Monday Blues? Here’s some quick Netflix go-to documentaries for recharge breaks in between a packed routine:
Amy Tan: Unintended Memoir: In 1989, Amy Tan became an overnight success with the publication of The Joy Luck Club, a novel about the tensions between Chinese mothers and their Americanized daughters. The acclaimed author of six novels, two memoirs, and two children’s books, Tan is the subject of this fantastic new Public Broadcasting Service documentary.
Studio 54: The Documentary: If you recently binged Halston and it ignited a hunger for more cocaine-fuelled glitzy partying content, look no further than Studio 54: The Documentary. This 2018 doc investigates the rapid rise and fall of the legendary New York City club frequented by every celebrity from Mick Jagger to Andy Warhol.
My Octopus Teacher: The 2020 Oscar winner for best documentary, My Octopus Teacher follows one man on his journey to develop a relationship with an octopus off the Cape Town coast. It’s as strange as it sounds, but also a fascinating and utterly unique look at nature.
The Innocence Files: The Innocence Project is a non-profit legal organization that works to reverse wrongful convictions and exonerate innocent individuals through the use of DNA testing. The Innocence Files is a limited series that tells the stories of these heart-breaking cases, exposing the inequality and deceit embedded deep in the criminal justice system.
Explained: This smart series from Vox spotlights topical issues and questions in short, digestible episodes. Not only did they do an episode in 2019 (!) on the next pandemic, the informative episodes cover everything from K-pop to the gender pay gap.
Seaspiracy: We really, really need to do a better job taking care of the ocean (and the Earth at large). But when one documentarian sets out to prove just how much damage we’re doing to the sea, he uncovers much more than he bargained for. Seaspiracy is a damning look at what we’ve done to the Earth in pursuit of getting what we want.
