Documentaries are definitely one of the most underappreciated art forms that gets a lot of criticism for being boring. For some reason, growing up, I would always associate documentaries with nature and history topics, but there’s actually a documentary for almost anything. Some are boring, but others are really interesting.
Regardless of your feelings towards documentaries and the ridiculous amount of times that your middle school science teacher made you watch The Blue Planet on her lazy teaching days, you can’t argue that it was not a masterpiece. Here’s a list of *actually great* documentaries you need to add to your watch-list now.
1. Residente
This is a one-of-a-kind documentary that follows the journey of Residente (a.k.a. René Pérez Joglar), a Puerto Rican rapper and founder of the popular rap group Calle 13. After getting his DNA ancestry results back, Residente set out to discover his roots through his travels to the Balkans, China, Africa and the U.S. Along the way, he made music using undiscovered, amateur talent, incorporating voices and melodies associated with a region to blend in with his music. The music he produced throughout his journey constituted an album called Residente, which took two years to make and was released in 2017. Although the songs on the album are in Spanish, you can see the influence of different cultures in each song, whether it’s by the African drums or the hymns from Eastern Europe. You can watch this documentary on Netflix in both English and Spanish.
2. Twice Born: Stories from the Special Delivery Unit
If you’re into medical shows, this is the perfect documentary for you to watch. This documentary is three episodes of 54 minutes each and focuses on fetal surgery. The audience gets an inside look into the Special Delivery Unit at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, following families in their struggle and journey with fetal surgery. They also feature Dr. Scott Adzick, a pioneer in this field, with his team, developing the first fetal surgical techniques. You can watch this authentic documentary on the PBS website.
3. League of Denial
This documentary combines both medicine and American football, specifically traumatic brain injury and the NFL. The Peabody-award-winning documentary discusses research that has been conducted on the link between concussions and football by focusing on the story of Mike Webster, an NFL player that suffered from brain injuries during his athletic career. Although the film has generated a lot of controversy about the ethics of football and its “dying future,” it provides good information on a research topic that has been very prominent in recent years in sport news. You can also watch this on the PBS website for free.
4. My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman
This is technically not a documentary but rather a series of really good interviews that does a good job of telling the story of each guest. If David Letterman isn’t a good enough reason for you to watch it, then stars like George Clooney, Jay Z, Barack Obama, Tina Fey and Malala Yousafzai may do. These public figures have all been on this Netflix show, and their interviews, along with Letterman’s humor, have been anything but boring. You can binge-watch this show on Netflix.
5. Fed Up
This is a unique documentary compared with the previous ones, as it takes a look at obesity and the health effects of sugar in processed foods. The really cool thing about this film is that it looks at these problems from a marketing angle and focuses a lot on how food companies use sugar as an addicting factor to increase sales. Although it hasn’t stopped me from consuming uncontrollable amounts of chocolate, it is a very informative, high-quality production.
6. Supersize Me
The first time I watched this documentary was in my high school health class, and it definitely made me stay away from McDonald’s even more. This 2004 film documents the experiences of a man, Morgan Spurlock, as he eats McDonald’s food for 30 days. You can see the interesting physical and psychological effects of his diet, which seemed to affect many aspects of his life. If you want more reasons to hate the fast food industry, you can watch it on YouTube.
7. Blackfish
One of the most controversial documentaries, Blackfish talks about the captivity of the orca Tilikum, who caused the death of three people. The film discusses the effects of captivity and features individuals and professionals who have interacted with Tilikum in the past. The documentary also sheds heavy criticism on SeaWorld and attempts to educate the audience about animals in captivity. If you’re looking to spark that little environmentalist inside you, you can catch the film on Netflix.
Documentaries may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but with so many themes available, there is something for everyone to enjoy.