Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia. Not sure it is on Netflix anymore, pretty sure it was just put on Amazon.

It was a real eye-opener to me about how dysfunctional entire families can be, mom, dad, aunts, grandparents....Does make you think some kids will never have a chance.

This one is like a train wreck. I did feel it was a bit exploitative ("poverty porn" maybe), but yeah, the dysfunction and pill addiction are eye opening and devastating. Somebody in that documentary called their lifestyle "disability culture," which is just so sad and true.

This goes on in DC-ALL OVER THE PLACE, it is the culture of poverty.

Anonymous wrote:Eyes on the Prize

The Manor House (not really a documentary but a re-enactment series of life in a turn of the century house--complete with Lord & Lady all the way down to the scullery maid.)

I just fell asleep simply reading Eyes on the Prize. Informative, but will put you to sleep!

The Lost Boys of Sudan

The Lottery is not a follow up to Waiting for Superman - it is an entirely different documentary and, IMHO, superior. I highly recommend it on the off chance you didn't see it.

8:52 yet again. You have got to see Frontier House! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frontier_House From Wikipedia:

Frontier House is a historical reality television series that originally aired on the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States from April 29 to May 3, 2002. The series followed three family groups that agreed to live as homesteaders did in the state of Montana on the American frontier in 1883. Each family was expected to establish a homestead and complete the tasks necessary to prepare for the harsh Montana winter. At the end of the series, each family was judged by a panel of experts and historians on their likelihood of survival for each group.

It was amazing! It was historically accurate and fascinating to see what life was like on the frontier, how difficult it was and what failure meant. One family was a newlywed - it was an interracial couple and they got married on the show. The series talked about AA in the west and what life was like for them. The second family was from the upper south and was a blended family - stepfather, mother and 2 kids. The third family was an affluent family from Malibu with 2 kids plus a teenage cousin. The wife in that family was an Irish immigrant. It would be great to show this to the kids to see what life used to be like. But, I think there's one scene where one of the men talked about his desire for sex but the wife said she was just too damn tired.

8:52 again. I forgot to mention the Harlan County, USA film shows the poverty of the miners, the tactics used to subjugate them, Black Lung Disease, disregard for the rule of law and the strength of sticking together.

Anonymous wrote:Also loved Standing in the Shadows of Motown. Not about education, but about music. So good. Also like Buena Vista Social Club.

DH and I loved Standing the Shadows of Motown. If you liked that, you'll probably like Gengis Blues http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gengis_Blues. It's about a blind blues musician who heard Tuvan throat singing on a shortwave radio. (Tuva is a province in Russia where most of the people are ethnically Mongolian/Turkic). He teaches himself how to do it. The documentary continues with his trip to the Tuva and participation in the throat singing competition there.


For OP - you might like Harlan County, USA http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County,_USA. It won an Oscar in 1976 and is about Brookside Mine coal miners and their wives striking against the Duke Power Company in Harlan County, southeast Kentucky in 1973. It's really an amazing documentary and there's a scene that takes place after dark where the miners are shot at by company thugs and the the film's director and the camera guy get beaten up. The miners believe the violence was less than what it would have been because of the presence of the film crew - altho I believe one miner was shot a killed.

Eyes on the Prize

The Manor House (not really a documentary but a re-enactment series of life in a turn of the century house--complete with Lord & Lady all the way down to the scullery maid.)

The HBO show Kindergarten is a documentary/reality show about a classroom. It's available on demand. Wonderful.

Hoop Dreams

If you have a mobile device, get the PBS.org app. They have lots of documentaries from Frontline, NOVA, etc. I saw 180 Days there and it was excellent.

first position

Anonymous wrote:There was a really good documentary about a DCPS high school that was shown on PBS within the last year. The high school was DC Metropolitan but I can't remember the title... 180 Days maybe? It was pretty wrenching.

http://www.pbs.org/program/180-days-american-school/

Boys of Baraka

http://www.pbs.org/pov/boysofbaraka/

12 o'clock boys.


Google and check the trailer...OMG