Documentaries

[CaughtOnTape]

Is there a topic about this yet?

 

I looked through them all but didn't see one.

 

Recently watched Mea Maxima Culpa again after I found it on my On Demand list.

 

This documentary enrages me.  The fact that the priest highlighted in the documentary admitted to multiple people in power that he had molested those boys and nothing was done is infuriating.  

[Princess Sparkle]

I'm a bit of a documentary fiend, (I welcome ALL suggestions of good ones), but one that just punched me in the gut recently was Dear Zachary.  I mentioned this in the "Movies that make you cry" thread, but I have not ugly cried like that, alone in my condo, in a long time.  And the fact that so much of it was preventable makes it even worse.

 

The Source Family came recommended to me by a friend, and I was thoroughly fascinated by it.  It's about the Source Family cult, and it really gives you some insight into how people join cults, and how something that can start innocuously (in this case, just wanting to be a little more holistic) can quickly turn into something darker.    

[hendersonrocks]

Oh goodness, yes. Dear Zachary is brutal.

 

My favorite documentary--for life, I suspect--is Murderball. I loved just about everything about it.

Edited January 6, 2015 by hendersonrocks

[Danny Franks]

It's not exactly a documentary movie, but Baseball by Ken Burns is incredible. And this is coming from someone who has no interest in baseball as a sport. It's such a great account of the history of American culture, through the prism of its national pastime. And because it's Ken Burns, it's evocative and elegiac and moving, and full of sepia tinted memories. And George Plimpton.

 

Bigger, Stronger, Faster is something I just watched on Netflix one Sunday afternoon. An interesting look at the use of steroids in bodybuilding. Produced by a guy who was into bodybuilding himself, along with his two brothers who used steroids to aid them in achieving their goals. And because the guy making it is so close to steroid users, there's an interestingly impartial look at the abuse side of things, which presents reasons for doing it as valid, while not condoning them.

 

Reel Injun is another Netflix impulse watch, and is what it sounds like. An examination of the presentation of Native Americans in Hollywood movies. Witty, pointed and full of heart.

 

I also recently watched Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy. Really, really good. Rather than dwelling on Lucas himself, it looks at the entire process of making the movies, from writing to casting to special effects, and the impact the movies had on America and the wider world.

 

Schooled: The Price of College Sports is good as well. A critique of the myth of 'college athletes' and the way their schools make millions off the hard work of these kids, the players themselves are forbidden from exploiting their success at all. The sham classes that are made up at some schools, to make sure the star players never fall ineligible. It raises some interesting points about the system.

[Archery]

More than A Game, the LeBron James documentary. I find it astonishing that someone happened to recognize this guy's talent at such a young age, film him, and have him live up to that potential and more. I was not a fan, really, still am not, but I was really floored by that film.

[redlaces]

Louis Theroux is one of my favorites. Good site at topdocumentaryfilms.com

[choclatechip45]

Dear Zachary was absolutely heart wrenching.

[Janet Snakehole]

I am trying to work up myself to watch Dear Zachary. I hear it is good but depressing as hell.

On the lighter side, I just watched Burt's Buzz and Beer Wars. Beer Wars is a couple of years old, but I really enjoyed it. Sam Caglione of Dogfishhead was really entertaining to me, he is kind of like a genius surfer dude. It was cool to see him be really supportive of other craft breweries. I also liked how they showed Rhonda who used to work for Boston Brewing and tried to start her own company; and how difficult it was for her. It was also interesting to see how prohibition impacted the industry and basically made it so that Coors, Miller, and Budweiser own the majority of the market.

Burt's Buzz was basically a character study of the founder and face of Burt's Bees. He is pretty weird guy but very likeable. I went from cracking up at seeing him interact with his fans to getting a bit choked up when he talked about his beloved dead dog. He is kind of like a real life Ron Swanson, and apparently had a decent photography career. It is also kind of about the history of the company. I thought it might be boring at first, but it is worth a watch.

[spaceytraci1208]

Just watched "Dear Zachary"...all I can say is Kate & David Bagby are an inspiration

[NoWillToResist]

I'm dying to watch the documentary about Scientology...I think it's called Going Clear?. I believe it's in limited theatres, so I may have to wait a while...

 

I enjoyed Fed Up..really made me take a closer look at what I eat.

 

Deliver Us From Evil (2006), about a Catholic priest who molested children, who was moved from parish to parish by the Church (thus spreading his evil), both angered me and made me cry. Some of the parents' reactions just broke me. I can't imagine the guilt you must feel at having put your child into the hands of the one person in the community you are supposed to be able to trust implicitly and then have that person abuse your child and ruin their life.

[Athena]

I'm dying to watch the documentary about Scientology...I think it's called Going Clear?. I believe it's in limited theatres, so I may have to wait a while...

