We watch movies to escape.
We watch documentaries to stay.
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Ok, thats a massive oversimplification.
But documentaries fill a much different role in the culture than films or television.
A good documentary is ideally both entertaining and a learning experience.
The documentaries of Amazon Prime are as entertaining and informative as any other source.
And Ken Burns lots of Ken Burns.
Its stark, honest and smartly constructed around Baldwins wit and humanity.
Watch I Am Not Your Negro
Sriracha
Sriracha is one of the all-time unexpected food success stories.
We in the West thought we were all set on hot sauce.
Paradise Lostis likeThe Godfathertrilogy of documentaries only if the third one didnt suck.
Watch Paradise Lost
Ken Burns: The Central Park Five
Its Ken Burns time!
teenagers) were falsely accused of raping and assaulting a woman in Central Park.
Its just another sad chapter in Americas long history of racial profiling.
Then in 2016 instead of apologizing, doubled-down and insisted that they were guilty.
Just throwing that out there.
In 2000, four men broke into an upscale Indiana home with the intention of robbing it.
There they discovered three carpenters doing work on a nearby barn.
The men tied up the carpenters and eventually executed them.
All fairly typical, though surely tragic, stuff for a true crime documentary.
But why is there a woman in handcuffs in that screenshot above?
Thats Charity Payne, the subject ofWithout Charity.
Charity knew the robbers and knew of the impending robbery.
Was she the mastermind of all this or just someone along for the ride.
In other words, does any of this happen without Charity?
Thinfollows four young women at an eating disorder treatment center in Florida.
Unfortunately, some of those bonds may lead to tragic circumstances.
Dont Google anything about it, just watch and report back.
Well…uh…I cried.
I cried a lot.
I cried when former NFL-player Steve Gleason gets his tragic ALS diagnosis.
I cried when he cried.
I just cried and cried and cried.
I cant recall ever crying harder at any non-real life event.Gleasonis for sure inspiring.
Its depicts the destructive power in ALS in the most vivid, horrifying way possible.
Watch it if youre not afraid of crying so hard you cause a scene.
Thats certainly intimidating for the non-Deadheads (a.k.a.
Watch Long Strange Trip
City of Ghosts
City of Ghostsis a big investment for Amazon.
Based on early buzz it seems to be money well-spent.
Now the excellent documentaryElianstrives to tell the first story behind the photo.
Elian Gonzalez was five years old when he was plucked out of the ocean off the coast of Florida.
His makeshift boat from Cuba had capsized and his mother had died.
Watch Elian
The First World War
World War II is easy.
Obviously it wasnt easy for those involved but it is easy for us.
World War I is a bit harder.
Then why are we so damn hard to move?
Its about displacement what happens when a person becomes a refugee?
Watch Human Flow
Aidas Secrets
Aidas Secretsis an emotional experience about incredibly emotional topics.
Imagine living with the knowledge that your mother survived the Holocaust.
Now imagine that you one day discover you have a secret brother youve never met.
Thats the experience that Izak Szewelwicz goes through in Aidas Secrets.
Izak was born to his mother Aida, while she was interned in Bergen-Belsen.
Given the extreme circumstances, Izak was sent to Israel for adoption.
In his later years, Izak is able to develop a relationship with Aida anyway.
Then he discovers Aidas secret.
Dicks film is a respectful, carefully handled exploration of a difficult and infuriating topic.
Through that metric (and many others), Bill Cunningham was the happiest man in the world.
Cunningham died in 2016 and this 2010 documentary remains an excellent tribute.
Surely wed be colonizing Mars in no time!
Well, that didnt quite come to pass and the documentaryFight for Spaceseeks to answer why.
The documentary is unabashedly sincere, nerdy and fun.
Youre telling me this lady did WHAT now?
And she threw it WHERE?
Chicken seem so pointless.
