Your Favorite Documentaries

[Chad]

My all time favorite documentary was "The Journey of Man" by National Geographic.

The conclusion was that all humans alive today are descended from a single man who lived in Africa around 60,000 years ago.

Very cool!

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/n...rneyofman.html

[EnchantedNightDweller]

Originally Posted by Daniela

I just watched Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief , a really interesting brand-new documentary about how nuts Scientology is. Apparently the Church of Scientology forbids it's members from watching it...or anything in the news about Scientology. L. Ron Hubbard was insane!

I just watched that too and it is excellent. It's amazing how brainwashed people can be. The stuff they believe about Xenu and Thetans is really out there!

[Daniela]

Originally Posted by EnchantedNightDweller

I just watched that too and it is excellent. It's amazing how brainwashed people can be. The stuff they believe about Xenu and Thetans is really out there!

It is! I thought it was interesting that many who left said they believed and stayed for so long because the alternative was confronting the fact that they had been brainwashed. I can't imagine the shame and embarrassment that occurs when you've been manipulated in that way for so long. It must be hard to break free of that, especially when your whole family is deeply involved.

[Tierney]

Just watched one last night - National Geo on Yellowstone National Park. It was excellent. Tonight I am thinking about re-watching the Planet Earth series.

[deathbypoem]

Originally Posted by Tierney

Just watched one last night - National Geo on Yellowstone National Park. It was excellent. Tonight I am thinking about re-watching the Planet Earth series.

Planet Earth is just absolutely stellar. I love that series!

[MysticOceansFL]

Anything having to do with ancient buildings and our history past.
I watch America unearth that's a good example

[Daniela]

Originally Posted by MysticOceansFL

Anything having to do with ancient buildings and our history past.
I watch America unearth that's a good example

What about Ancient Aliens?

[Chicklette]

I am one of those people, that need to see it to believe it. Well so I thought. I saw only in black and white, until something hit me square in the face. People often covet or desire. The generic term is called want. I chose to think differently, I tore apart my mind picking out what I needed. In all reality I had it, I had water, food, warmth. Anything else was extra.

I still think like that.

[MysticOceansFL]

Originally Posted by Daniela

What about Ancient Aliens?

I watch that also at times, I believe the real history about what truly happened was kept seceret from us and we were taught totally different of what truly happened plus my believe is not with " a god " but with a spirit , it's hard to explain or put into words and I rarely talk about it.

[Kobi]

"Based on the book The emperor of all maladies : a biography of cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee."


A Ken Burns film presenting a history of cancer theories and treatments, from ancient times to the present day. Includes not only the medical stuff but the political, legal, activist, and people influences as well.


Very informative. Interesting history including the major players, the trials and errors, the ethical dilemmas, and a bunch of stuff I never knew.

Comes with a warning that this may not be appropriate for all audiences. Some history may be disturbing. Some graphic images may be upsetting.

[gotoseagrl]

Revealing the Unfamiliar is a documentary about the lives of both the Transgender Community and the ones who love and care about them.

[Kobi]

Through extensive archival materials and interviews with scholars and notable Italian-Americans, viewers will learn the story of those who played vital roles in helping to shape a unique Italian-American identity.

Disc 1. Part 1. La Famiglia 1890-1910 ; Part 2. Becoming Americans 1910-1930 -- Disc 2. Part 3. Loyal Americans 1930-1945 ; Part 4. The American dream 1945-today.

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So much of my own history I never knew.

[Kobi]

One area in which equality between gay and straight people is a given is age: We’re all getting older, and for some seniors (or near-seniors) advancing age equals advancing invisibility.

That’s sadly true for the three autumnal subjects in “Before You Know It,” a bittersweet documentary that follows three gay men in different parts of the country who feel time and change breathing down their necks.

Filmmaker P.J. Raval expertly interweaves all their stories, including that of septuagenarian loner Dennis Creamer, who waited most of his life to come out as a cross-dresser yearning for gay relationships. He’s a sweet and quiet man, somewhat adrift and estranged from his family; nothing much seems to pierce his sad isolation.