 

 

Do you have HBO or HBO Go? There is an active thread for it in "Specials".

[Qoass]

I caught Glen Campbell... I'll Be Me last night and it just about killed me.  I remember his younger years as a music star and his middle years courtesy of that mug shot for drunk driving plus Tanya Tucker's memoir but whoa, no matter what kind of life anybody leads, nobody deserves Alzheimer's.

 

This is the second Oscar-nominated documentary I've seen courtesy of CNN.  Say what you will about their news operation, I'm grateful they offered me this plus Roger Ebert's Life Itself.

[Bastet]

Thanks for the heads up CNN is airing this.  I saw it at a screening a while back, but cried through it again tonight on HLN.  The montage near the end, set to I’m Not Gonna Miss You … man. 

 

I think one of the most poignant moments outside the family comes from Brad Paisley.  He talks about how his great-grandmother died in a nursing home, unable to recognize her daughter, and now his grandma is in a nursing home unable to recognize him.  His mom is in her 60s, and there are not yet any signs, but they know odds are strong it will get her, too, and then he’ll be next.  When he says he’s 40-whatever, and can they please find the gene and turn it off before he hits 70 … he really speaks for those with a family history. 

 

Kathy Mattea talking about her experiences with her mom is moving, too.

 

But, of course, the Campbell family brings it home.  The daughter testifying before Congress how much it scares her that someday her dad will look at her and she’ll be nothing to him.  The wife letting the cracks show when discussing her caregiving functions.  And Glenn, in the moments he understands what is happening to him, and the many times of fear and frustration when he doesn’t.  And then the moments when he's blissfully ignorant, yet his family continues to suffer.

 

I hope CNN keeps running it and a lot of people watch.

[hendersonrocks]

I watched Last Days in Vietnam last night, finally rescuing it from our overflowing DVR. It was exceptional.

 

Being born a few years after the fall of Saigon it (and so many other things related to Vietnam) isn't etched in my memory like it is for those older than me, but I thought this was a really tightly organized, compelling story about the lack of foresight as it related to the American evacuation - and how we failed so many South Vietnamese in the process. Citizenfour is ALSO on the DVR so I can't tell yet whether I think it robbed this of last year's documentary Oscar or not. It's entirely possible...that's how good this was, at least to me.

[Kel Varnsen]

On the lighter side, I just watched Burt's Buzz and Beer Wars. Beer Wars is a couple of years old, but I really enjoyed it. Sam Caglione of Dogfishhead was really entertaining to me, he is kind of like a genius surfer dude. It was cool to see him be really supportive of other craft breweries. I also liked how they showed Rhonda who used to work for Boston Brewing and tried to start her own company; and how difficult it was for her. It was also interesting to see how prohibition impacted the industry and basically made it so that Coors, Miller, and Budweiser own the majority of the market.

I watched Beer Wars awhile back and I really didn't care for it (and I am someone who loves beer). I found the director was trying too hard to make herself a character in her own movie.  Plus the whole thing with that Rhonda thing didn't really work for me, since she kept talking about how small brewers are crafts people who are really passionate about beer and love the industry. But Rhonda didn't really fit with that. From what I remember she was an accountant or money person (not a brewer) who seemed to want to break out on her own so that she could cash in. Not that there is anything inherently wrong with that, it just didn't really fit with the story the movie was trying to tell.

[Bastet]

Bully (the 2011 documentary, not the horrible fictional film of the same name about ten years prior) is starting right now on Pivot.  I recommend it to anyone, with the caveat that you may want to take some blood pressure meds.  It chronicles the lives of several kids across the country who are being bullied at school (and tells the tale of a bullied teen who killed himself at 17).  The staggering ineptitude of school administrators and, in some cases, parents, who fail them is infuriating.

 

You just want to hug these kids and tell them it gets better, but it's heartbreaking what some of them are subjected to.  Who raises these bullies?!  Kids tease each other, tear others down out of their own fears and insecurities, and make bad decisions.  But bullying is so far beyond that, yet time after time it all gets lumped together as typical adolescent behavior.

Edited July 30, 2015 by Bastet

[hendersonrocks]

Southern Rites is a new doc on HBO; I highly recommend. It evolved from the filmmaker's work on documenting racially segregated proms in Georgia - she went back to document the first integrated prom, and ended up following a murder case (a 22-year old black man killed by a 60-something white man) and a campaign to elect the first ever black sheriff of the county. A NY Times review.

[Keekski]

I watched Rich Hill tonight. Holy depressing. Not one spark of hope.

Dear Zachary was brutal. So heart wrenching.

I also recently watched The Invisiable War about sexual abuse in the military. Really good.

I love documentaries!

