If you’re like me, as soon as summer hit, there were some days you needed to do something to occupy your time with the load of schoolwork gone. I decided, as many people do, to watch Netflix, but I couldn’t find anything to watch because I’ve watched all the main, popular TV shows and movies streaming right now. I chose to watch some documentaries. Netflix has an extensive list of documentaries some people have not ventured into. I like to know random things, even though they may not provide me anything but a bar trivia title, so this was right up my alley. Here are some of the best documentaries I found (don’t worry, no spoilers):
• Undefeated (2011) I couldn’t believe I had not seen this before. It is about the Manassas High School football team, which is in Memphis, only 20 minutes from the university. Coach Bill Courtney led the team to a state championship after years and years of the city school having losing seasons. More than teaching the team football, Courtney taught the inner-city boys what it is like to be men. He made sure the boys could eventually get out of the poverty situations they were in at home. He taught them that they did not have to follow in the footsteps of their relatives. They could get out.
• Food Inc. (2008) Beware to be willing to not eat fast food, or really meat in general, after watching this film. It is about the factory farming issue in the United States. Some people say “Yea, I know what I eat when I eat fast food.” But you don’t really until you watch this. The filmmaker set out to solve one question: “Where is my food coming from?” What he discovered wasn’t just as simple as a farm in the Midwest. The meat industry giants would not even let the camera crew inside most of the farm buildings, sort of showing there is something they do not want people to see. It is a tough film to watch for animal lovers, but as American consumers, it is important that we know what is going on with our food and where it comes from.
• Fantastic Lies (2016) This is the lone ESPN 30 for 30 episode I am including on this list. I had not even heard of the Duke Lacrosse scandal until seeing this film. I was only 10 years old when it was occurring, and a rape scandal probably just didn’t hold my attention at the time. Back in 2006, a stripper accused players from Duke University’s lacrosse team of rape. And, as it should be, her complaint was taken very seriously and tore up the lives of these boys for the next couple years. Only one thing was wrong: The alleged assault never happened.
• Blackfish (2013) Many people know of the tragedies of the reality of Sea World, and if you don’t, this film is a great way to get acquainted with the situation. If you do know about Sea World, this is a great film to give you more information on what they are doing. The film follows the history of the captivity of killer whales and the consequences it has for both the animals and humans. There have been a few incidents of an orca injuring or killing trainers, and the film tries to show why the animals did this and the steps that can be taken to prevent another incident.
• The Imposter (2012) Most people assume they will always recognize their own child, but it may not be as easy as it seems. In The Imposter, parents in San Antonio, Texas, received a call saying their missing son of three years was found in the middle of Spain. As they would later find out, it was not their son. It was a 23-year-old French man acting like the would be 16-year-old boy, and he fooled everyone involved from immigration services to the boy’s mother. We like to think this country is pretty safe, but this man lied his way into even attending an American high school as the missing boy. The film is just such a far-fetched story that is so hard to believe is really true. • Dear Zachary (2008) My personal favorite of all the movies on this list, Dear Zachary is so interesting and has so many plot twists. Filmmaker Kurt Kuenne decided to make a film about the life of his friend, Andrew Bagby, who was murdered by his ex-girlfriend. The film originally was only for Bagby’s newborn son and close friends of Bagby to remember him by, but as events unfolded during shooting, Keunne changed the purpose of the film and decided to make it public. Essentially, the film is about the corrupt justice system and the dangers of bail. There is only so much I can say about the film without giving away the whole plot, but it is a must-watch any time you have an hour and a half to kill.
