Today (if not up to a few years ago), documentaries have hit the toughest market to sell its products and content to in decades. Coupled with the fact that documentaries wasn’t an easy sell to begin with throughout the history of the genre the Millennial Generation proves to be, in fact, the toughest sell for documentary filmmakers (directors and producers) and the distributors of documentary film content. More importantly the target audience of Millennials is one demographic and pool that documentary film producers can no longer ignore. The question then becomes—does documentary films take another plunge into the evolution of the genre to cater toward an ever-shifting Millennial Generation? Or do documentary filmmakers shift the consciousness of Millennials into taking documentary film content more seriously making them the new consumer market for documentaries wherever it is distributed—online, television, DVD sales, or the theatre? Or both?

The Millennial Generation—also known as Generation Y to some theorists—is perhaps the most fickle, constantly evolving, lucid, distracted yet attentive, generation in American history. Those considered part of this generation were born in the late 1970s to the early 2000s. Psychologists, sociologists, writers, cultural critics, and the like have written that Millennials have distinctly different behaviors, values and attitudes from previous generations as a response to the technological and economic implications of the Internet. Others have opined that Millennials, deemed “Generation Me”, are the most wasteful, apathetic, narcissistic, ego-driven, one-dimensional thinking of generational groups in the world. Other so-called experts predicted Millennials will become more “civic-minded” and “environmentally-conscious” than the past generation with a strong sense of community both locally and globally. Whatever is said in documenting this generational group whether it be positive or negative—one thing is clear—this generation was born, grew up, and reared in the age of information promulgated by the world wide web. This technologically-driven—or shall we say, technologically-privileged—generation proves to be one in flux between a precarious global economic reality as well as the social media world that simultaneously and continuously add and subtract to their identity, connection, and place in society.

Here’s where documentary films and the Millennial Generation clash both in terms of consumer demand and attention to detail but suggested entertainment as well. As I written before social media platforms have created an accessible reality to information and content with up to the second internet uploads, online Google-like searches, and web page views. This creates a dynamic among these young men and women to choose content carefully and quickly. Moreover, due to economic pressures of the job marketplace where wage stagnation, income inequality, unemployment, and underemployment is a real life scenario Millennials aren’t walking around with the kind of disposable income their parent’s generation do. This becomes a precursor on their reluctance to consume documentaries—however way it is marketed to them. With mass information accessible on one’s fingertips and entertainment spawned on multiple platforms through nanoseconds of viewership the Millennial Generation has grown accustomed to choosing important content of information as quickly and to the same degree as entertaining and appealing forms of entertainment. In the midst of this reality documentary film directors, producers, and distributors see their Millennial market being more apt through smartphones, tablets, and laptops to follow social media content of memes on Facebook and Instagram, less than a minute of slapstick humor on YouTube or Vine, a two-paragraph news article or political soundbite through blogs like Blogger, Tumblr, and Google + and Twitter feeds of commentary on current events. What impulse will drive these Millennial men and women in watching much less buying an iota of documentary film content even if interested?

Being the most scrutinized and deconstructed generational group often for marketing and business purposes Millennials currently lead the crossover of education and entertainment deep into the 21^st century. With much credence on entertainment imbibed in the “Reality TV Show” era and secondary and post-secondary education evolving to an online presence the creators of independent documentaries must be tasked at bay to plug-in documentary film content to this growing and evolving generational group. Award-winning documentary filmmakers like Morgan Spurlock, Alex Gibney, Brett Morgen, Steve James, Charles Ferguson, Michael Kirk, Michael Moore, Kevin Macdonald, and Robert Greenwald seem to evolve with the times and cater a lot of their content as a way in plugging in Millennials both in their attention span and purchasing power. Meanwhile, A-list documentary filmmakers like Ken Burns, Errol Morris, Barbara Kopple and even Spike Lee are the last of a dying breed. Recent successfully-distributed documentary films like Searching for Sugar Man, Inside Job, Blackfish, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Marley, Twenty Feet From Stardom, The Imposter, and Catfish have been well-received by diverse members of the Millennial Generation. One thing successful documentary films have done in winning over a large audience of Millennials is construct documentary film storylines that are relate-able, believable, credible, and lucid with a focus that does not distract them and more importantly a film they can follow and galvanize behind via social media platforms after the film is released and/or after they viewed it. For example, the career of Sixto Rodriguez, the folk singer from Detroit featured in the documentary, Searching for Sugar Man, was revived in concert shows and live performances sometimes even after film screenings by new age fans after the documentary was released to the mass public. For the most thought-provoking content of serious current events—PBS Frontline and Vice Media does a great job in producing high-quality, award-winning documentaries in a way of keeping Millennials plugged in weeks, months, and even years after they consumed it through social media platforms. For documentaries that are catered to more niche markets ESPN’s 30 For 30 series do a phenomenal job for Millennial sports enthusiasts and VH1’s Behind the Music and their Rock Docs series satisfy the music enthusiast crowds.

No longer is it acceptable for 21^st century documentary films to be boring, conflating, talking-head, graphics-less, non-humorous, dry story-driven content with no social media plug-ins for Millennials to engage in. Such documentaries will end up having the Millennial Generation market yawn themselves to another television channel or another click on Hulu or Netflix. Today, more engaging and surreal subject matter sell for Millennials who despite the negative criticism thrown at them want to be more engaged and caught up with global news and important information happening around the world. Teachers, parents, and neighbors—especially as the Millennials, the “Generation Me”, grow into the professional working class and those responsible for a family—will stay in tune with documentary film content that speak to them and keep them in the loop.