WHAT ARE DOCUMENTARY FILMS?

I think documentaries are films which consist of interviews and information about a person, place, or event. I think documentaries are interesting for three reasons, they are very informative, they are mostly fact and formal, and they allow people to learn about things in a visual way that in most cases keeps the viewers entertained. They provide an abundance of information, for example, if it is about a a person they not only scratch the surface of the persons life like tabloids, they dig deep into their background, career, interests, family, etc. Same goes about any other subject and they provide this in a formal yet interesting way unlike shows like TMZ, which are funny but are more comedic then informative. Lastly, I like documentaries because they expose a place, event or time period and in a way teach the viewers all about it in an entertaining way, visually,  instead of, for example, mind numbing textbooks.