方面？為了讓您充分享受紀(jì)錄片盛宴，這里我們奉上一些簡單易學(xué)的觀影訣竅。

While watching a documentary， pay attention to the themes people talk about and what ideas they focus on.

The themes of a documentary can go a long way in telling you its purpose， which in turn provides strong preliminary hints as to the legitimacy of the information youre getting. Is it meant to be informative or provoke a certain emotional response？

觀看紀(jì)錄片時(shí)，留意人們談?wù)摰闹黝}以及他們關(guān)注的觀點(diǎn)。

紀(jì)錄片的主題可以幫助你獲取主旨，從而為判斷所獲取的信息的合理性提供了有力的初步線索。你要思考一個(gè)問題：該片是為了傳遞信息還是為了要引發(fā)某種情感共鳴？

Listen to what the people in the documentary are saying and ask yourself the following questions： If you were debating a point with someone or trying to accurately introduce a new concept， would you say the things the people in the documentary are saying？ Do the arguments make sense？

傾聽紀(jì)錄片中人們所談?wù)摰膬?nèi)容，并問自己以下幾個(gè)問題：如果你與他人就某觀點(diǎn)展開爭論，或者你正試圖正確地介紹一種全新理念，你會用紀(jì)錄片中人們所說的話來作論據(jù)嗎？這些論據(jù)是否有意義？

If youre sitting at the computer and cant think of anything to do， why not look up the points the documentary made and see if they are accurate？ You could even read about the people that were interviewed in the documentary to see if they had any concealed motives for appearing in it.

如果你坐在電腦前無所事事，何不查閱一下紀(jì)錄片里提及的觀點(diǎn)，看看它們是否準(zhǔn)確呢？你甚至可以通過閱讀紀(jì)錄片中受訪者的資料充查明他們是否為了上電視而懷有隱匿的動(dòng)機(jī)。

The creators or financial backers of a film will usually be involved with how the subject matter is presented. For instance， as the documentary 2016： Obamas America was directed in large part by conservative writer Dinesh DSouza， its not surprising that its critical of President Obama at the outset. Similarly， Blackfish， which was partially backed by CNN， is sympathetic to the plight of the killer whales.

創(chuàng)作班底或贊助商通常與影片主題的呈現(xiàn)方式息息相關(guān)。例如，紀(jì)錄片《2016：奧巴馬的美國》很大程度上由保守派作家丹尼斯·迪索薩執(zhí)導(dǎo)完成，因此美國總統(tǒng)奧巴馬從全片一開始便飽受抨擊也就不足為奇了。類似的狀況還有紀(jì)錄片《黑鯨》，該片的贊助方之一是美國有線電視新聞網(wǎng)CNN，該片對殺人虎鯨面臨的困境持同情態(tài)度。