[BatmanBeatles]

 

I watched Rich Hill tonight. Holy depressing. Not one spark of hope.

No joke. I was especially upset that one boy who's dad couldn't keep a job.

[harrie]

Saw Best of Enemies, a doc about the Wm F. Buckley-Gore Vidal debates aired by ABC during the 1968 political conventions, and really enjoyed it.  I was 7 in 1968, so even though I had an idea what was going on (thanks to sisters 10 years my senior) at the time, apparently I was somewhat sheltered.  BoE features pertinent portions of the Buckley-Vidal debates, along with background information and commentary that enhances the original footage. 

 

Short story:  In 1968, ABC News did not have the budget to keep up with the gavel-to-gavel coverage presented by CBS and NBC.  (As a former ABC news exec, I believe, put it:   ABC would have placed fourth place in the ratings, but there were only three networks.)  As a survival maneuver, ABC aired abbreviated convention coverage, but featured ten debates between William F. Buckley and Gore Vidal; these debates turned into cultural debates/commentaries rather than serving any actual political purpose.  Instead, they came to personify the Establishment v. Youth arguments which were so prevalent at the time.

 

The doc is relatively short at about 1.5 hours but it packs in a ton of cultural and historical information. It also helps to show the way TV has impacted political coverage and tactics; the 1968 conventions (on CBS and NBC) were the last time political conventions were covered gavel-to-gavel in the US, thus potentially the last time Americans had the opportunity to watch everyone make their speeches and decide for themselves which candidate or side of an argument to support. Co-directors Robert Gordon and Morgan Neville posit that the ABC tactic of abbreviated convention coverage plus commentary paved the way to our current way of watching news/politics, eg watching political coverage (and/or histrionic arguments) with which one agrees instead of exploring and/or considering other viewpoints; paint William F. Buckley as the father of the present conservative movement; and, provide a fascinating (to me) look back at where the USA was at one moment in time and where we have gone since. 

 

I watched BoE in a theater – just me, the hub and one other person – and was happy to do so.  If you are one who doesn’t care to pay $$ to watch a documentary, I strongly encourage you to find it when it hits the tube, wherever it lands.  Best of Enemies is a nice historical refresher, and also extremely entertaining; IMO, it’s worth seeking out. 

 

Random aside:  I found Buckley strangely charismatic in that while I knew I would likely disagree with any opinion he offered, I still wanted to hear what he had to say (because it might be food for thought, or even more outrageous [iMO, YMMV] than I would ever have imagined, or whatever).  He and Vidal had a great antagonistic chemistry, and watching them at work is really a marvel.

 

[Princess Sparkle]

Southern Rites is a new doc on HBO; I highly recommend. It evolved from the filmmaker's work on documenting racially segregated proms in Georgia - she went back to document the first integrated prom, and ended up following a murder case (a 22-year old black man killed by a 60-something white man) and a campaign to elect the first ever black sheriff of the county. A NY Times review.

Southern Rites was excellent.  I'm glad the daughter of the black sheriff's candidate (cannot remember his name at the moment) got the hell out of town.  How utterly depressing that

a man with 30 years of experience could be beaten by a man with none, just because of race.

  But I guess I shouldn't expect much out of a town that thought it was ok to have a segregated prom well into the 2000s.  And don't even get me started on the guy on trial for murder - what a piece of work.

 

I watched Rich Hill tonight. Holy depressing. Not one spark of hope.

 

Ugh, Rich Hill just rips your heart out, doesn't it?  The one kid who felt like he had to skip school to start work starting at age 12, just so he could support his family, was heartbreaking.  No child should have to take on a responsibility like that when you're so young, and your parents sure as hell shouldn't be guilting/encouraging you to make that choice.  

[BatmanBeatles]

I felt bad for the boy whose mother is in jail. He didn't seem to have many friends and it broke my heart when he asked school mates if they knew it was his birthday and they either ignored him or told him to get lost.

[DeLurker]

Searching for Sugar Man is an awesome movie.  It's about this musician, Sixto Rodriguez, who was discovered in the 70s.  He was supposed to be the next big thing, but somehow that never happened and he fades into obscurity.  Bootlegs of his music made their way to Apartheid Era South Aftrica and his music is crazy popular there, but no one ever knows what happens to him.

[GreekGeek]

In no particular order, my favorite documentaries are:

 

Man on Wire--the tale of Philippe Petit's 1974 walk between the Twin Towers. I see it's going to be remade as a scripted movie...WHY?

 

Jodorowski's Dune--about a film that never came to pass. You can see why a nervous Hollywood nixed it, though.

 

Another documentary about a film that never was--A Film Unfinished, a would-be Nazi propaganda movie about how nice Jewish ghetto life was [!]

 

Spellbound--kids in the Scripps Spelling Bee. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll cheer for these kids that win your heart.

