John Grierson

John Grierson (April 26, 1898 - February 19 1972) is often considered the father of modern documentary film.

Early Life

Grierson was born in Deanstown, Scotland. His father was the local school master, his mother an early feminist and ardent labor activist. From an early age, both parents steeped their son in liberal politics, humanistic ideals, and Calvinist moral and religious philosophies, particularly the notion that education was essential to individual freedom and that hard and meaningful work was the way to prove oneself worth in the sight of God.

Related Topics:
Deanstown - Scotland - Feminist - Liberal - Humanistic - Calvinist

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After a stint in the Royal Navy during World War I, Grierson entered Glassgow University, where he spent a good part of his academic career enmeshed in impassioned political discussion and leftist political activism?

Related Topics:
Royal Navy - World War I - Glassgow University

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In 1924, after graduating from the university in moral philosophy, he received a Rockefeller Research Fellowship to study in the US at the University of Chicago, and later at Columbia and the University of Wisconsin. His research focus was the psychology of propaganda--the impact of the press, film, and other mass media on forming public opinion. Grierson was particularly interested in the popular appeal and influence of the "yellow' (tabloid) press, and the influence and role of these journals on the education of new American citizens from abroad.

Related Topics:
1924 - Rockefeller Research Fellowship - US - University of Chicago - University of Wisconsin - Psychology - Propaganda

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