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By staying indoors over an extended amount of time you begin to withdraw from the outside world. As time goes by, the parameters of your home seem to shrink, while the world outside grows in size and mystery. A simple comfort that may reduce this sensation would be to spend this time watching documentaries and learning more about the world. Nothing expands your view of the world like documentaries.
“Pre-pandemic I wasn’t a fan of strangers. Strangers seemed to be in the way. Strangers seemed to be a burden. Now, I miss them.”
– Jim Gaffigan (CBS Quarantine Update)
If you miss strangers as much as Jim Gaffigan, you’ll appreciate these fifteen documentaries. They have been divided into three categories designed to show you five things you didn’t know, five experiences you’ve never had, and five people you’ve never met.
Life Lessons
Our planet is always in flux, and the COVID-19 pandemic is an extreme example of this. However, because of this perpetual change we miss a lot of things and inevitably take many things for granted. Below are five documentaries on topics you thought you knew everything about.
1. Tiny Shoulders
This Hulu documentary takes a closer look at the societal weight Barbie carries on her seemingly ineffectual plastic shoulders. Barbie has gone through many changes since her creation in 1959. She has made broad strides in feminism over the years and even to this day, yet none as progressive as her conception.
Major international companies don’t often open their doors to documentaries. That is why this footage behind the scenes of this mega toy company is a gem to watch.
2. Ice On Fire
Scientists have noticed a significant decrease in carbon emission since the world has gone under quarantine. While the circumstances are definitely not ideal, it is a good start in the right direction. Whether people are staying locked in their homes or taking socially distant nature walks, quarantine has reinvigorated people’s appreciation for our planet.
While there is no shortage of global warming documentaries, HBO’s Ice On Fire offers a refreshingly positive outlook on how we can make changes for the better.
This will be Leonardo DiCaprio’s second film on global warming after the first one didn’t take off as well as he’d hoped. This time DiCaprio focuses on one of the results of climate change that terrifies him the most: increasing levels of methane gas. Additionally, this film focuses on offering realistic proposals that will make long-lasting changes to save our planet.
3. The Search For General Tso
The Search For General Tso ventures out to discover the captivating culinary mystery that is General Tso chicken. This is one of the most lighthearted of the documentaries on this list, yet you’d be surprised at the depth to the history to this dish. Although this staple in Chinese-American cooking can be found on every menu that serves Chinese food in America, you can’t find it anywhere in authentic Chinese restaurants.
Many of us staying at home are discovering new ways to cook and spending extra time in the kitchen, while others have been taking advantage of free deliveries. Either way, we share a unique relationship with food, and perhaps wonder the same thing: how did our favorite dishes come to be?
4. Beers Of Joy
Grocery stores have seen an increase in alcoholic beverage purchases, especially beer. Making it hard to argue against this film’s mission statement, that beer is what connects us all.
Beers Of Joy is an award-winning documentary that follows four main beer enthusiasts. The film is best described as a love letter to beer. You can learn more about the people in this film by following their blogs on the film’s website.
5. Crip Camp
The Netflix documentary Crip Camp chronicles the revolution of disabled people for basic human rights. The film begins in 1973 during a time when many mentally and physically disabled people, including children, were being institutionalized to the point of over-capacity in inhumane conditions. Co-director and former camp member Jim LeBrecht was fifteen when he heard about Camp Jened. He remembers feeling shocked and excited to find a summer camp described as Woodstock for disabled people.
The pandemic has taken its toll on the disabled community, with face masks preventing people from lip-reading and accessible methods of transportation being shut down.
“This crisis is impacting people who are vulnerable, and this film shows how a lot of that vulnerability is systemic.”
– Co-director Nicole Newnham
Documentaries like these remind us that we often take for granted our ability to live flexibly, especially during this global crisis. It is especially hard to acknowledge other people’s hardships when we are isolated from the outside world. Crip Camp is among those documentaries which can help widen our worldview from the safety of our home.
Experiences From Home
There are only a handful of things you can do from home, though many people are stretching the bounds by streaming concerts from their living rooms and filming late-night episodes from dining room tables. Television shows are the most frequented method of escaping from reality. However, traditional dramas and the myriad of reality shows can disengage us from the authenticity of the outside world. The next five documentaries will let you experience the world from the safety of your home.
1. Apollo 11
Sit back on your couch and watch the entire moon landing, like thousands of other Americans did fifty years ago. Apollo 11 is a nostalgic jump back in time to 1969, as though you were standing inches away from the action.
The documentary is an audiovisual puzzle pieced together with found footage from a 70 mm lens. The producers made sure to include as many of the men behind the scenes and their crucial roles in the expedition as they could. You will also see Buzz Aldrin’s high definition footage of the surface of the moon on his 60 mm as they’re landing.
2. Human Flow
While stuck indoors, perhaps resenting the four walls around you, it’s easy to take the simple comfort of home and community for granted. Human Flow is considered one of the most powerful documentaries about the human experience. The film chronicles millions of people’s brutal emigration across twenty-three war-torn countries, desperately looking for a place to settle and call home once again.
Chinese conceptional artist and director Ai Weiwei calls attention to the 21st-century migrant conditions that currently plague our world. Of all the documentaries on this list, this is the most socially conscious which tackles one of the most prevalant issues we face today. The film stirs up a profound empathy for mankind and reconnects us to the truth about our world. You can do something to help, even from the confines of your home. The film’s website offers three charity options. You can provide displaced families with supplies they desperately need, crowdfund microloans for emigrants’ potential businesses, and sign-up for updates about refugees in the U.S. and how you can help.