 

Wordplay--another "brains" movie, this one about adults who love crossword puzzles and who do them competitively. 

 

Who the **** is Jackson Pollock--a female trucker buys a painting at garage sale that may be a genuine Pollock. Hilarity ensues as art experts disagree.

 

March of the Penguins, even if the film anthropomorphizes them a bit much.

 

I agree with Life Itself, although it was really painful to watch at times.

 

ETA: I just saw The Best of Enemies tonight, and it's definitely up there now among my favorite documentaries. It was a fascinating look at William F. Buckley Jr. and Gore Vidal and their debates on ABC during the 1968 political conventions. At the same time, I'm surprised at how many people who comment on the movie refer to those debates as part of some bygone golden age of TV discussions. Sure, the participants were more intellectual and articulate than most of today's political pundits, but their little chats were pioneers in substituting snark and name-calling for discussion of ideas.

Edited August 28, 2015 by GreekGeek

[CofCinci]

Dear Zachary... I hold out hope that this is a work of fiction.

[Bastet]

Dear Zachary... I hold out hope that this is a work of fiction.

 

Holy shit.  Nothing anyone had said prepared me for the experience of watching that film.  I just finished it about an hour ago, and I am gutted.  What a wonderful group of people Andrew had in his life, and Zachary in his short life, and that horrible, horrible person took it all away from first one then the other.

 

It was quite well done, with repeating over and over the "she's not a danger/no evidence of a psychological problem" language while laying out her evil deeds.  And turning it into a letter to Kate and David instead at the end was beautiful.  "You still have children" got me back in the beginning, so for it to circle back to that was perfect.  My heart aches for those people.  All the crap they swallowed, having to be in Shirley's life in order to remain in Zachary's, so that when the system finally worked and Zachary could be theirs, it would be a smooth transition for him.  But, of course, the system never did. 

Edited February 22, 2016 by Bastet

[Schweedie]

Has anyone else seen the ESPN '30 for 30' documentary about Hillsborough, from 2014? About the football stadium disaster in 1989 when 96 people died in a crush? It's available to watch on YouTube, and it's just - heartbreaking. It's very well made and I think it handles the subject and the interviews with survivors and family members as well as is possible, but utterly heartbreaking, and at least for me, rage-inducing.

 

I'm a Liverpool supporter, so Hillsborough is never far from me and I've read and seen a lot about it over the years, but that documentary was still like punch in the gut. The unfairness of it all will never not anger me. The way it was handled by the police in the buildup, how they failed to direct the crowd, and the lies and cover-ups in the aftermath... I know many outside the UK have never heard about it, or at least not heard the full story, and apparently this documentary couldn't even be shown in the UK for some reason to do with the inquest, but it's really worth seeing.

 

There another by the BBC called Hillsborough: How They Buried the Truth, also well worth watching, if you're interested.

Edited March 6, 2016 by Schweedie

[Bastet]

Yes, that's an excellent installment of 30 For 30 (and was the subject of a few posts in the 30 For 30 thread).  I haven't seen it re-run lately on ESPN, but it's available on Netflix, too.

[Bastet]

I just watched The House I Live In, examining the epic failure of the U.S. “war on drugs.”  It’s impressively comprehensive, and does a particularly good job with the devastating impact on the black community (including a nice outline of the racist history of drug laws, rather than just talking about recent examples like mandatory minimums) and a good segment on how mass incarceration – often in private prisons -  has created a booming and varied industry that now has a vested interest in seeing the policy of locking people up, and for a long time, for drug offenses continued.

 

One of the interesting aspects was hearing from so many people who are part of that war – prison officials, narcotics detectives, judges, etc. – and who acknowledge what a ridiculous and counter-productive system we’ve created.  Honest talk from a good selection of people all around; addiction experts, activists, law enforcement officers, those incarcerated, addicts, their families, etc.  It was filmed over many years, and quite well done.  It won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance when it came out (2012?), and with good reason.

 

I then got three minutes into How to Die in Oregon (about the death with dignity law) before tearing up.  Maybe I’ll save that for a fresh day.

 

I saw TRAPPED (about Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers laws) at a screening a month or so ago, and found that well done, too.  Not quite as well done as I wanted it to be – there were a couple of key avenues of discussion I thought were glaring in their omission (e.g. contrasting all the medical procedures with astronomically greater risk of complication that are not subject to the same requirements imposed by these laws on abortion) – but informative (and infuriating).  One of the simplest tools was one of the most effective; a recurring map of disappearing clinics, showing how many were forced to close with each new law.

Edited April 20, 2016 by Bastet

[Bastet]

I then got three minutes into How to Die in Oregon (about the death with dignity law) before tearing up.  Maybe I’ll save that for a fresh day.