There is also Robert Mainor, the sardonic, larger-than-life owner of a gay bar in Galveston, Texas. Every inch a community leader, Mainor is proud of the oasis he has built for drag queens. Unfortunately, we watch some of the wonderful bombast and life go out of him as illness and legal troubles take a toll.

Finally, there’s Ty Martin, a gay-rights advocate in Harlem who is certainly aware of anti-gay rhetoric arising in his community’s churches. We see Martin anxiously talk to people on the street about LGBT seniors, and how he gets a warmer reception than expected.

During filming, New York’s marriage-equality law passed, leading Ty to believe he and his partner will soon get married.

As with everything else in this film, destiny has other plans.

[MysticOceansFL]

America Unearth.........................

[Kobi]

ANITA tells the story about a young, brilliant African American Anita Hill who accuses the Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas of unwanted sexual advances during explosive Senate Hearings in 1991 and ignites a political firestorm about sexual harassment, race, power and politics that resonates 20 years later today. ANITA is a dramatic look at the consequences to a private citizen acting out of a civic duty to 'speak truth to power.' For the first time on film Anita Hills speaks about her experience in the Senate Hearings, her impact on issues of sexual harassment, workplace rights for women and men, social justice and equality.

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Watching this live in 1991 and watching the film was a powerful look at the ultimate white misogynistic mens club putting a woman to task for airing her story of sexual harrassment in the workplace. It felt like emotional rape then and still does.

Had forgotten Joe Biden was the head of this committee.

[Kobi]

An essential documentary about the birth of the women's liberation movement. Beginning in the late 1960s, featuring never-seen before archival footage and new interviews She's beautiful when she's angry tells the story of one of the most important social movements of the 20th century, bringing to light the efforts of lesser-known activists, including the Boston authors of Our bodies, ourselves, the Chicago Women's Liberation Union, and grassroots organizations across the country who played a pivotal role in the struggle"

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History to some. Life to me.

Nice recap of what life was like before the womens movement, the process of getting angry enough to fight for change, the changes, and how easy it is to lose the gains when people become complacent.

Interesting to see the variety of women involved, describing things themselves. And, to have the lesbians and WOC speak to their part in the process.

BTW, I am still in love with Rita Mae Brown and Karla Jay.

[Kobi]

Consider the Conversation is a series of PBS films created by two long-time Wisconsin friends - Terry Kaldhusdal, a 6th grade history teacher and filmmaker, and Michael Bernhagen, a healthcare business development professional turned hospice advocate.

Both lost loved ones to severe chronic disease during the first part of the 21st century - Mike's mother, Rita, to congestive heart failure and vascular dementia in 2003 and Terry's brother, Peter, to pancreatic cancer in 2009 - and struggled, like most Americans do, to make sense of what was happening.

These personal experiences, combined with Mike's many years of work in the hospice field, led the pair to produce documentaries with one simple goal in mind - inspire culture change that results in end-of-life care that is more person-centered and less system-centered.

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Excellent. Very intense.

[Kobi]

Looks at the remarkable genius of Orson Welles on the eve of his centenary - the enigma of his career as a Hollywood star, a Hollywood director (for some a Hollywood failure), and a crucially important independent filmmaker. Orson Welles's life was magical: a musical prodigy at age ten, a director of Shakespeare at fourteen, a painter at sixteen, a star of stage and radio at twenty, romances with some of the most beautiful women in the world, including Rita Hayworth.

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This was more of an overview of Welles life and career. Brought up more questions than it answered.

I can tell you a young Welles sounds eerily like Frasier Crane.

[Gemme]

I'm not a documentary type person but I picked up Shelter Me and it looks good so far.

[Kobi]

BURT'S BUZZ takes an intimate look at the world of Burt Shavitz, the face and co-founder of Burt's Bees, exploring his fascinating and unique life. Wise and wry, ornery and opinionated, the reclusive Shavitz is committed to living off the land and keeping true to his humble beginnings despite his celebrity status. The film chronicles Burt's life as a photographer, beekeeper, and brand spokesman, following his complicated relationship with the company, his fans, and the world around him. Exposing the collision between business and personal values, "Burt's Buzz" is a compelling and fascinating portrait of this highly idiosyncratic pioneer, and a revealing study of what it means to be a living icon.

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Sometimes documentaries haunt you with unsettling feelings. This was one of those.