A couple of documentaries. I'm not gonna rate them because they're dealing with some heavy stuff:
The Black Box Diaries
Documents a high profile rape case in Japan from the perspective of the victim, herself a journalist. Naturally gets into the antiquated laws and politics and culture around sexual violence, which was the most interesting part for me.
Sugarland
Investigating a boarding school for native people in Canada where of course the kids were abused and killed. I remember following this in the new a few years ago when they found a bunch of previously hidden graves. It's a tough one to watch both because of the subject matter but also it's very slow paced as the survivors are old but- at the risk of sounding preach- everyone needs to know about this stuff.
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
I really don't know what to think about this. The subject matter is fascinating to me- it basically is a social studies lesson about the political history of post-colonial Africa; how 16 countries entered the U.N., the awkward and exploitive transition to independence, the crazy Cold War crap everyone was up to.
The presentation is right up my alley, and I've seen this sort of musical collage approach like in The Blackpower Mixtape, where there's no narrator instead it's a lot of music, intercutting culture with politics and text on the screen to glue the narrative together.
And the soundtrack here is my favorite music- jazz (and jazz adjacent). Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, Miriam Makeba, et al, tons of glorious footage and performances, culminating in Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln's direct involvement in the politics. These are my gods and I'm elated when I see/hear them. So much so that I forget I'm watching a serious political documentary. Sometimes it's hard to follow what was going on with all the politicking when in my heart I'd rather have heard the end of Dizzy's solo. Especially at 2.5 hours I had to watch this in a couple sessions.
It's certainly a vibe though so I do recommend it but take notes and read about some of these people later on your own, it's... a lot.
The Black Box Diaries
Documents a high profile rape case in Japan from the perspective of the victim, herself a journalist. Naturally gets into the antiquated laws and politics and culture around sexual violence, which was the most interesting part for me.
Sugarland
Investigating a boarding school for native people in Canada where of course the kids were abused and killed. I remember following this in the new a few years ago when they found a bunch of previously hidden graves. It's a tough one to watch both because of the subject matter but also it's very slow paced as the survivors are old but- at the risk of sounding preach- everyone needs to know about this stuff.
Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat
I really don't know what to think about this. The subject matter is fascinating to me- it basically is a social studies lesson about the political history of post-colonial Africa; how 16 countries entered the U.N., the awkward and exploitive transition to independence, the crazy Cold War crap everyone was up to.
The presentation is right up my alley, and I've seen this sort of musical collage approach like in The Blackpower Mixtape, where there's no narrator instead it's a lot of music, intercutting culture with politics and text on the screen to glue the narrative together.
And the soundtrack here is my favorite music- jazz (and jazz adjacent). Dizzy Gillespie, Nina Simone, Louis Armstrong, Miriam Makeba, et al, tons of glorious footage and performances, culminating in Max Roach and Abbey Lincoln's direct involvement in the politics. These are my gods and I'm elated when I see/hear them. So much so that I forget I'm watching a serious political documentary. Sometimes it's hard to follow what was going on with all the politicking when in my heart I'd rather have heard the end of Dizzy's solo. Especially at 2.5 hours I had to watch this in a couple sessions.
It's certainly a vibe though so I do recommend it but take notes and read about some of these people later on your own, it's... a lot.