 

Quoting myself to say I went ahead and watched this and ... holy shit.  It made the tears I shed watching Dear Zachary seem like a slight mist.  We're talking gasping, sobbing, I have no idea when I'll be able to breathe through my nose again crying.  Which probably makes you wonder why on earth you should subject yourselves to this film, but you should.  Because some of the tears are that it's so beautiful.  I felt for everyone profiled, including the dying man who wanted to deny anyone the right to make a different choice than he'd make for himself.  But Cody Curtis ... the film belongs to Cody.  Has anyone else watched this?

[Princess Sparkle]

I usually fall into the trap of watching documentaries on heavier subjects, so I must sing the praises of a lighter-fare documentary I watched recently called The Barkley Marathons.  It's about an ultra-marathon held in Tennessee every year, and it follows how it got started, the people running it in 2012 (the year it was filmed), and the obstacles.  At the time this was filmed, only 10 people had finished it in 25 years.  It was really light-hearted and fascinating to watch - I highly recommend it.

I also watched another one recently called Shenandoah, about a town in Pennsylvania where four well-regarded high school athletes beat a Hispanic man to death after they got into a verbal argument.  The documentary follows the football season after the incident (the athletes were all on the football team, and football is the lifeblood of the town), as well as bits and pieces of the trial of the athletes, as well as the FBI investigation of two of the town's police officers for attempting to cover up the crime.  Really interesting stuff, though there were definitely times where I wanted to hurl something at the screen.

Edited July 7, 2016 by Princess Sparkle

[JustaPerson]

I watched a documentary called Shenandoah on Netflix yesterday, about the murder of a illegal Mexican immigrant by a group of high school football players in Shenandoah, PA who beat him up. The local police tried to cover it up to (not much) avail. Most of the boys weren't convicted until it went to federal court. 

[vibeology]

Reviving this topic to praise Ava DuVernay's 13th which is now out on Netflix. It is a must watch, especially with this election looming. Her look at the criminal justice system is brutal and we all come out of it looking like trash for allowing this to happen. Everyone needs a to see this movie. 

[BatmanBeatles]

I just watched "Eight Days A Week" directed By Ron Howard. I found it very enjoyable. It made me appreciate what The Beatles went through to be successful. I can't imagine how it felt to have people try to touch you or tear your clothes off. 

[Princess Sparkle]

Has anyone else watched Who Took Johnny?  It popped up on Netflix a few weeks ago and I watched it - it's about the Johnny Gosch, a paper boy who was kidnapped in Des Moines in the early 80s who was the second kid on the side of a milk carton.  It was truly excellent, but I did walk away from it feeling awful for his mother.  She has done such good work in how law enforcement handles missing child cases now (how this case was handled is appalling on many levels) and the people who sent her photos of bound and gagged molested boys and said they were her son are sick and twisted individuals, BUT I couldn't help but think "oh dear...." when she kept talking about how convinced she was that Johnny came to visit her in the 90s.  That part makes no sense at all - either someone played a very cruel trick on her, or she had a very vivid dream that she is convinced is real.  But I in no way think that her son visited her, when he would've been 18, she talked with him for 90 minutes and then just...let him leave.  That does not add up.  I do think it's a form of coping for her, since if she believes her son visited her she can hold out hope that he's still alive, but oof.

I did think it was heartwrenching at the beginning when two parents, whose daughters are missing, are talking about how they think it might be better knowing their children are dead because their imaginations of what could be happening to them if they're alive were taking them to some dark places.  Man, it was a great documentary but really, really hard to watch.

I also watched Audrie and Daisy on Netflix.  That is another great documentary, but be warned that you will want to scream at the tv multiple times while watching it - I certainly did.  The lead police chief in Daisy Coleman's case should be ashamed of himself.  

[Schweedie]

On 11 oktober 2016 at 4:57 PM, Princess Sparkle said:

I also watched Audrie and Daisy on Netflix.  That is another great documentary, but be warned that you will want to scream at the tv multiple times while watching it - I certainly did.  The lead police chief in Daisy Coleman's case should be ashamed of himself.  

I've been thinking of watching that, but haven't felt in the right frame of mind to get round to it.

On the other hand I watched Ava DuVernay's 13th, also on Netflix, without realising just what I was getting myself into. Incredibly hard to watch at times (there are plenty of very disturbing images, and there was one moment when I said out loud to my computer screen "Oh no, please don't show that"), but very, very good. And speaking as an outsider in Europe, it was really interesting in the bits about the prison industry and how laws are created.

[Lugal]

King Corn,  very low key, about two guys trying to grow an acre of corn, but frightening about how much corn effects what we eat.  If you didn't avoid high fructose corn syrup before, you will now.

