We don’t have TV, but we do play Netflix movies over the winter on the computer. We took down the desktop and whole TV/sound system this past summer, and wow is it nice! You don’t realize how much room all that stuff takes up til you pack it up and send it to the garage. So we’re on the lowest Netflix plan that you can get and still do the watch instantly unlimited (8.99/month). I love documentaries too, since I can knit or nurse the baby while watching a movie. Not so much with reading :)
Here are some documentaries that we found interesting lately, first link to Amazon if you don’t have Netflix, second to Netflix so you can add it if you want.
- Food Inc (On Netflix)
Lots of bloggers (Kimi, Kelly and more) saw it when it first came out to the theaters this past summer. I’m a little behind the times and just saw it this past week. Really good, about ‘big agriculture’ vs local farmers.
- A Walk To Beautiful (Netflix)
Not about food, but about health and medical conditions in Ethiopia. I occasionally need to be reminded at how blessed and privileged we are here.
- The Beautiful Truth (Netflix)
Covers a wide range of topics, from mercury in fillings to natural cancer cures to Weston A. Price. My husband felt this was the best documentary about real food and holistic health that we’ve seen yet.
- America the Beautiful (Netflix)
About body image in America. Not appropriate for children (strong language, if I remember right) but it was insightful for me as a parent. In this film they touch on a lot of the reasons we choose to shelter our children from media as they are young, though that wasn’t the primary focus. When they’re teens and more able to grasp what is the truth and what is said as an advertisement, we will look forward to taking an objective look at advertising and media with them.
Touches on different issues associated with obesity in America. (Of course we know that Real Food is much more satisfying and wholesome, which in turn helps us to maintain a healthy weight). Presented different opinions on the issue, which I always think is interesting. Even if I don’t agree with them, I like to hear differing viewpoints.
- Fat: What No One is Telling You (Netflix)
This one wasn’t all that great, but toward the end they touched on the fact that the reason gastric bypass surgery works (when it does) is because of the gut/psychology connection, which we already knew from GAPS. I thought that it was interesting that they did note that. They left out all the risks (including psychological) of gastric bypass surgery, though.
- Sweet Misery (Netflix)
About artificial sweeteners and numerous ‘discounted’ studies that show their harm. Moral of the story: Don’t trust the FDA to protect you. Just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s okay.
- Blue Gold: Water Wars (Netflix)
I never thought about or realized all the politics involved with water. Being from the country, and having previously owned land in the country, I was vaguely familiar with water rights and how important it is to not use more water than is replenished in your well. The movie disproves the water cycle myth that we learned in school. Lots of interesting ideas. Didn’t love their ‘solution’ of agriculture indoors, the agriculture method of Polyface farms in Food, Inc. and Omnivore’s Dilemma (review coming eventually, I really enjoyed this book) would be my preferred sustainable solution.
- To Market to Market to Buy a Fat Pig (Netflix)
A fun look at farmers’ markets around the US. Interesting to see the varieties, from what looks like ‘handmade’ but not necessarily from scratch food, to fresh strawberries picked right near 101 in Santa Monica to watching a man climb a coconut tree, lower the coconuts, and sell in a Hawaiian farmer’s market!
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I love this list, thank you for making it and giving just the right amount of detail about each one! I have been on this kick of watching health/ environmental documentaries lately and this list is perfect! If you haven’t already seen it, which you probably have by now, watch No Impact Man.
I’d like to add King Corn, Botany of Desire, and The Future of Food. You can watch all of them instantly so you don’t even have to wait for the disc and they are great!
We’re going to start up Netflix again soon, I’ve seen Future of Food, but not the other two- can’t wait! :D
There’s also one called Fat Head about how the lipid hypothesis is disproved and we should be eating more fat. It’s actually a rebuttal to Morgan Spurlock’s “Supersize Me”. It’s done by a comedian so it’s funny and very informative.
A couple more to try are Fat Sick and Nearly Dead – about going on a juice fast. And then there is Forks Over Knives – not sure how much Merit this one has, but it is still very interesting. Thanks for the list.
Just a heads up if you want to update your list. I haven’t checked all the titles but america the beautiful will be taken off instant in a few days on dec 1 2011. Happy thanksgiving :-)
Have you watched “A Place at the Table”? Do you have any new goodies to recommend to us?
Thanks so much!
Viveca