1) Poor Kids (2011) Poor Kids is sad but necessary viewing. The documentary examines the lives of children living in poverty in the UK today. It looks at life from the perspective of three children – Sam, Courtney and Paige – living in some of the most deprived areas of the country. The common hardships and struggles that children living in poverty face are made painfully clear through inadequate housing, suffering physical and mental health and the constant financial fears their parents live with.
My opinion: Poor Kids is a really touching and sad insight into a reality many people in the UK do not want to accept exists. The fact that an industrialized and economically developed country cannot look after its own children makes the viewer feel incredibly frustrated. The hardest part of the documentary for me to watch was seeing how mature the children really were. They had a pessimistic but realistic outlook on what their poor circumstances would mean for their chances and opportunities in later life – and this made for very difficult viewing. One of the saddest lines is when one of the children, Courtney, comments on this and says “In my future there’s gonna be loads of bad things and only a few good things…I’m going to be poor when I grow up.”
2) Blackfish (2013) The documentary that has been making headlines since its recent release is a must-watch. Blackfish examines the killing track record of one killer whale (Tilikum) at SeaWorld resort and questions the current practices and blatant lies told by an industry that makes millions from whales in captivity. Director Gabriela Cowperthwaite interviews past SeaWorld trainers and fishermen who were first forced to remove killer whales from their natural habitats, in order to establish a picture of the cruel mistreatment of whales at the hands of humans.
My opinion: Blackfish is a documentary that allows you to see the SeaWorld industry for what it really is – a money-making machine that exploits animals. While the passion and love the trainers have for the whales is clear, the cover-ups and lies they are forced to tell the general public are all a means of keeping investigations and controversy at bay. The sad reality is that places like SeaWorld have served for so long as the main means of informing children and adults about the biology and history of whales that the mistreatment and psychosis it appears many whales in captivity suffer from is seen as part of their natural behavior and form.
3) “The 16 Year Old Killer” Cyntoia (2013) This documentary tells the story of a young American girl who is facing life imprisonment for the killing of a 43-year-old man. Cyntoia was 16 and working as a prostitute when she shot one of her clients out of fear that he was about to kill her. The documentary explains Cyntoia’s story by looking at the poor circumstances she was in at the time and the history of drugs, poverty, crime and sexual abuse that has not only plagued her but other women in her family for generations. The documentary is a powerful insight into the mind of an incredibly strong and mature young woman who has been forced to confront spending the rest of her life in a prison cell when she has never really been given a chance at life herself.
My opinion: The documentary is a tough exploration of the hardships faced by all of the women in Cyntoia’s family. The sad part is that as a viewer you feel the same sense they do – that they can never escape their troubled history of abuse and crime. The film made me feel a lot of compassion and understanding for Cyntoia’s decisions given that the upbringing and circumstances surrounding her were inescapable. However, I think an important part of the documentary is the questions it raises about the US legal and justice system – something which is being increasingly questioned in international media with new cases similar to Cyntoia’s.
4) Children Underground (2001) Possibly the saddest documentary I have ever seen. I found ‘Children Underground’ very hard to watch but could not stop thinking about it once I had finished. Children Underground is about a group of young Romanian street children and teenagers who make their home in the underground station of the capital – Bucharest. Some of the children have run away from institutions and orphanages and others are running away from the abusive and impoverished conditions their families live in. The upsetting reality is that some of the children with families would rather be living on the streets with other kids than in their home environments. The children try to steel money, food and anything that makes their life any easier – which most disturbingly involves inhaling chemical paint for the sake of getting high and escaping reality.
My opinion: The documentary examines the awful situation of child abandonment and deprivation in post-communist Romania. Witnessing the unbearable circumstances the children in the film have found themselves in is bad enough. Yet, realising that this is happening in a country with little to means of dealing with the problem makes things even worse. It’s quite difficult to see the way everyday commuters on the underground in Bucharest ignore the children living there but it makes you realise just how common a feature street children are in Romania and how deep the problem lies in the history of this nation. More recent documentaries of a similar focus have also been made about children in Bulgaria and the Ukraine – both of these can be found on YouTube.
5) Michael Palin’s Around the World in 80 Days (1989) Thankfully, a much more cheerful and relaxing documentary than many of the ones I have recommended! British comedian and travel enthusiast Michael Palin journeys around the world in 80 days meeting lots of interesting people, trying new cuisines and experiencing a variety of cultures from across the globe. Palin meets his deadline by completing his world trek in 79 days and 7 hours. The series is split into seven episodes and is full of plenty of laughs the whole way through.
My opinion: I love Michael Palin! In the same way that people say they could listen to David Attenborough’s calming voice talk about animals and insects all day…I could listen to Michael Palin’s talking about travel! In my opinion there is no better person for presenting a travel documentary series. Michael Palin comes across as a likeable and culturally inquisitive presenter and this makes for better viewing because he is very welcomed by the different people and cultures he encounters. Around the World in 80 Days is perhaps Palin’s best travel series and I really like it when he gets recognised by Monty Python enthusiasts from other countries!
