Saving Capitalism

The documentary “Saving Capitalism” on Netflix was released in 2017 and was influenced by former Secretary of Labor and Professor Robert Reich. This documentary showed that American workers are struggling to survive. The reason this is the case is a result of large corporations such as Amazon and Walmart working directly with the federal government on writing legislation behind the scenes, as well as using loopholes to avoid paying taxes. Reich interviews expose the horrors of capitalism in this documentary in a brutally honest light. This documentary relates to the current climate with Amazon workers in Bessemer Alabama attempting to vote to unionize, much to the annoyance of the online giant.  I highly recommend this documentary to anyone who is interested in business, politics, and capitalism. These systems intersect and show how the American system of government is being used to exploit millions of workers. —Rahm Shoshana 

Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal

The documentary I recently watched was “Operation Varsity Blues: The College Admissions Scandal” on Netflix. I definitely recommended it to my friends. It was surprising how parents who have a lot of money bribe a person who knows how the Ivy League school work, in order to send their own child to these colleges. I could not imagine how the parents are so desperate to send their child to a college in which their son/daughter is not interested in applying to. It is also shocking how the children are not participating in sports and faking it. This is not the right thing to do when applying for colleges. It is important that parents need to accept their own son/daughter decision on whether they want to go to college or not in the future. — Josselyn Cruz

Abducted in Plain Sight

This was a chilling documentary on Netflix about a young girl from a small town in Idaho. In 1974  she was abducted by a close neighbor/family friend. This documentary did a great job of getting primary sources to tell the story, as well as a ton of great footage of the family and abductor. This story has somewhat of a happy ending, which is easy to tell considering the girl who was abducted is the main narrator of the documentary. Despite the audience knowing ultimately how this story ends, it still does a great job of keeping the audience engaged with a gripping story that forces people to question who they trust around them. —Theo Mills

Last Chance U: Basketball

The Emmy-winning docuseries Last Chance U premiered their new spinoff series this month, Last Chance U: Basketball. This new series, much like the original, gives you an honest and gritty look into the harsh world of community college basketball. Over the course of eight episodes, viewers will follow the East Los Angeles College Huskies (ELAC) in their quest to get the California state basketball championship. Led by fiery head coach John Mosley, this ELAC squad is made up of former D1 recruits and gifted athletes grinding to capitalize on the last chance they have to fulfill their dreams of playing at the next level. But this team is constantly faced with adversity and emotions on and off the court. There is a reason why this group of producers and directors are Emmy winners, from the raw emotions to the never-ending drama, this is the epitome of a docuseries. —-Simon Tsehaye

Molly’s Game

I know it’s not a true documentary, but Molly’s game is historically accurate, light on the dramatization (if there is any), and a totally gripping story. It follows the life of former Olympic-prospective skier Molly Bloom; who, after a freak accident at the Olympic qualifiers ends her career, starts running one of the most lucrative and popular underground poker games in Hollywood. Jessica Chastain does a phenomenal job in the lead role, and Aaron Sorkin is a top-tier biopic director. I highly recommend this movie to just  about everyone I meet. — Theo Mills

Tiger King

The most recent documentary I watched was Tiger King on Netflix. It brought to my attention the maltreatment that animals face in sanctuaries such as the one portrayed in the show. It also highlighted the desire and market for exotic cats such as tigers. It shocked me how many personal zoos people were setting up across the country. They would raise these pets by themselves or with a small group of unprofessional zookeepers. I felt sorry for the poor animals. Tiger King also had a vast amount of drama between the owners of each of the zoos. I thought this was too over the top and dramatic but it made me keep watching. Overall, I thought it was a ridiculous documentary that I am glad I watched once, but I would never watch it again. — Christian Seegers

The Social Dilemma

The Social Dilemma was a coed drama and chilling Netflix documentary about the realities of how social media profits off of the 1996-present generation. From the creation of the Facebook ‘like’ button and how it was created to spread love and positivity, its creator acquiesces that over time it has turned into teenage girls torturing themselves over not getting enough likes on a selfie. Creators and CEOs all over the world desire to take the madness they unintentionally created (“giant malls” of unending content creating short attention spans, predatory advertising, political polarization) and keep it directed to impact the world in a positive way.  I will certainly be keeping my phone turned upside down for the time being. — Emily Lorr