[Bastet]

Quote

On the other hand I watched Ava DuVernay's 13th, also on Netflix, without realising just what I was getting myself into. Incredibly hard to watch at times (there are plenty of very disturbing images, and there was one moment when I said out loud to my computer screen "Oh no, please don't show that"), but very, very good. And speaking as an outsider in Europe, it was really interesting in the bits about the prison industry and how laws are created.

It's extremely well done, and something that should be shown in schools.  It's a brilliant exploration of the results of the "except as a punishment for crime" clause of the Thirteenth Amendment.  Slavery was abolished, but black Americans were immediately arrested and incarcerated en mass.  So slavery was replaced by convict leasing, which was replaced by Jim Crow, which was replaced by modern mass incarceration (involving mandatory minimums, "three strikes," privatization of the prison system, etc.) -- the "new Jim Crow" in which blacks are disproportionately made felons, stripping them of the right to vote, secure public assistance, get jobs, etc.

I particularly like the section on how ALEC is behind so much of our legislation (and on what corporations are behind ALEC), because that's something that is nowhere near as widely known as it should be.  And the juxtaposition of Trump rallies with historical footage is chilling.

It covers a lot of ground in under two hours, and does it well; I highly recommend it.

Quote

Has anyone else watched Who Took Johnny?  It popped up on Netflix a few weeks ago and I watched it - it's about the Johnny Gosch, a paper boy who was kidnapped in Des Moines in the early 80s who was the second kid on the side of a milk carton.  It was truly excellent, but I did walk away from it feeling awful for his mother.  She has done such good work in how law enforcement handles missing child cases now (how this case was handled is appalling on many levels) and the people who sent her photos of bound and gagged molested boys and said they were her son are sick and twisted individuals, BUT I couldn't help but think "oh dear...." when she kept talking about how convinced she was that Johnny came to visit her in the 90s.

Yes, what's most interesting to me about the film is how both things are simultaneously true: she was repeatedly dismissed by law enforcement officials ignorant and then in denial of human trafficking, AND she's a touch delusional.  Those pictures she insists are of her son, yet clearly are not?  The 90-minute visit she didn't tell anyone about, and just let him walk away?  Oh dear, indeed.  But whatever she needs to do to put one foot in front of the other all these decades, and she helped so many other parents by agitating for change.

Quote

I also watched Audrie and Daisy on Netflix.  That is another great documentary, but be warned that you will want to scream at the tv multiple times while watching it - I certainly did.  The lead police chief in Daisy Coleman's case should be ashamed of himself.  

A word to the wise: do not watch that and The Hunting Ground (about the campus rape epidemic) back to back, unless you have an ample supply of blood pressure meds, anti-anxiety pills, and liquor.  But do watch them both.

[Schweedie]

21 hours ago, Bastet said:

It's a brilliant exploration of the results of the "except as a punishment for crime" clause of the Thirteenth Amendment.  Slavery was abolished, but black Americans were immediately arrested and incarcerated en mass.

Yeah. I mean, in theory I guess the amendment sort of makes sense - but knowing how that loophole can be (and was/is) used, it's awful.

21 hours ago, Bastet said:

I particularly like the section on how ALEC is behind so much of our legislation (and on what corporations are behind ALEC), because that's something that is nowhere near as widely known as it should be.

Again, exactly. I had no idea about any of that - I do remember hearing of a discussion about corporations having the same rights as people, but I don't think I made the connection to any of this.

Definitely eyeopening, and I agree this documentary is something that would be good to show in schools.

[CherryMalotte]

Quote

I also watched Audrie and Daisy on Netflix.  That is another great documentary, but be warned that you will want to scream at the tv multiple times while watching it - I certainly did.  The lead police chief in Daisy Coleman's case should be ashamed of himself.  

I just watched this late this afternoon.  My daughter, who is barely 21, at first didn't seem too interested but then got hooked and I had to replay several parts over because she was screaming at the television screen.  Christ, that sheriff...and he has daughters?  I can't tell you how many times my jaw dropped with the idiotic comments that he uttered.  I'm from a small town, and that isn't small town thinking, that attitude is just all around ignorant.  If the girl has to carry her emotional  trauma, so the boys have to carry their responsibility and accountability as well.  It's astounding to me how those boys are considered almost more worthy than their young female victims.  It's not like this has never crossed my path before but I guess being of a different generation the levels of social media involved had somehow escaped me.  

[AliShibaz]

I saw a wonderful documentary on PBS titled, "Chasing Heroin". It was broadcast in the early part of 2016 and was produced by "Frontline".

It's an amazing documentary. I would call it a "must see" for anyone who currently uses most any kind of pain killers - especially Opioids - such as Codeine, Fenatyl (I think), Oxy Contin, Oxy Neo, Oxy Anything and of course Heroin.