6) When Louis Theroux met…Jimmy Saville (2000) Louis Theroux documentaries are some of the best to watch. There are various ones I could have included in my recommendation but I chose to avoid the always popular ‘America’s Most Hated Family (Westboro Baptist Church).’ Instead, I chose ‘When Louis Theroux met…Jimmy Saville.’ The documentary is part of a series of Louis meeting UK celebrities and being welcomed into filming and constantly questioning their day to day lives. In this episode Louis meets TV presenter, Radio host and DJ – Jimmy Saville. The documentary now makes for very interesting and unnerving watching in the light of the recent allegations and evidence declaring Jimmy Saville as a sex offender. In the episode Louis and his film team stay with Jimmy in his apartment in Leeds – where he has has no oven in his apartment because he doesn’t like to cook and only a digestive biscuit in the fridge! They also travel with him to his house in the Scottish highlands and to the home he once shared with his beloved mother – who he disturbingly refers to as “the Duchess.”
My opinion: With hindsight you can see watching this documentary small glimpses into the dark, hidden sexual abuse scandals that Jimmy Saville thought he had taken with him to the grave. His whole behaviour and demeanor throughout the documentary is one of trying to entertain and make jokes in order to distract Louis from asking the prying questions he is unwilling to answer. Much of the documentary showcases his commitment, in the later part of his life, to supporting charities. However, it seems very clear from the documentary that this is once again a means of distracting the media and the public from his true private life.
7) Terry Pratchett: Choosing To Die (2011) British author Terry Pratchett is in the early stages of Alzheimers. As a sufferer of a disease in which he is one day likely to be unaware of who he is, who his family are and unable to make decisions about his own life, Terry is keen to investigate the stories of individuals who choose to die. The documentary follows the stories of individuals who have their wits about them but are suffering from serious degenerative illnesses and therefore have chosen to die by process of assisted suicide at the Dignitas Clinic in Switzerland. Terry is given special permission by the individuals to accompany them to Switzerland to witness the very final stages of their lives.
My opinion: A distressing and upsetting documentary to watch but one that raises very important moral and ethical questions. Th most difficult part of the documentary is that you see one of the individual’s sadly pass away at the clinic in the very end of the film but it almost feels necessary to watch in order to make a judgement on assisted suicide and the Dignitas clinic. One of the individuals who Terry travels with to Dignitas is only 42 years-old but his daily struggles and pain caused by severe multiple sclerosis are enough to make him want to end his life at this stage.
8) The Scheme (2010/2011) The Scheme is a documentary series about the life of a few individuals and families living on a council estate scheme in Kilmarnock, Scotland. The Scheme is a hard look at the ups and downs of the lives of people on the estate over the course of a year. The documentary looks at the efforts of parents within the housing scheme to keep their children off hard drugs such as Heroin and away from drinking/causing anti-social behaviour. It also explores the struggles some individuals have to keep themselves out of prison and away from trouble and the desire some of the estate have to refurbish the community centre in the hope it will bring new benefits to local residents.
My opinion: As a student at university in Scotland I had heard people mention The Scheme in conversation a lot. After finding out what it was about I decided to watch it and see for myself. Although, the series has been criticized as “poverty porn” I think that has little to do with the intentions and quality of the documentary and more to do with the ways the individuals in the series have been exploited and showcased in national tabloids. Personally, I think The Scheme presents life on the estate from the perspectives of the people it features and not from an outsider looking in – which is very important. Clearly, it does not particularly show all the good aspects of life on the estate but at least it tells them from the view of the people living there.
9) Living with Michael Jackson (2003) Living with Michael Jackson has been one of the most talked about celebrity documentaries since it first aired in 2003. The documentary follows intrusive British journalist Martin Bashir interviewing the singer over a period of eight months. Bashir begins the documentary by saying that he put a proposal to Michael Jackson to show the interviewer the “real Michael Jackson” and not to hold anything back – Michael Jackson agreed. The documentary is so popular because it includes some of Jackson’s most candid interviews ever. Bashir forces him to confront the personal life topics the media are constantly questioning him about, such as; his children, sex life, his face and of course – his music. The first part of the documentary focuses on Michael Jackson in his Neverland theme park home – the centre of where child abuse scandals were made against him. Martin Bashir’s interviewing style is certainly pushy and Jackson is seen in his most uncomfortable state but this makes for a more interesting documentary in which much of what was not said has been a source of continual fascination since the star’s death.
My opinion: The documentary is definitely worth a watch considering it is about a man who was constantly at the centre of media interest but remained an enigma. It’s hard to say how much Bashir’s interviewing really brings the viewer closer to understanding who Michael Jackson was and whether he was guilty or not of the allegations made against him. However, I think it gives a very clear insight into his difficult childhood of performing. His obsession with Peter Pan is a tell-tale sign of someone who felt their “normal” childhood was taken from them – all in the name of fame and fortune.
10) Make Me a Muslim (2013) The documentary looks at the lives of five white British women who have chosen to abandon the stereotypical lifestyle of many young women in the UK of partying and drinking by converting to Islam. The women are all from different backgrounds and different regions of the UK but all of them have struggled in some way – to have their decision fully accepted by family members or by the new Muslim communities they are entering into.
My opinion: Make Me a Muslim is a really interesting documentary that looks at the lives of white British Muslim converts – an identity which is never really examined but seems to be becoming increasingly popular. The documentary is an uplifting one because you feel a sense of awe at the bravery of the women to be so open-minded and embrace a new culture and religion. Their passion and desire to educate themselves about Islam and live a good Muslim life is fascinating. The women explain how they have to ignore being stared at and talked about because their commitment to their new found way of life is what really matters to them.
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