I think what a documentary is, and i think my group will agree, is a story about a group or even one person with a specific cause behind it. The cause can be funny or serious. The filmmaker's job is to help the viewer decide how the story applies to them, and how they can shift their thinking or their actions to honor the story they've seen. The stories will be directed, but the actual answers of the people being shown should not be planned or scripted.
The appeal of a documentary is that it should be a window to real life, usually a situation that you might not normally get to see, or otherwise know much about. Considering that this is indeed a film, it also has to entertain. Without good editing or some, however loose, form of direction, nobody would care to watch. One of the best ways to prove a point subtly yet powerfully is with music. The images themselves are also powerful, but will look contrived a lot of times if you change colors or backgrounds to look a certain way. Music is the one thing that doesn't technically alter the truth. Everything that the viewer sees is actually the real-world situation. This makes it much harder for the audience to feel that they are being directed.
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