Nearly everyone is familiar with streaming services like Netflix, Prime Video, and Hulu. I thought I had discovered all of the platforms known to man- I didn’t. Midway through one of my remote classes this week, we were planning to watch a historical film. Not surprisingly, Zoom was unable to handle the class meeting while simultaneously playing the film. One classmate mentioned that this movie was available on Kanopy. There were a few seconds of silence after she said this, mostly from confusion. What was Kanopy? Did she mean canopy? Does it cost money?
Here are some of my recommendations to get started:
- The Great Courses – is a streaming service in itself filled with tons of educational and self-improvement videos. I personally added National Geographic’s “Fundamentals of Photography,” “Screen Writing 101,” and “How to Read Shakespeare” on my Watch List.
- “The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley” (2019) – an HBO documentary about con-woman, Elizabeth Holmes
- “Anita: Speaking Truth to Power” (2013) – a moving documentary about Anita Hill and her experience being sexually harassed by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas
- “Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind” (2018) – an HBO documentary about beloved Robin Williams
- “Arranged” (2007) – an independent film about a friendship between an Orthodox Jewish woman and a Muslim woman
- “The Great Beauty” (2013) – Audio is Italian, but you can use English subtitles. This movie is about life, death, and the persistence of Rome
- “Mid-August Lunch” (2008) – Audio is Italian, but you can use English subtitles. It surrounds family and friendship during a charming Roman holiday
- “Left Behind America” (2018) – This is a PBS/Frontline documentary about the economic ruins of the Rust Belt, specifically in Dayton, Ohio.
- “I Am Not Your Negro” (2016) – A documentary about James Baldwin and the fight for equal rights narrated by Samuel L. Jackson
- “Ricordi?” (2019) – Audio is Italian, but you can use English subtitles. This is a romantic drama about a couple and their relationship
- “The Miseducation of Cameron Post” (2018) – a film based on a novel by Emily Danforth about a girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) who is sent to a homosexual “conversion” therapy center
- “What We Do in the Shadows” (2014) – a hilarious mockumentary about vampires in New Zealand. This is one of my all-time favorite movies and I would highly recommend this if you need a laugh!
I hope that if you weren’t already familiar with Kanopy, you will become familiar (and if you are familiar, you enjoy some recommendations). It’s a great resource for entertainment and education. I’m so thankful to have discovered this hidden gem while I’m self-isolating at home.