3. Well Groomed
For those of you at home with a furry companion, you might consider watching documentaries that you both can enjoy. On a normal day, without COVID-19, many of us would never have the time to go to a dog grooming competition. By watching, you can attend and never pay the price of admission. While there have been documentaries on the art of dog grooming and its international competitions, this is the first one about competitive creative grooming.
Well Groomed presents you with the experience of glam grooming. Watch as a poodle gets turned into a dinosaur, all with the magic of a trim and some hair dye.
4. First Monday In May
This month you can support the fashion industry during this global crisis by watching First Monday In May. Magnolia Pictures has vowed to donate a portion of this month’s proceedings to A Common Thread, Vogue and CFDA’s joint initiative to support those in the industry that are being heavily affected by COVID-19.
Dress-up in your fanciest costume and attend the Met Gala from your living room! The Met Gala is concealed in a lot of hype and exclusivity. Invitations are highly sought after, and many of us live our entire lives knowing we would never attend. This film finally opens the doors to the mysterious glitz and glamour. Learn about all the organization and coordination behind the scenes, as well as the history behind this 70-year-old event.
5. Ballet 422
Like many events where people overcrowd spaces, the Ballet has been canceled. Months of practice and years of training have culminated in a global crisis that put ballet dancers’ big night to an end. Ballet 422 chronicles all the work that goes into performing at the ballet that the film Black Swan never exposed.
There are some companies that are live-streaming their shows during this global crisis. These artists never stop practicing and keeping up with their training, their jobs were not stifled by this pandemic. You can support them and all their hard work by attending their shows from home. The SF ballet even created a dance for a video chain mail that went viral.
People To Meet
As we get comfortable in our homes and our communities of friends and family, we forget the refreshing feeling of meeting new people. Use this solitary time to get to know some people that you would never meet while walking the streets today. The following documentaries chronicle the lives of a few iconic members of our society that should never be forgotten.
1. The Death And Life Of Marsh P. Johnson
This documentary follows the life and murder of one of the key activists of the Trans Rights Movement. Marsha was a key participant at Stonewall in 1969, the riot that sparked the Gay Rights Movement. Unfortunately, Marsha’s life was cut short, like thousands of other transgender and non-conforming people every year.
Every year, the Human Rights Campaign tracks the number of transgender and non-conforming people killed by violence in the United States. Many of these people are still awaiting justice like Marsha and many others have been forgotten. In 2019, when transgendered activist Gwen Smith realized these disenfranchised people weren’t getting the recognition they deserved, she created Transgendered Day of Remembrance (November 20th).
2. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Our neighbors are incidentally the people we are surrounded by the most, especially during this quarantine. People all over the world are interacting with their neighbors and putting on concerts from their balconies. Mr. Rogers was a man that valued communication and understanding. Won’t You Be My Neighbor? draws attention to the message of love and acceptance that Mr. Rogers wanted to communicate to the world.
Many parents are at their wits end homeschooling their children, perhaps for the first time, during this pandemic. This documentary will inspire new ways of teaching your children about the hardships plaguing our world, and the best way to communicate with them comfortably.
3. Jane
If you’ve ever found yourself staring outside your window at your neighbors wondering what they’ve been up to in quarantine then you can relate to Jane Goodall. At a very young age, Jane was fascinated by chimpanzees and how similar they are to mankind. For months, with very little experience, Goodall trekked from her camp into the forest to observe the daily lives of chimps.
National Geographic had sent a camera crew and photographer to chronicle her research in 1962. This documentary has compiled that footage from the 16 mm film and colorized it to perfection. Much like Apollo 11, this footage has never been seen in such high quality, as though you are pushing through the forest behind Goodall.
4. Amy
If you’re like me, you’ve been playing a lot of music while at home to fill the silence. You’ve perhaps been meaning to look into some of your favorite artists but haven’t found the time. While I strongly suggest researching and hopefully supporting some of your favorite artists, I would highly recommend getting to know Amy Winehouse in this A24 documentary.
Unfortunately, fame has many victims. While it’s common knowledge most people in the entertainment industry hate paparazzi, many of us might not realize is that not everyone enjoys the limelight. Amy Winehouse is a perfect example of an artist that was never prepared for fame and never wanted it, to begin with.
5. What Happened, Miss Simone?
The classic music icon and activist rebel, Nina Simone lived a fast and mysterious life. Nina was born an incredibly talented pianist and perpetually excellent in the entertainment industry. While it was never easy being a Black female musician in the 1960’s Nina’s talents could not be stifled. She gained notoriety quickly, appearing on billboard charts and performing on Hugh Hefner’s show Playboy’s Penthouse.
Nina Simone was acquainted with many of the great leaders of the Civil Rights Movement; a movement that’s still relevant today. Police brutality darkens America’s past and present, with hundreds of Black Americans being unjustly murdered without any consequences.
Sixty years after the fight for basic human rights, the Black Lives Matter Movement finds themselves fighting for Black people’s right to peace and justice. To find out all the ways you can help, visit the Black Lives Matter website also discover why many activists from the Civil Rights Movement call her “the patron saint of the rebellion.”
Brain up!
It can be hard to remember in isolation, but the Earth keeps on spinning while we sit at home. While we all look out our windows at our limited view of the world, it’s important to introduce a little variety in our lives. Rather than queuing up another reality show or drama series, take a look at any one of these documentaries. Hopefully, these documentaries will reconnect you to the ever-changing world we live in and encourage you to make a difference during your time here. Now, more than ever, we can fully appreciate all what we are cut off from and how inspiring being out in the world can be.