“The Century of the Self” by Adam Curtis. https://youtu.be/eJ3RzGoQC4s It goes through each decade of the 1900s and explains how Freud’s psychology and the new field of marketing completely reshaped society. For the first time in my life I feel like I understood the “why” of how things work in American society. This film is probably best if you’re age 40+ and actually remember some of the events.
Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
501–510 of 568 posts
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#502It was as good as it seemed.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#503Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#504Style Wars (1983) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Style_Wars It documents the rise of Graffiti and Hip Hop culture in New York.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#505The movie was somehow informally banned in USA, though it was shown in Europe.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#506It's about a Japanese veteran of WWII seeking out and confronting his superiors that he's accusing of cannibalism.
All the films of Kazuo Hara are intense and very personal.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#507https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOXSI_vcqK8
Around the turn of the century, my dad's good friend and longtime collaborator Allen Ross vanishes from one day to the next, just after they have finished shooting a film about the Mississippi. Years later, my dad returns to the US to find out what happened to his friend.
It's his most personal film for sure, and I remember him going off to the US for weeks and faxing us letters to keep in touch. It's also the one that had him most scared, he took out life insurance before he left because of the people he was looking into.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#508Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#509My Octopus Teacher https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2021/05/harvard-panel...
I could’ve spent my time better if I’d watched this and avoided “My Octopus Teacher” altogether.
Re: Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?
#510Earlier quoted context omitted.
This got a lot of on the internet, but I found it so incredibly boring.
Can you explain why? I found it such a deft exposition on both zoology and philosophy. So good.