updated: 30/01/2007
Docu-tainment emerged from the never-neverland that exists somewhere between the totally entertainment-orientation of ‘reality’ TV and the informative intent of the dramatised documentary. It aims to inform and entertain by putting a member of the public (or sometimes a celebrity) in someone else’s shoes by changing their appearance for a day (or even living the role for a month). So we’ve had white women going black, black women going white, thin women becoming temporarily fat, women looking older etc.
I have separated out docu-tainment programmes (those which claim to explore serious issues) from fakeovers (where a celebrity or a member of the public is transformed to play tricks on friends or family). Personally, however, I am dubious of the distinction.
Regardless of the ethics, educational or entertainment value of these shows they arguably pose a unique challenge to makeup artists to produce a transformation capable of working in ‘real-life’ situations.