docudrama

noun

Etymology: Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *deḱ-der. Proto-Italic *dokeō Latin doceō Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥tom Proto-Italic *-mentom Latin -mentum Latin documentumbor. French document Proto-Indo-European *-yósder. Proto-Italic *-āzijos Latin -āriusder. French -aire French documentairebor. English documentary Ancient Greek δράω (dráō) Proto-Indo-European *-mn̥ Ancient Greek -μᾰ (-mă) Ancient Greek δρᾶμᾰ (drâmă)bor. Late Latin drāmabor. English drama blend English docudrama Blend of documentary + drama.

1. A type of drama (a film, play, television show, etc.) that combines elements of documentary and drama, to some extent showing real events and to some extent using actors performing recreations of documented events.

   “What he saw was a school system in defeat, in panic. When a man must fight he reaches for such weapons as he has and understands. Early last summer, Phil[lip C.] Lewis stripped the cover off his typewriter, squared a sheet of paper on the platen, and invented DocuDrama. It's a dramatization of the fix the schools are in.”

   “A docu-drama entitled "Crisis in the Local Congregation" on extremism was presented by a group from the Fourth Avenue Methodist Church under the directorship of Mr. Martin Bard.”