Frederick Wiseman, the filmmaker who didn’t shy away from the weird and the mundane, is dead at 96.

Wiseman made dozens of documentaries, and his films weren’t exactly thrill rides. But they were honest, and that’s what made them stick. Take his 1967 film, Titicut Follies, which exposed the appalling conditions at a prison facility. It’s not like he was trying to win a popularity contest; he just told it like it was.

A Career of Chronicling the Ordinary

Wiseman’s films didn’t always make for easy viewing, but they were always thought-provoking. He had a knack for finding the interesting in the everyday, and that’s what made his documentaries so compelling. It’s not like he was trying to sugarcoat anything; he just presented the facts, and let the audience decide what to make of them.

So, what’s the legacy of a guy who spent his career making films about everyday life? It’s simple: he made you care about the little things, even when they weren’t exactly glamorous. And that’s no small feat.