Social & Political Documentary movies

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Tense Intimate Claustrophobic Bleak Restrained

Overview

As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.

Themes

Documentation as evidence, Siege as reporting constraint, Mourning as social memory, War as external pressure, Journalist resilience under risk

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Realistic Dry Clinical Relentless Measured

Overview

Featuring interviews with performers, activists and past employees, this documentary offers a deep dive into the successes and scandals of Pornhub.

Themes

Labor precarity of sex workers, Non-consensual content debates, Activism vs industry profits, Digital safety and moderation, Deplatforming and payment systems, Platform accountability and regulation

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Realistic Clinical Relentless Measured Vast

Overview

Passionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to marine species — and uncovers an alarming global conspiracy.

Themes

Fishing net governance failures, Worker exploitation ethics, Deep sea fishing regulation, Environmental crisis governance, Political corruption accountability, Environmental destruction accountability

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Intimate Bleak Deliberate Measured Quiet

Overview

When a daughter becomes concerned about her mother's well-being in a retirement home, private investigator Romulo hires Sergio, an 83-year-old man who becomes a new resident—and a mole inside the home, who struggles to balance his assignment with becoming increasingly involved in the lives of several residents.

Themes

Aging care dynamics, Loneliness in elder care, Family absence in care, Undercover observation in care, Caregiver accountability tensions, Resident autonomy vs oversight, Ethical ambiguity in care

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Realistic Dry Deliberate Clinical Relentless

Overview

This documentary-drama hybrid explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations.

Themes

Surveillance capitalism, Advertising-driven engagement, Algorithmic manipulation, Social isolation risk, Digital addiction cycle, Media manipulation tactics

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Tense Dry Clinical Measured Industrial

Overview

In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.

Themes

Class inequality, Culture clash, Labor capital frictions, Foreign investment anxieties, Labor rights, Industrial modernization

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Immersive Tense Bleak Procedural Clinical

Overview

Data—arguably the world’s most valuable asset—is being weaponized to wage cultural and political wars. The dark world of data exploitation is uncovered through the unpredictable, personal journeys of players on different sides of the explosive Cambridge Analytica/Facebook data story.

Themes

Data-driven political influence, Privacy regulation tension, Corporate accountability pressure, Whistleblower exposure, Microtargeting ethics, Public trust erosion

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Immersive Realistic Bleak Dry Measured

Overview

A cautionary tale for these times of democracy in crisis—the personal and political fuse to explore one of the most dramatic periods in Brazilian history. With unprecedented access to Presidents Dilma Rousseff and Lula da Silva, we witness their rise and fall and the tragically polarized nation that remains.

Themes

Democracy in crisis, Personal political fuse, Rise and fall of leaders, Polarized national mood, Family political history, Governance under scrutiny

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Dry Clinical Relentless Fast-paced Oppressive

Overview

Michael Moore's provocative documentary explores the two most important questions of the Trump Era: How did we get here, and how do we get out.

Themes

Media influence on politics, Gun policy and protests, Wealth vs ordinary citizens, Racial rhetoric and division, Institutional power and control, Public accountability and mistrust

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Tense Restrained Deliberate Clinical Measured

Overview

Meet the growing, worldwide community of theorists who defend the belief that the Earth is flat while living in a society who vehemently rejects it.

Themes

Belief vs evidence, Conspiracy theory appeal, Science literacy gap, Identity through belief, Critical thinking erosion, Online community dynamics

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