This article argues that the authenticity of real-life images (instead of reenactments) in documentaries is essential, and powerful restrictions on fair use are increasingly erasing the real images from our film culture. Images and video clips, the backbone of documentaries, are increasingly in the hands of high-priced corporate archives. This fact, coupled with the fact that rights are often cleared for only very short periods (thanks to the advent of DVD technology) is severely limiting the leeway filmmakers have in producing genuine cultural products.

This article, from The Washington Post, highlights the specific copyright troubles beleaguering Eyes on the Prize. Eyes on the Prize, a documentary about the American Civil Rights movement originally aired on PBS in the 1980's in a serialized format. Since then, however, this film series has become a central part of the debate over fair use and copyright law. Many of the film's clearances for material have expired and the cost of renewing the rights would be several hundred thousand dollars. Consequently, the films cannot presently be publicly shown or distributed legally.