The entertainment industry documentary has succeeded because it treats show business not as a dream factory, but as a workplace, a battlefield, and a mirror to society. As long as humans continue to make art, there will be filmmakers standing just off-camera, capturing the beautiful, messy chaos of how that art came to be.

By using personal audio recordings and home movies, such as in Listen to Me Marlon , filmmakers provide an intimate look that humanizes larger-than-life figures.