eople are interesting (sometimes heroic) and government is bad (sometimes evil). As sweeping a generalization as that may be, it is precisely the kind of Big Truth that is at home in Texas, and valid -- if you are to believe the picture of our state that emerges from this hodgepodge of documentary films.

Texans don't trust their superiors much, for one thing: from Abraham Zapruder locking his newly-shot footage in a safe instead of simply handing it over to the Secret Service as many of us might have done, to the calm old folks of Amarillo keeping tally of cancer deaths even though the government and its partner Pantex have assured them they have nothing to fear. Texans aren't afraid to fight, whether the adversary is a thousand-pound bull or the Dallas police department.

We've focused here on the big stories, because that's what documentaries have traditionally been about. But recent films like Hands on a Hard Body tell us that the documentary medium is changing. The widespread availability of camcorders and the advance of digital technology allow for perfect, infinite reproductions and electronic preservation of footage, thus we can expect to see many more independently produced, personal stories told by individuals about themselves. In the future, we will learn about the state through its anonymous residents as much as through its infamous ones.

Introduction

Beyond JFK