If you’re anything like me, you’re constantly looking for a new documentary to watch, and now’s a better time than any to start deep diving. If you’ve already exhausted the entire Tiger King series and every other true crime doc on the “Popular on Netflix” page, have no fear. The popular streaming service still has a wide variety of documentaries, old and new, covering an even wider range of topics: flat earthers, voyeurs, female media representation and the pornography industry, just to name a few. Here are some of my favorite, underrated documentaries that Netflix has to offer to fill your time.
This 2011 documentary takes an in-depth look at mainstream media, exposing the underrepresentation and hypersexualization of women and the effect it has on ideas of beauty, power and leadership. The film features interviews from women like Rosario Dawson, Katie Couric, Nancy Pelosi, Margaret Cho and Gloria Steinem about their experiences as women in power positions and how that’s been impacted by the disparaging images of females in the media. This doc will make you angry, but opening your eyes to the damage the media does on girls is the first step to rising above it and seeing your own power. I promise, it will become one of your favorites.
This documentary is about flat Earth theorists, but you don’t have to be one to enjoy it. The film follows the flat Earth conspiracy from multiple different angles: the theorists themselves as well as astrophysicists from universities like UCLA and Caltech. Critics have called the film “hilarious, informative but pressing,” and that’s exactly what it is. It’s fun and lighthearted, while still giving you an in-depth look inside the psyches of some of the most ridiculed people in America. If you’re interested in conspiracy theories–especially from where they’re born–this is a must watch.
This brand new documentary, produced by the mind behind Glee and American Horror Story Ryan Murphy, offers a look at LGBTQ history through the eyes of an elderly Jewish couple. Karen and Barry Mason owned Circus of Books in LA, once the largest distributor of gay pornography in the United States, for almost 40 years. Follow their story as they face jail time for federal obscenity prosecution and the AIDS crisis, all while maintaining the outward appearance of a religious, moral family. This documentary is equal parts fascinating, hilarious, wholesome and heartbreaking. It’s definitely worth the watch.
This film can only be described in one word: creepy. It takes true crime and puts a twist on it, following legendary investigative journalist Gay Talese’s years-long reporting on serial voyeur Gerald Foos. For decades, Talese worked on a book about Foos, who built an observation deck in his motel for the sole purpose of spying on his guests. Voyeur is wild from start to finish, as it not only follows Foos’ nauseating escapades but the controversy and eventual investigation surrounding Talese’s book as well. After watching, you will be left sick and questioning the morality of investigative journalism.
Warning: this six-episode docuseries is not for the faint of heart. The series is all about the intersections of sex, porn, and the internet. Subjects of each episode include female porn directors and recruiters, serial online hook-uppers, cam girls, and one woman facing legal repercussions for live-streaming the rape of her friend, all impacted for better or often for worse by the internet. This show is definitely not for those uncomfortable with topics of sex and porn, but if you can get past it, it is guaranteed to be one of the most fascinating documentaries you’ll ever watch.