Our team compiled the best documentaries on Netflix and here is what they came up with
The world can be all the more enticing to learn about through the genre of documentaries. There’s more than one type of documentary that explores various topics. They can be about the history of movies, civil rights, retail stores, and even something as obscure as commercial jingles. Netflix has all that, and more in these top 14 best documentaries on Netflix picks for the streaming service.
Here are the 14 best documentaries on Netflix to check out on the streaming service.
1. Best Documentaries on Netflix – Is That Black Enough For You?
Elvis Mitchell has seen a lot of movies as a film critic. He takes that wealth of movie knowledge and shines a light on African-Americans’ slow yet notable progress in cinema. With the aid of some black celebrities voicing their experience with the medium, the history of black cinema is explored from the ugly depictions in The Birth of a Nation to the triumphs of films like Dolemite and Shaft. It’s a lyrical documentary that is expertly written and narrated by Mitchell, providing an incredibly valuable voice on how movies handle race.
2. 13th
Director Ava DuVernay turns her focus away from the fiction of African-American struggles to fundamental issues of racial inequality. 13th focuses on criminal justice and how prisons overflow with wrongfully imprisoned black people. DuVernay lays down the specifics and the emotions of this tough problem with the American justice system. The title relates to the Thirteenth Amendment for abolishing slavery and how little has changed in the current climate. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, 13th has held up so well it became one of the most-watched movies on Netflix amid the murder of George Floyd in 2020.
3. Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Mister Rogers was a legendary TV icon for encouraging growth and self-esteem in children all over the country. What started as a little show at PBS soon transformed into one of the greatest TV educators of the 20th century. His career in television and inspiring generations is covered in this documentary, featuring loads of clips from the show and interviews with those who knew him best. The documentary is entrancing even for those who never grew up watching Rogers, considering his strives towards commenting on war and racism in the most meaningful ways for children.
4. Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal and Greed
Many people know Bob Ross as the man with the afro who taught people how to paint on PBS. You’ve probably seen merchandise of him littered around department stores. This documentary, however, reveals the darker side of his career. Not so much from Bob himself but those who took advantage of his success. With shocking interviews and sad revelations, you’ll never look at Bob Ross merch the same way again after this tell-all documentary.
5. The Last Blockbuster
Blockbuster Video used to be the place to go for renting movies. With entertainment moving further from physical media, Blockbuster Video locations shut down worldwide. All except one. The Last Blockbuster documents the day-to-day business of being the last Blockbuster Video store left in the world. The film also features plenty of interviews with noted customers and celebrities who divulge the history and experience behind the video store. It’s a nostalgic trip for anybody who remembers renting VHS tapes or racing to get the last DVD copy on the shelf.
6. Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America
ACLU deputy legal director Jeffery Robinson gives a landmark presentation on the nature of racism in America. He doesn’t just focus on one key event or specific area, instead choosing to highlight all the major wins and losses over the long history of civil rights. Peppered throughout the live performance are interviews where Robinson speaks with everybody from victims of police brutality to protestors for Confederate monuments. It’s an eye-opening experience and an essential must-watch for getting a firmer grasp on how America had handled racism, how it’s handling it now, and how we’ll face it in the future.
7. Youth V Gov
Starting in 2015, several young people under the age of 24 took it upon themselves to sue the US government for the climate crisis. Fed up with the world they’re being left with, the many young and determined boys and girls decided to do something against those ruining the environment. Though it’s a seemingly impossible fight, it’s a fight worth having as director Christi Cooper delivers a powerful documentary on the importance of youth activism.
8. American Factory
With factory jobs decaying in America, a new shift in the workforce could be felt in the country. American Factory centers around a car factory in Ohio purchased and reopened by a Chinese billionaire. The residents are initially happy to be working again but soon find their working-class perspectives are drowned out by stiffer demands of the Chinese and union busting. Honest and revealing about the nature of capitalism’s decay on the working class, this Oscar-nominated documentary is a must-watch for getting a perspective on the nature of American car production.
9. Into the Inferno
Legendary director Werner Herzog turns his attention to the world of volcanoes with volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer. The two of them travel the globe to learn all about how volcanoes have not only reshaped the world but developed cultures around them. The locations visited include Indonesia, Ethiopia, and North Korea, each spot having a different way of reacting to volcanic activity. Far more than a standard nature documentary, Into the Inferno delves deeper into the topic of volcanoes than any other movie.
10. Best Documentaries on Netflix – Bathtubs Over Broadway
Steve Young has an odd obsession with music. He studies and collects musical renditions specifically performed by corporations for internal use at events and in videos. Companies like Mcdonald’s and General Motors have a hidden history in this type of musical production, leading to Steve unearthing incredible performances and campy footage worthy of getting his discoveries featured on David Letterman. It’s a film as funny for the old footage as it is compelling for realizing there was a musical branch concealed within companies.