"Spellbound" is ostensibly a non-fiction film that, theoretically, documents the events of the real world. Of course, in reality, this is a fallacy. But "Spellbound" represents an excellent example of just how manipulative and subjective the documentary genre can be. The film encourages sympathetic identification with some characters and empathy with others, and antipathy towards some others. The construction of the film-the elements that make it a representation of an author's perspective-necessarily guide the viewer into certain attitudes to certain characters in the film. In this way "Spellbound" seems most like a Guest mockumentary, the attitudes are more condescending than sympathetic or respectful. It's an effective film nevertheless, and it carries a significant condemnation of the values of a culture which would spawn the inane and abusive spelling bee enterprise.
Review of Spellbound