Among some of the tragic, heartbreaking stories (one of which concerns a 16 year old beautiful girl who was a star baseball (Fastball) pitcher who died from a Heroin overdose and destroyed her entire family. That story will just rip your heart out. It essentially ripped my heart out.

If you have any children who you suspect are using pain killers of most any kind, I can't recommend strongly enough that you find a way to let them see this documentary. It is two hours in length and it is one of the most powerful documentaries (maybe even the most powerful ever) I have ever seen.

Edited November 18, 2016 by AliShibaz

[AliShibaz]

On 2014-12-26 at 5:53 PM, CaughtOnTape said:

Is there a topic about this yet?

 

I looked through them all but didn't see one.

 

Recently watched Mea Maxima Culpa again after I found it on my On Demand list.

 

This documentary enrages me.  The fact that the priest highlighted in the documentary admitted to multiple people in power that he had molested those boys and nothing was done is infuriating.  

The best documentary on this subject I have ever seen is, "Deliver Us from Evil (2006)". After seeing this film (in which the Catholic Church went to great lengths to deny, cover up, lie and ignore their damaged parishioners, I decided I would never again have anything to do with the Catholic Church. I would never give them another nickel. I would never leave them anything of value in my will.

I think that one of the largest sources of income for the Catholic Church is when people leave them property or money in their wills. (Of course this is just my guess and I may be wrong about that). But, after seeing this film, I hope most people will remove the Catholic Church from their wills. The church behaved worse than almost any criminal. This documentary was unbelievable. Except that it was the truth.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deliver_Us_from_Evil_(2006_film)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_O'Grady

On 2015-04-02 at 11:00 AM, NoWillToResist said:

I'm dying to watch the documentary about Scientology...I think it's called Going Clear?. I believe it's in limited theatres, so I may have to wait a while...

 

I enjoyed Fed Up..really made me take a closer look at what I eat.

 

Deliver Us From Evil (2006), about a Catholic priest who molested children, who was moved from parish to parish by the Church (thus spreading his evil), both angered me and made me cry. Some of the parents' reactions just broke me. I can't imagine the guilt you must feel at having put your child into the hands of the one person in the community you are supposed to be able to trust implicitly and then have that person abuse your child and ruin their life.

Sorry NOWILTORESIST,

I didn't see that you had already posted about this film before I did. I apologize.

Edited November 18, 2016 by AliShibaz

[AliShibaz]

I would like to tell you about a number of wonderful documentaries. All of them are about the Life & Times of Muhammed Ali.

In particular, my favorite of the bunch is called: I Am Ali (2014)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4008652/?ref_=nm_flmg_slf_4

I was about 14 when Ali won the Heavyweight Boxing Championship (for the first time). I remember that everyone talked about his huge ego and that Sonny Liston would "kill" him in the first round. Mostly I recall the odds were 7 to 1 and people talked about making a great fortune if they bet on Ali and he won this fight. Of course, it seems to me that almost no one would take that bet.

Despite being alive at that time and reading most everything I could get my hands on (mostly newspaper articles), I never really understood the important issues of the time and like most other people, I guess I figured he was kind of "crazy".

But watching some of the documentaries that were made about him, (there are probably about 12 of them available today), I never really got any appreciation of the man or his abilities.

Today, I consider Ali to be not only the greatest boxer of all time, but far more importantly, one of the greatest human beings of all time. Even if you don't know or appreciate most anything about boxing, I think you will truly enjoy this film and will also truly enjoy any other documentaries about Ali.

The one thing that I'd like to tell you about is something that I just marvel about today. In the sport of boxing, it seems like most everyone in the world was always focused on just how hard a boxer could hit  his opponent. Ali took a very different approach. He figured out that defense was far more important than offense. If he could only find a way to avoid having an opponent hit him, he would win easily. This documentary explains quite a bit about that. I will just tell you a few things here:

If a boxer keeps punching his opponent, he expends far more energy than by doing most anything else. It doesn't take long for him to just tire himself out.

Ali would get his brother to throw rocks at his head and he would keep  moving his body and his head so as to avoid the rocks. I don't know why they didn't use tennis balls instead. So much safer than rocks. But Ali was a genius and so I can't really argue about that decision.

In any event, so many of his early fights consisted of him hitting his opponent very seldom. For most of his fights, his main concern was avoiding getting hit by his opponent. The result, in so many of his fights, was that his opponent just tired himself out by punching and punching but missing. Once you understand his strategy, his fights become a work of great beauty and you can appreciate just why he was the greatest boxer of all time.

It was so amazing. No one. No one ever before had considered paying more attention to defense than offense. That simple change in tactics resulted in Ali winning almost all of his fights.

