In 1986, Michael Renov was an assistant professor at the School of Cinema-Television at the University of Southern California (USC). He proposed for the first time in the annals of academic publishing concerning the study of Documentary that we should not only, or perhaps no longer, be solely “thinking Documentary.” Instead, we should be “Re-thinking Documentary” [sic]. I argue that the three innovative and pivotal questions Renov introduced in 1986 to the philosophical history of Documentary are: “What,” “How,” and “Why” ought WE to “RE-(think)” Documentary? His reply, I further contend, establishes a definiens sui generis of Documentary. His 1986 article’s complete title, “Re-thinking Documentary; Toward a Taxonomy of Mediation,” ostensibly addresses all three questions. By employing two criteria, “taxonomy” and “mediation,” though with the very important addition of “Toward” that goal, rather than bluntly arriving “at it,” his definiens accomplishes three significant objectives in one fell swoop.