Social & Political Documentary movies

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Immersive Realistic Tense Intimate Brutal

Overview

Directors Hetherington and Junger spend a year with the 2nd Battalion of the United States Army located in one of Afghanistan's most dangerous valleys. The documentary provides insight and empathy on how to win the battle through hard work, deadly gunfights and mutual friendships while the unit must push back the Taliban.

Themes

Sacrifice and memory, Brotherhood under fire, Isolation and duty, Trust with local communities, Leadership under hardship, Endurance through danger

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Realistic Tense Dry Clinical Measured

Overview

Michael Moore comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).

Themes

Economic inequality, Corporate dominance, Foreclosure and labor action, Plutocracy risk, Democracy over capitalism, Financial exploitation

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Bleak Deliberate Clinical Measured Nerve-wracking

Overview

The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.

Themes

Environmental activism, Government complicity, Visibility vs secrecy, Economic incentives in hunting, Public awareness and risk

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Claustrophobic Brutal Deliberate Relentless Minimalist

Overview

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

Themes

Memory as defense, War memory fragmentation, Trauma and testimony, Veterans and civilians impact, Witnessing and recollection, Media and memory ethics

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Raw Bleak Deliberate Clinical Intense

Overview

An in-depth look at the torture practices of the United States in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantanamo Bay, focusing on an innocent taxi driver in Afghanistan who was tortured and killed in 2002.

Themes

State sanctioned interrogation, Civilian vulnerability in conflict, Bounty driven detentions, Accountability under military power, Expansion of torture practices, Violation of international norms

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Realistic Tense Steady Dry Clinical

Overview

A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States who's main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance the more money we make" is the business model for health care providers in America.

Themes

Bureaucratic denial of care, Cross-border health disparities, Systemic inequality, Advocacy and reform pressure, Profit motive in healthcare, Public vs private systems

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Tense Steady Dry Clinical Minimalist

Overview

A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.

Themes

Public persuasion challenges, Climate emergency framing, Scientific consensus vs denial, Data driven advocacy, Environmental responsibility ethics, Long-term ecological risk

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Immersive Tense Atmospheric Deliberate Clinical

Overview

Interviews with leading authors, philosophers and scientists, with an in-depth discussion of the Law of Attraction. The audience is shown how they can learn and use 'The Secret' in their everyday lives.

Themes

Belief vs evidence, Self-help rhetoric vs science, Mass persuasion dynamics, Access vs concealment, Power secrecy dynamics, Interviews shaping perception

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Realistic Bleak Clinical Relentless Intense

Overview

Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.

Themes

Animal rights, Speciesism critique, Industrial animal exploitation, Surveillance through cameras, Vegan ethics, Parallels to racism and sexism

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Steady Intimate Bleak Dry Deliberate

Overview

Is American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki's shrewd and intelligent polemic would seem to give an affirmative answer to each of these questions.

Themes

Public manipulation, Military-industrial complex, Perpetual wartime policy, Veterans and casualties, Economic incentives of war, Policy dominance and influence

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