But the most important thing about Ali was that he taught the world how freedom is our most valuable gift (or right) and that in order to keep our freedom, we must exercise our right to freedom and exercise that right often. People hated Ali for talking like that. They tried to  put him in prison. But The Supreme Court of the USA, decided he was right and in a unanimous decision, they struck down all the charges against him and no one ever again tried to put him in prison.

One other pseudo documentary that deals with The Supreme Court and how and why they unanimously found in Ali's favor is the following film. I would like to recommend it to you as well:

Ali's Greatest Fight (2014)

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2061756/

I sincerely hope you might give these two films a try. Regardless of whether or not you know anything about Ali. Regardless of whether or not you know anything about boxing. I think there is an excellent chance you may love these films. I truely do love these films.

If you do enjoy them, you can find more by Googling "Films about Muhammed Ali".

Good luck and happy viewing!

Edited November 18, 2016 by AliShibaz

[AliShibaz]

On 2016-10-11 at 10:57 AM, Princess Sparkle said:

<snip>

The lead police chief in Daisy Coleman's case should be ashamed of himself.  

<snip>

IMHO, there are precious few police chiefs who should not be ashamed of themselves.

Most of the ones who IMO, should not be ashamed of themselves are women. What a wonderful development it has been once women became Police Chiefs. I'm thinking specifically of some cities like Bremerton and (I think) New Orleans and Seattle. Once a woman became Chief of Police, an entire new attitude pervaded the department and it was a very good new attitude.

[Bastet]

Quote

I saw a wonderful documentary on PBS titled, "Chasing Heroin". It was broadcast in the early part of 2016 and was produced by "Frontline".

There's a forum for Frontline.

[AliShibaz]

Oh Gosh. I never would have imagined that. But I'm very happy because Frontline has produced some of the very finest documentaries ever. I will never forget the one about Bernie Madoff.

[Snipsa]

I have been on a bit of a documentary marathon this past week.

 

I watched the documentary Living on One Dollar, and it was a very interesting look at life on the bread line.  Living in South Africa, I could relate to a lot of what was shown. Even though I am fortunate to live in a middle class neighbourhood with running water and electricity, a lot of my friends and fellow citizens are not as lucky. It is so difficult to understand the hardships billions of people endure daily!

 

Then I watched Salam Neighbor, by the same filmmakers. Seeing the way that hundreds of thousands of refugees have to make a living, and the resourcefulness shown by some, starting their own businessess, etc is an illumunating experience. It reminds me a bit of the way the inhabitants of Soweto was able to change a piece of land where they were confined by goverment, into a bustling neoghbourhood and city by the 70's. Back to the film -  I cried so hard for the little boy who was too traumatised to return to school...

I watched the documentary Extremis with some trepidation. I work in a sub-acute clinic, but where end of life decisions are also made on a weekly basis. It is absolutely hard-wrenching and knowing the ethical considerations involved for all medical personnel is an extremely difficult and personal subject.

 

Then I watched the four part docu-series Weight of the Nation, and it boiled my blood seeing how corporations can self-govern their advertising regulations, etc.  I am passionate about lifestyle diseases and the impact of obesity on current society (I was obese until the start of this year, and realise how difficult it is to lose the weight, but can personally testify to the extreme benefits of living a healthier lifestyle)

 

Then I watched Audrie and Daisy, and man I wanted to throw stuff at the screen. The sheriff in the Daisy case is a despicable person. And the fact that the boys in the Audrie case only got 45 and 30 days sentences which were confined to weekends! Justice really is dead!

[Bastet]

Quote

I watched the documentary Extremis with some trepidation. I work in a sub-acute clinic, but where end of life decisions are also made on a weekly basis. It is absolutely hard-wrenching and knowing the ethical considerations involved for all medical personnel is an extremely difficult and personal subject.

I got annoyed with one of the family members in that film, as it drives me crazy when doctors try to tell people that based on science it is almost certain X is going to happen and people just stand there declaring that Y is going to happen instead because of a bunch of stuff that has no effect on reality, but on the whole I thought it was a great, but brief look at end of life decisions, particularly, as you said, from the perspective of the medical personnel.

[Archery]

Probably not the best idea to end 2016 by watching "13th" on Netflix. 

[Bastet]

I showed Audrie & Daisy to a friend last night, and sitting through that a second time was just as emotional as the first.  My friend took one look at the sheriff in Daisy's case and asked me, "I'm going to want to punch him in the face, aren't I?"  Oh, yeah.  The fact that asshole is raising daughters is every bit as frightening as the fact he's the head of law enforcement.

One of the (umpteen) things that really gets to me in that film is when they're showing messages that went back and forth between Audrie and one of the guys, with him telling her it's no big deal -- people will talk about it for a week and move on to something else -- and she writes back, "You have no idea what it's like to be a girl."