English edit

Etymology edit

Blend of shock +‎ documentary.

Noun edit

shockumentary (plural shockumentaries)

  1. A form of documentary used to generate a reactionary effect in an audience; especially such a documentary containing scenes of violence, gore, or other disturbing imagery.
    • 2000, Peter Schjeldahl, “A Theft in Norway: March 8, 1994”, in Deborah Chasman, Edna Chiang, editors, Drawing Us In: How We Experience Visual Art, Beacon Press, →ISBN, page 1:
      The ransom was to be propaganda: a broadcast on Norwegian television of the anti-abortion shockumentary, The Silent Scream.